Daniel Cormier confident that Ilia Topuria knockout loss did not deter Max Holloway
Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) was knocked out by Ilia Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) in their featherweight title fight at UFC 308, marking the first time Holloway was stopped by strikes.
Now Holloway will look to rebound when he defends his BMF title against retiring Dustin Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) in a trilogy bout, which headlines Saturday's UFC 318 event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
"Max is as good as they come, and he's motivated to hold on to that BMF championship," Cormier told MMA Junkie. "You've got to make sure you're locked in if you want to get a victory in those situations. Always. It's even more than Max knows Dustin is done. Dustin is going to walk away from fighting, and Max still has to be here. He wants to get a victory over Dustin as Dustin retires because he's got to deal with everything that MMA entails."
Prior to the Topuria loss, Holloway scored an iconic knockout of Justin Gaethje in his return to lightweight at UFC 300. This time, Holloway looked like a much more natural 155-pounder than he did when he lost to Poirier on short notice for the interim title at UFC 236.
Holloway is eyeing a rematch with newly crowned UFC lightweight champion Topuria, and Cormier sees that as enough of a motivator for "Blessed" to get back on track.
"If he's anything like the last time we saw him at 155, he's one of the best in the world," Cormier said of Holloway. "The first time he fought he was like, 'I have a spare tire, I was gaining weight just to fight.' When we saw him against Justin he had not looked like that same guy. He had looked like a 155 pounder.
"Now his diet matches everything he needs in order to become a world champ. Because that's exactly what his eyes are set on. He's not thinking, 'Just go win this fight.' You hear the stuff he's saying about Ilia. That loss did not deter him. He still wants to get back in there with Topuria and try to make that right."
Holloway took aim at Topuria's recent run, which saw him knock out Alexander Volkanovski, Holloway, and most recently Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. Cormier explains why he slightly agrees with Holloway downplaying the win streak.
"With the history, I think he's closer to getting that fight," Cormier said. "All those things he said (about Topuria's winning streak) were true. Everything he stated was fact. Problem is, Ilia still did that. You've got to give him credit for what he did.
"That was amazing to watch him do what he did over the course of those three fights and we have to really tip our cap to the champion. Max Holloway wants that fight again, and we'll have to see how long it is before he gets that opportunity."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Daniel Cormier: Ilia Topuria knockout loss did not deter Max Holloway
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky: Will Caitlin Clark play this weekend?
The Indiana Fever will visit the United Center for a nationally broadcast game against the Chicago Sky this Sunday. The afternoon game will air on ABC and will stream live on ESPN+ with a 3 p.m. ET tipoff. While fans might be anxious to see a showdown between two of the league's most popular players, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, Clark has been dealing with a groin injury for the past week and the team revealed Thursday that there is no timetable for her return. Reese has also been dealing with an injury and is also not confirmed for Sunday (yet). Here's what you need to know about how to watch the Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever game, and find out how to watch every other WNBA game this season, too. How to watch the Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky: Dates: Sunday, July 27, 2025 Time: 3 p.m. ET Location: United Center, Chicago, IL TV channel: ABC Streaming: ESPN+, Fubo, DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, and more What channel will the Sky vs. Fever game be on? The Sky vs. Fever game will be broadcast nationally on ABC. Where to watch the Fever vs. Sky game without cable: You can stream the Sky vs. Fever game on ABC which is available on Fubo, DirecTV, and Hulu with Live TV. The game will also stream on ESPN+, and it will be available on WNBA League Pass after it concludes. 2025 WNBA season schedule: You can check out the full WNBA season schedule (complete with which channel every game is airing on) here. More ways to watch the Sky vs. Fever game :
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Umar Nurmagomedov's coach excited to rematch a 'better' Merab Dvalishvili when time comes
ABU DHABI – Javier Mendez looks forward to game planning for an even more improved Merab Dvalishvili if Umar Nurmagomedov can rebound. Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) fell short in his title fight against bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) at UFC 311 in January. After he revealed he broke his hand early in a fight where he won the first two rounds on two of the three judges' scorecards. During Wednesday's UFC on ABC 9 media day, Petr Yan said Nurmagomedov turned down a fight for the UFC on ABC 8 headliner in Baku, Azerbaijan this past June. Mendez addressed that claim, and gave an update on Nurmagomedov, who's manager Ali Abdelaziz teased has fight news soon. "I was told about that potential matchup, we didn't care who Umar was going to fight," Mendez told MMA Junkie. "We just know we needed a tough guy for us to potentially be back in the picture, but his hand wasn't healed enough to be cleared to go that early. So, we're expecting Umar to be fighting very soon and before the end of the year. I'm preparing to go to camp at the end of this month with Usman (Nurmagomedov). "Usman is defending his title at Coca Cola Arena here against an opponent to be named. I don't know who it is, but I'm sure it's going to be somebody really good. ... Within that training camp, it'll be Umar and Islam (Makhachev), and all the other guys will be in there too. I'll be with all the boys starting August, I'll be in Dagestan in Khabib (Nurmagomedov)'s new gym up in the mountains." Mendez has been super impressed with the improvement shown by Dvalishvili, who notched his second title defense when he submitted Sean O'Malley at UFC 316. "It was a great fight, it was super, super close," Mendez said on Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov. "Unfortunately, things didn't end up going our way, and Merab did a fantastic job. Since then, Merab has gone on to do an unbelievable job. He's gotten better, and I love that. "I love that he's gotten better because if we get another opportunity, we got to get by whoever they give us next. But if we get another opportunity at Merab, I want a better Merab. I don't want an old Merab, I want a better Merab, and that's what we're getting. We're getting a better Merab. Last fight was so, so impressive. I'm looking forward to that challenge if we can get by our next opponent." Mendez broke down what he tactically thinks Nurmagomedov did wrong in his first-career defeat to Dvalishvili. "A big mistake was not telling Khabib and I that he broke his hand because we would have changed the game plan completely," Mendez said. "I keep going back thinking, and I go, God dammit, why didn't I ask him, 'Why did you go in for the takedown?' Because Merab was super strong. Why would you try to go for a takedown when that was not a good idea? "He wasn't in a weak position, but he went in to shoot for a takedown. It hit me. Why – and I still to this day haven't spoken to Umar – was it that when you broke your hand? I'm not sure. The hand broke, but it is what it is. Fighters break hands, they break toes, and they fight and they win." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Merab Dvalisvhili 2 would excite coach Javier Mendez
USA Today
19 minutes ago
- USA Today
Umar Nurmagomedov's coach excited to rematch a 'better' Merab Dvalishvili when time comes
ABU DHABI – Javier Mendez looks forward to game planning for an even more improved Merab Dvalishvili if Umar Nurmagomedov can rebound. Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) fell short in his title fight against bantamweight champion Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) at UFC 311 in January. After he revealed he broke his hand early in a fight where he won the first two rounds on two of the three judges' scorecards. During Wednesday's UFC on ABC 9 media day, Petr Yan said Nurmagomedov turned down a fight for the UFC on ABC 8 headliner in Baku, Azerbaijan this past June. Mendez addressed that claim, and gave an update on Nurmagomedov, who's manager Ali Abdelaziz teased has fight news soon. "I was told about that potential matchup, we didn't care who Umar was going to fight," Mendez told MMA Junkie. "We just know we needed a tough guy for us to potentially be back in the picture, but his hand wasn't healed enough to be cleared to go that early. So, we're expecting Umar to be fighting very soon and before the end of the year. I'm preparing to go to camp at the end of this month with Usman (Nurmagomedov). "Usman is defending his title at Coca Cola Arena here against an opponent to be named. I don't know who it is, but I'm sure it's going to be somebody really good. ... Within that training camp, it'll be Umar and Islam (Makhachev), and all the other guys will be in there too. I'll be with all the boys starting August, I'll be in Dagestan in Khabib (Nurmagomedov)'s new gym up in the mountains." Mendez has been super impressed with the improvement shown by Dvalishvili, who notched his second title defense when he submitted Sean O'Malley at UFC 316. "It was a great fight, it was super, super close," Mendez said on Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov. "Unfortunately, things didn't end up going our way, and Merab did a fantastic job. Since then, Merab has gone on to do an unbelievable job. He's gotten better, and I love that. "I love that he's gotten better because if we get another opportunity, we got to get by whoever they give us next. But if we get another opportunity at Merab, I want a better Merab. I don't want an old Merab, I want a better Merab, and that's what we're getting. We're getting a better Merab. Last fight was so, so impressive. I'm looking forward to that challenge if we can get by our next opponent." Mendez broke down what he tactically thinks Nurmagomedov did wrong in his first-career defeat to Dvalishvili. "A big mistake was not telling Khabib and I that he broke his hand because we would have changed the game plan completely," Mendez said. "I keep going back thinking, and I go, God dammit, why didn't I ask him, 'Why did you go in for the takedown?' Because Merab was super strong. Why would you try to go for a takedown when that was not a good idea? "He wasn't in a weak position, but he went in to shoot for a takedown. It hit me. Why – and I still to this day haven't spoken to Umar – was it that when you broke your hand? I'm not sure. The hand broke, but it is what it is. Fighters break hands, they break toes, and they fight and they win."
