Max Holloway, Ilia Topuria's Next Best Fights After UFC 308 Results

Ilia Topuria legitimized himself as the UFC's featherweight champion with a knockout win in the third round over Max Holloway at UFC 308.

The first title defense always brings a little more respect to any UFC champion. Given the history of the featherweight division, it takes at least one title defense to really stand out in a weight class defined by dominant champions.

Not only did Topuria beat a future Hall of Famer to win his belt against Alexander Volkanovski, but he also took out another future Hall of Famer in his first defense.

That begs the question: Who will Topuria fight next?

Then there's the question of who Holloway could meet next. He might have been denied his second world title in the featherweight division, but he remains a star with plenty of options on the table.

Let's take a look at the options in the aftermath of UFC 308.

Topuria's Next Best Fights

Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 26:Ilia Topuria of Spain prepares to face Max Holloway in the UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

• Alexander Volkanovski
• Diego Lopes
• Islam Makhachev

There's no rest for the champion of a stacked division. There are usually a number of quality contenders at 145 and Topuria already has two logical options.

Max Holloway actually shed some light on the status of the featherweight division ahead of the UFC 308 main event, telling reporters that Alexander Volkanovski is the next title contender while making the case for Diego Lopes.

"It's just weird that they're telling Alex he has the next title fight and then to have another guy as the backup. But I guess so. If you look at the heavyweight division, anything can happen in the world," Holloway said. "At the end of the day, I think Diego Lopes is a promising upcoming star. He's not even upcoming anymore. He's doing what he's doing. It's cool. Congrats to him having that moment."

Lopes was the backup fighter Saturday night, making the weight cut down to 145 pounds in case either headliner was unable to make the walk.

The UFC has a proven draw on their hands in Volkanovski and it was a bit surprising that he didn't get an immediate rematch given how dominant he was as a champion. At the same time, Lopes has stepped up for the organization several times and he's won three fights in 2024 to build a five-fight win streak.

The other option is for Topuria to make the move up to lightweight. It feels a bit early for that, but he's already laid the groundwork for a rivalry with current champ Islam Makhachev telling reporters that he'll be the first one to submit Makhachev if they do fight.

That might be biting off more than he can chew given the size discrepancy, but these are all exciting options.

Holloway's Next Best Fights

Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 26: Max Holloway prepares to face Ilia Topuria of Spain in the UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 308 event at Etihad Arena on October 26, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

• Justin Gaethje
• Dustin Poirier
• Conor McGregor

Holloway's loss is a major blow to his chances at becoming featherweight champion again. He's already lost to Alexander Volkanovski three times, has a new loss to Topuria and is 32 years old in a division that does not favor veterans.

The good news for Holloway is that he still holds the BMF title, which means that it isn't too hard to use him as an event headliner still.

In that regard, there are a few good options for Holloway. The most obvious is a rematch with Justin Gaethje. "Blessed" and The Highlight are in similar places in their career. It's harder to book them for a real title match, but they are both wildly entertaining fan favorites.

Holloway finished Gaethje with just one second in the fight back in April. It was a fun back-and-forth affair when they met the first time. There shouldn't be complaints about them running it back and both fighters are in a spot where it makes sense to be in the running for a ceremonial belt.

Holloway only has a few career fights where he can get retribution for a loss. Volkanovski probably isn't happening, but he's also 0-2 Dustin Poirier. Setting up a trilogy against The Diamond could be intriguing.

The pie-in-the-sky scenario for Holloway and his bank account would be to welcome back Conor McGregor. The Notorious is supposed to return to the cage in 2025.

Holloway and McGregor met in a 2013 fight. The Irishman earned a unanimous decision, but both fighters have obviously changed quite a bit since then.