Two mega-stars emerge from UFC 308 as Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev score dominant finishes over elite opponents

Seconds after Khamzat Chimaev submitted Robert Whittaker with a face crank in the co-main event of UFC 308, and dislodged the former middleweight champion's front teeth in the process, I thought to myself we may have watched the best fighter in the world perform.

And then I saw Ilia Topuria knock out Max Holloway in the main event in their featherweight title bout at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and I had the same conversation with myself I'd had moments earlier.

There is little doubt that Topuria and Chimaev emerged as massive stars in the mixed martial arts universe on Saturday. Each beat an elite and legendary opponent in dominating and shocking fashion.

Topuria, who won the title at UFC 298 on Feb. 17 when he knocked out Alex Volkanovski in the second, shattered a number of myths on Saturday.

Holloway is one of the most difficult men to take down in the UFC, but Topuria grabbed him around his hips, hoisted him in the air and dumped him onto his back early in the first round.

Then, the Spanish mythbuster showed that Holloway is human by not only dropping him, but knocking him out in the third. Holloway was in his 30th UFC fight Saturday and he'd never officially been dropped, though he conceded Justin Gaethje deserved a knockdown at UFC 300.

But Topuria blasted Holloway with a right that sent the BMF champion's eyes rolling back in his head. Topuria calmly followed him and ripped him with a left hook. Several hammer fists later and referee Marc Goddard was yanking Topuria off, making him the first man to knock Holloway out.

It was an incredible display of an overall MMA game.

Topuria did most everything he said he'd do. He said he'd go to the center of the Octagon and point, challenging Holloway to go toe-to-toe. Holloway respectfully declined. He said he'd knock Holloway out, and he did just that. He didn't submit Holloway the second his shoulder hit the mat, as he said, and in fairness, Holloway bounced up from that early takedown immediately.

Still, talk about backing up your words in the Octagon: Topuria did that big-time. He raised his record to 16-0 with the win, earning his 14th finish, and it looks like he's lapped the field at this point.

He's a good-looking, well-dressed and well-spoken  young man who is multi-lingual. He has the potential to become one of the biggest attractions in the game. He's known as a grappler, but in his last two bouts, he's knocked out two of the greatest featherweights to ever compete.

However you want to play it, Topuria can oblige. 

He may be the best fighter in the world, though most pound-for-pound rankings have lightweight champion Islam Makhachev No. 1 and UFC CEO Dana White has heavyweight champion Jon Jones in that spot.

But Topuria and Chimaev may have leapfrogged them all with what they did on Saturday. It could be that Chimaev is 1 and Topuria is 2 or Topuria is 1 or Chimaev is 2.

Or, Jones could be first -- he'll fight Stipe Miocic on Nov. 16 in New York, so we'll get to judge him then -- or Makhachev is first.

The one thing for sure is that there are a lot of contenders for that mythical spot, which is a good place to be if you're White and they're all on your roster.

Between Topuria and Chimaev, they're 30-0 with 26 finishes. Both have know established themselves as full-blown stars who people are going to buy tickets to see.

"I don't know what to say, man," Topuria said. "I don't know. To beat a legend like Max Holloway is something that I can't believe it, you know? I used to follow him his entire career. He inspired me so much in my career. He's been a great example for the generation that I represent, the new generation. And I hope that I'm going to be a small portion of the example he has been for me for the new generation. All the credit to Max Holloway."

It was a classy way to speak, but it ignored the truth of what happened in the Octagon in both the main and co-main events, where the winners were so impressive that they made themselves into major stars in the moment.

In a lot of cases, it's the UFC brand that sells the tickets, not an individual fighter. That was the plan that then-CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and White hatched in 2001 when they bought the company for a song from Semaphone Entertainment Group. They made those three letters -- U F C -- matter the most.

But Topuria and Chimaev are now must-see attractions. They talk big and perform bigger. 

Topuria went against the guy who dubbed himself the best boxer in the UFC and connected on a whopping 52 percent (75 of 144) of his shots, many of them hard punches to the head. He held Holloway, always a high-volume striker, to 38 percent (79 of 204). He was also 2 of 2 on his takedowns.

Chimaev, for his part, dominated Whittaker. He took him down seconds into the fight and had 3:20 of control time in the 3:34 the bout lasted. The only doubt about Chimaev had been his health, since three hospital stays earlier in the year forced him to cancel a planned June fight with Whittaker.

He was glad to be back and credited a new team for helping him train smarter and not training to exhaustion multiple times a day like he had been doing.

The results showed Saturday. He was relieved to have the illness behind him, but he accepted it as part of his journey.

"I can't control God's will," Chimaev said. "God wanted adversity so I want through all that and I came back and won my fight."

The rich seem to always get richer and the UFC has now added a couple of more stars to its roster. While there were some whispers that the UFC was running out of stars and not building them, Topuria and Chimaev each said, "Not so fast, please," with their work in the cage on Saturday.