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Ilia Topuria recently released his first social media statement following his historic knockout win over Max Holloway at UFC 308 last Saturday. It was a historic feat as he became the first fighter to not only drop the Hawaiian, but also knock him out.
The featherweight title fight served as the main event of UFC 308 and definitely lived up to the hype. Ahead of the bout, 'El Matador' made it known that he intended to knock 'Blessed' out for the first time in his career.
It was a highly anticipated title clash, especially considering that Holloway was coming off his incredible last-second knockout over Justin Gaethje, while Topuria was coming off his knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski.
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It wasn't the first time the reigning featherweight champion manifested a moment as he did the same when challenging Volkanovski earlier this year. 'El Matador' took to his Instagram account and shared his thoughts on what transpired at UFC 308. Topuria expressed gratitude to his supporters and mentioned that it was satisfying that he stuck to the promise he made ahead of the event. He said:
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"I said it and I fulfilled it. First one to knock it out 16-0 AND STILL UNDEFEATED [rose emoji]. Thank you everyone for the support" [translated]
Check out Ilia Topuria's Instagram post below:
Ilia Topuria shares inspirational message to fans
Ahead of his featherweight title defense against Max Holloway at UFC 308, Ilia Topuria shared an inspirational message along with a video of his young fans wishing him well for his fight.
Topuria has expressed interest in becoming a role model for the younger generation that looks up to him and is committed to that. He shared an inspirational message on his Instagram account encouraging his young fans in the video to follow their dreams:
"I fight for all of you, because you always believe that your dreams can come true...Never stop dreaming with your eyes open, the future is yours alone." [translation]
Check out Ilia Topuria's Instagram post below:
