An upset for the ages just isn’t enough for Max Holloway, the former featherweight champion looks to do it again at UFC 308.

Holloway faced a tough battle at UFC 300 in April, where he met feared BMF champion Justin Gaethje in a higher weight class. Despite the odds against him, Holloway would shock the world with his return to lightweight, knocking out the world’s No. 2 contender in the final seconds of what was already a dominant performance from the Hawaiian fighter.

(Exclusive) Max Holloway talks missing the BMF belt against Ilia Topuria

The world its oyster, Holloway now enters a featherweight title fight with new champion Ilia Topuria as a slight betting underdog.

This is likely due to Topuria’s momentum, which is comparable to Holloway’s as he was the first man to beat Alexander Volkanovski at 145 pounds, knocking out the longtime champion at UFC 298 in February.

“He’s good, man. I’d be lying to you if I told you he wasn’t,” Holloway said. MMA KO in a recent interview. “He’s great. He’s a champion right now for a reason. Great boxing. In terms of striking, I think he’s just a great mixed martial artist. I think he’s got great wrestling, super explosive , excellent jiu-jitsu It’s good to see. I can’t wait to try all these things.”

Although Topuria comes from Greco-Roman wrestling, many experts are quick to characterize Topuria’s hands as those of a boxer and compare his power and speed to those of Conor McGregor, the former featherweight champion who beat Holloway during his undefeated run to the title years ago.

Absorbing a record number of strikes in the UFC (and inflicting even more damage on his opponents himself), Holloway can still say that he has never been knocked out in his career before a fight with the very dangerous Topuria.

“The first thing that stands out is that everyone keeps talking about his boxing, his power… We’ll see what happens. To hurt someone, you have to land powerful shots. So in the end “I can’t wait to go there and mingle with them.”

The complex puzzle of Ilia Topuria has yet to be solved, with 15 fighters unsuccessfully trying to overtake “El Matador”.

However, Holloway has beaten the unbeatable before, becoming the first fighter to defeat Brian Ortega 14-0 by knockout in 2018. “Blessed” will do his best to beat Topuria 15-0 this time around.

“Styles make fights. People make fights,” Holloway said when asked if being undefeated made Topuria different as a fighter. “Sometimes you show up, sometimes you don’t show up in a fight. If you’re undefeated, you’re undefeated and you have all the confidence in the world, which is respected.”

“At the end of the day, I took a bunch of 0s from several people. This man is no different,” Holloway said of Topuria. “(He’ll bleed) red, just like me. So, I’m looking forward to going out there and doing my thing.”

Max Holloway has twice the experience of Ilia Topuria (who is five years younger) having fought wave after wave of featherweight contenders and a couple of former interim lightweight champions, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

Holloway has seen it all, while Topuria is just settling into his first title reign.

Will Ilia Topuria’s skills pay the bills, or will Max Holloway’s chin and championship experience stand the test of time in the UFC’s most important fight of the year ?

Israel Adesanya shares his prediction for Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway