Ilia Topuria's brilliance vaults him over Alex Pereira and to the front of the line in Fighter of the Year Derby

In 2020, Kevin Holland won five times, scoring four knockouts and a split decision win, and he thrust himself into the Fight of the Year race. 

There was no obvious choice that year and Holland's dominance over five fights made him a contender. Most outlets went with either Jan Blachowicz or Deiveson Figueiredo that year, but Holland forced himself into the conversation.

In 2024, though, there was a clear front-runner with less than two full months remaining in the year. UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira successfully defended his title three times, scoring knockouts in all three. He knocked out Jamahal Hill in the first round at UFC 300 on April 13 in Las Vegas. He agreed on two weeks' notice to defend his belt against former champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas, and stopped Prochazka 13 seconds into the second round.

And then, in one of the most brutal fights of the year, he stopped Khalil Rountree Jr. in the fourth round of UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In the process, he set a record for fastest three successful title defenses, doing it in 175 days to surpass the mark of 189 days set by Ronda Rousey in 2013-14.

The day after his knockout of Rountree, he was viewed as the consensus Fighter of the Year and, on top of that, probably already had dibs on Fighter of the Decade.

What a difference, though, three weeks makes. 

Ilia Topuria knocked out Max Holloway on Saturday in their featherweight title bout in the main event of UFC 308 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and suddenly not only thrust himself into contention for Fighter of the Year but made himself the likely winner.

Topuria claimed the featherweight title at UFC 298 on Feb. 17, in Anaheim, Calif. He delivered a stunning second-round knockout over Alexander Volkanovski that put him onto the big stage.

Volkanovski at one point in his career was ranked pound-for-pound No. 1 by UFC.com as well as numerous other media outlets. Holloway was never No. 1 but he was a fixture in the Top 10 for years. And even with the UFC's updated rankings on Tuesday, Volkanovski is still No. 10 despite having lost two in a row and three of his last four.

Holloway is 12th in the rankings, dropping one spot after having been 11th according to the UFC. The most recent KevinIole.com ratings have Topuria No. 2, Volkanovski No. 9 and Holloway No. 10.

Given the size disparity between say, Topuria and Pereira, there is no way they could ever fight to determine who is better. So we rely on the pound-for-pound rankings to determine how fighters from different classes compare.

It's stunning that Pereira has been overtaken so quickly, particularly given the conversation that followed his win over Rountree. Both Prochazka and Hill are former champions. They are ranked Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, in the division while Rountree is ranked sixth.

Even after their losses, though, Volkanovski and Holloway are 1-2 at featherweight and Holloway, who still holds the BMF belt, is also fifth at lightweight.

There's an argument to be made for Pereira. Making three defenses in such a compressed period in a sport as physically grueling and demanding  as MMA is remarkable. He cleanly finished a pair of former champions and a blood-and-guts contender who turned in the fight of his life in Rountree.

Volkanovski and Holloway are legends, though, and both will make the UFC's Hall of Fame one day. While Hill and Prochazka have time to build a resume to make it, they aren't there quite yet. Holloway was coming off a dramatic knockout win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in their bout for the Baddest Mother F*cker belt in a lightweight bout.

As a result of who he defeated and the manner in which he did it, I leapfrogged Topuria in my pound-for-pound rankings from No. 4 to No. 2. I jumped him over No. 3 Tom Aspinall, the interim heavyweight champion, and Pereira into the No. 2 spot for that very reason. 

You don't need Perry Mason to make the case that Topuria is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now. Those brutal knockouts over two legends scream greatness.

No. 1 Islam Makhachev, though, has won 14 in a row and his last four wins were a title-winning submission over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280; a decision over Volkanovski in a No. 1 versus No. 2 pound-for-pound battle at UFC 284; a knockout of Volkanovski in the rematch at UFC 294 and a submission of Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.

That is brilliant work and he deserves that top spot. 

Topuria entered 2024 with a gaudy record but never having fought an A-level fighter before. An A-level fighter is one who is good enough to win and defend a world title. But after blowing out Volkanovski and Holloway to raise his record to 16-0 with 14 finishes, there are no more questions surrounding him.

He's making a case for himself as one of the greats in the game.

He deserves to be honored for that great work in 2024. Beating Volkanovski and Holloway means something still, and doing it as violently and as cleanly as Topuria did only adds to the awe-inspiring victories he raced up.

With two months left in the year, the competition has become a one-man race. Topuria, with his clean, decisive wins over MMA legends Volkanovski and Holloway, has redefined the Fighter of the Year standard for 2024. These performances don’t just speak to skill. They cement his place among the sport’s greats.