The clock was winding down the final seconds in the BMF title fight at UFC 300 between Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 13. Holloway had the fight won on the scorecards, and all he needed to do was stay away from Gaethje for the remaining handful of seconds in the bout to steal the belt and record one of the most significant victories of his legendary career.
Holloway is one of the most beloved fighters in MMA for many reasons, but one of the primary ones is his desire to give the fans and show.
And show, with roughly 10 seconds left, Holloway made his way to the center of the Octagon, pointed to the ground and challenged Gaethje to slug it out with him.
The rest, of course, is history. Holloway knocked Gaethje unconscious to win the BMF title with a second remaining in the bout in a dramatic and mind-blowing finish.
It wasn't, though, the first time he'd done that. On June 4 in Los Angeles, with exactly 10 seconds left in his fight with Ricardo Lamas, Holloway did the same thing. He pointed to the Octagon and he and Lamas took the opportunity to windmill punches at each other until the bell rang.
Screenshot from UFC FightPass
Max Holloway (R) challenges Ricardo Lamas to slug it out in the final 10 seconds of their bout at UFC 199.
Like the Gaethje fight, Holloway had the bout won, but he risked it all to put on a show.
"We're in the sport to make crazy history moments," Holloway said.
Holloway has made his share, and on Saturday in the main event of UFC 308 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, he'll get the opportunity to make another one. He'll challenge Ilia Topuria for the featherweight championship he once held.
Jose Aldo is the only fighter in divisional history to lose and then regain the featherweight crown.
Holloway, though, won't have an easy task. Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 298 on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, Calif., to defeat the man who beat Holloway in three spirited title bouts.
And Topuria, who is 15-0 with nine submissions and four knockouts, is only getting better. He's the youngest UFC champion -- He's 27 and middleweight Dricus Du Plessis is 30 -- and he's oozing with confidence.
"I feel I grow after every training camp and after every fight," Topuria said. "Just imagine how much I'm going to grow by 32, for example. Thirty-five. I'm going to grow a lot."
That confidence will grow, too, and it's nothing he lacks now. Topuria has heard ad nauseam about Holloway's iconic point to the center against Gaethje, and he's ready to one-up him.
He's ready to point to the Octagon at the opening bell and see if Holloway wants to engage.
"If he does, it will be the fastest KO in UFC history," Topuria said.
Topuria, though, came to the UFC with a reputation as an elite grappler, and he has nine submissions in his 15 victories. He said the diversity in his game is what makes him elite.
And if Holloway chooses not to stand and bang, Topuria isn't all that concerned because he has other ways to win the fight.
"Imagine if in the fight, he starts to run around the Octagon and doesn't stop to exchange punches with me and really fight, I can take the decision to take him down whenever I want," he said, snapping his fingers. "As soon as I take that decision, I will submit him as soon as he touches the ground. He will be submitted."
Volkanovski has spent 75 minutes in the cage with Holloway while defeating him by decision three times. And Volkanovski knows that Topuria has outstanding submissions, getting Holloway to the ground isn't going to be easy for Topuria.
Holloway's takedown defense percentage is 84.1 percent.
"Max has great takedown defense so I think it's going to be hard for Ilia to get it down, to get him there and to hold him there," Volkanovski said. " ... And as soon as you get him to the mat, he's quite good at getting himself back to his feet. ... Getting him down is pretty tricky and submitting him I will be be pretty difficult for Ilia."
Topuria conceded that Holloway has the ability to take the fight where he wants against most opponents.
The key, he said, is against most opponents.
"He's never faced anyone like me, ever," Topuria said. "He's going to realize that during the fight. The pressure I'm going to bring and that he's going to feel in the fight is completely different from what he's felt with any other opponent. The moment I take him down, if I don't knock him out before, I don't think he's going to be able to stop my submissions."
Call it the bravado of youth or even the confidence of a great fighter understanding his skillset better than anyone, but Topuria isn't shy.
And while some get angered or motivated by trash talk, the one thing we've learned over the years is Holloway isn't bothered by much of anything.
When he heard of Topuria's promises to knock him out in record fashion or submit him a second after the fight hits the mat, he just shrugged."
"If that's what it takes and that's what he needs to give him confidence going into the fight, then so be it," Holloway said. "I don't take nothing personal. It's just a part of the fight. And at the end of the day, if he's going to talk that way, he's going to talk that way. The good thing is, we'll get to see and find out come [Saturday]."