Gilbert Burns believes Charles Oliveira’s days as a UFC title contender are behind him.
At UFC 317 last month, “Do Bronx” endured a devastating first-round knockout at the hands of Ilia Topuria in their clash for the vacant lightweight title. The loss marked Oliveira’s second unsuccessful bid to reclaim the belt.
Charles Oliveira, who once tore through the division with an 11-fight win streak and a successful title defense, has struggled to maintain that form. He’s gone 2-3 in his last five outings. Burns believes his fellow Brazilian should take a step back, recharge, and set his sights on the UFC’s symbolic BMF title instead of chasing championship gold.
Image: @charlesdobronxs/Instagram
Gilbert Burns Calls For Charles Oliveira vs. Max Holloway Rematch
During a recent episode of the Show Me the Money podcast, Gilbert Burns offered his take on Charles Oliveira’s career tarjectory. The former welterweight title challenger believes “Do Bronx” should set his sights on a high-stakes showdown with Max Holloway — regardless of whether Holloway retains the BMF title in his upcoming trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier, which headlines UFC 318 on July 19.
“Charles, I think he’s got to take six months off, Burns said.” One thousand percent, call Sean Shelby and tell him that I told him that he’s got to fight Max Holloway. After Max Holloway’s fight with Dustin, Dustin is out, Dustin’s retired. Max, rest a little bit because next month, this guy is fighting in December, January. Make it BMF for Charles.”
“Durinho” suggested that both Oliveira and Holloway are likely entering the twilight of their storied careers, making now the ideal moment for the UFC to book a rematch between the fan favorites with the BMF title on the line to raise the stakes.
“I think Charles [beats Holloway]. I like this fight, two legends. I don’t think they’re going to make another run for a title, but make it for BMF, it’s a good fight.”
Oliveira and Holloway previously shared the Octagon back in August 2015, during their time in the featherweight division. The bout ended abruptly in the first round after the Brazilian suffered a rare esophagus injury, handing “Blessed” the win via TKO.
UFC 317 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering, UFC 318 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The promotion was in Las Vegas last week, where the T-Mobile Arena played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its sixth numbered event of the year. Of note were headline wins for Ilia Topuria and Alexandre Pantoja, as well as important victories for Joshua Van, Beneil Dariush and Payton Talbott.
While the aftermath of the June 28 card is currently the talk of the town, it won’t be long until focus sways to the next PPV, and from the lightweight and flyweight championship title pictures to conversation around two BMFs — one of whom steps into the Octagon for the final time.
In front of his native hometown crowd at UFC 318, set for the Smoothie King Arena on July 19, Dustin Poirier will take to the Octagon one last time, as he faces off with Max Holloway for the BMF belt. It will be the third encounter these two have had, with Poirier up 2-0 in the series and going for the clean sweep. A 4-0, 20-year-old Max Holloway made his UFC debut against Poirier at UFC 143, with Poirier winning via first-round submission. They would rematch seven years later at UFC 236, with Poirier scoring a clean decision to win the interim UFC lightweight championship.
Poirier, who had been teasing retirement for some time now, will be competing for the first time in over a year, after getting submitted by Islam Makhachev in a lightweight title bout that headlined UFC 302. Poirier is 2-3 since winning his trilogy bout with Conor McGregor, including another failed lightweight title bid against Charles Oliveira at UFC 269. Poirier has fought for the BMF title once before, getting knocked out by Justin Gaethje at UFC 291.
Holloway, the legendary former featherweight champion, will be competing in his first fight since failing to reclaim the title, getting knocked out by new lightweight champion Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC 308. While Holloway began his MMA career at lightweight, he dropped to featherweight upon arriving to the UFC. Holloway’s other lightweight bout outside of facing Poirier for the second time came at UFC 300, when Holloway had his legendary knockout of Gaethje to win the BMF title.
The co-main event will see Patricio Pitbull’s second UFC bout, as he takes on Dan Ige. Pitbull, the legendary former two-division Bellator champion, made his UFC debut at UFC 314 in April, losing a decision against Yair Rodriguez. Ige has lost three of his last five but will enter this fight off a third-round finish of Sean Woodson at UFC 314.
Gautier, Costa, Johnson Set The Stage For BMF Title Headliner At UFC 318
Before Poirier and Holloway make their way out for the BMF title fight, several names will look to make their own statements on the main card for UFC 318.
This includes “The Silent Assassin” Ateba Gautier, who will be facing Robert Valentin. Gautier earned a UFC contract with a second-round finish of Yura Naito on Dana White’s Contender Series in September and scored a first-round knockout of Jose Medina in his UFC debut in March. Gautier will be taking on Robert Valentin, who fell short to Ryan Loder in The Ultimate Fighter season 32 finale and dropped a controversial split decision to Torrez Finney in April.
Former middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa will also be in action, taking on Roman Kopylov. This fight was scheduled for UFC 317 but was pushed back to this card. Costa has lost four of his last five and has only fought four times since unsuccessfully challenging Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 253. He most recently fought at UFC 302 last year, losing to Sean Strickland. Kopylov has won six of seven, most recently scoring a knockout of Chris Curtis in January.
The main card is scheduled to open with veteran Michael Johnson taking on Daniel Zellhuber. Johnson has won two straight and four of his last six, most recently scoring a highlight knockout of Ottman Azaitar at UFC Tampa in December. This fight will mark Zellhuber’s first fight since losing to Esteban Ribovics at Noche UFC 2 (UFC 306) in what many people consider to be the best MMA fight of 2024.
Those pairings have currently gotten the nod to feature on the main card over the likes of a long-awaited middleweight clash between bitter rivals Marvin Vettori and Brendan Allen, as well as Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez, Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira, and Neil Magny vs. Gunnar Nelson, all of whom are expected to be featured players on the event’s preliminary card.
See below for the UFC 318 lineup, as it stands.
Main Card:
BMF Championship: Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier
Featherweight: Dan Ige vs. Patricio Pitbull
Middleweight: Ateba Gautier vs. Robert Valentin
Middleweight: Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov
Lightweight: Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber
Preliminary Card (full card and bout order TBA):
Middleweight: Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen
Welterweight: Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Bantamweight: Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira
Middleweight: Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira
Welterweight: Neil Magny vs. Gunnar Nelson
Heavyweight: Ryan Spann vs. Lukasz Brzeski
Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio
Welterweight: Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov
Women’s Flyweight: Carli Judice vs. Nicolle Caliari
Welterweight: Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Veretennikov
UFC legend Dustin Poirier has his final fight in the calendar — and it comes against a familiar adversary.
Poirier will be making his farewell as an active mixed martial artist in 2025. He committed to one more walk to the Octagon soon after his latest failed shot at the undisputed lightweight title last June in Newark, where he was submitted in round five of the UFC 302 main event by Islam Makhachev.
“The Diamond” outlined that he was targeting fellow “legends” of the sport for a showdown close to home in New Orleans this summer when discussing his search for an opponent.
And when it comes to that description, the promotion certainly obliged.
The UFC officially announced this week that Poirier will run it back with Max Holloway in competition for the symbolic BMF title at UFC 318 in New Orleans on July 19.
While Poirier is coming off a submission defeat to the lightweight kingpin last time out, Holloway fell short opposite Ilia Topuria, the now-former featherweight titleholder. “Blessed” was knocked out for the first time in his career by “El Matador” in Abu Dhabi last October.
The Hawaiian will now return to lightweight to defend the BMF belt for the first time since capturing it from Justin Gaethje, who earned the symbolic strap with a KO of Poirier in 2023.
Holloway is currently 0-2 against “The Diamond,” having been submitted by the Louisianan in 2012 before being outpointed in their 2019 rematch for the interim UFC lightweight title.
Max Holloway is backing Justin Gaethje to deliver in his next outing inside the Octagon.
Gaethje is set to run it back with Rafael Fiziev in a highly anticipated rematch, serving as the co-main event of UFC 313 Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, “Blessed” weighed in on the UFC 313 co-main event, rallying behind Gaethje to replicate his past triumph over “Ataman”.
“This is going to be a fight man,” Holloway said. “With Gaethje coming in as the underdog, this is easy picking for me. You need to roll with Gaethje, especially coming off of his last fight. He wants to erase that last loss with something huge, so I’m calling this right now. I’m picking Justin Gaethje, and I’m going with his nickname man, he’s going to have a highlight this fight.
“(I) think it’s going to be huge. It’s going to be big. I think he’s going to make a statement. He also knows that the 155-pound division with contenders is super up in the air. Whoever can make that statement win can just jump in there and get a title shot, and I think he goes out there and he does that. They call him ‘The Highlight’ for a reason, and what a better dance partner to do that with than Fiziev because you know Fiziev is going to come and fight.”
The former UFC interim lightweight champion was originally set to clash with Dan Hooker in a five-round showdown at UFC 313. However, “The Hangman” was forced to pull out due to a hand injury, leading to Fiziev stepping in as a short-notice replacement.
“The Highlight” narrowly defeated Fiziev in their first encounter at UFC 286 in March 2023, earning a majority decision victory. Since then, Gaethje has picked up one win and suffered one defeat.
Meanwhile, “Ataman” last competed in a Fight Night event in September 2023, where an untimely knee injury derailed him midway through the second round against Mateusz Gamrot, leading to a TKO loss.
Rising UFC middleweight Shara Magomedov has explained why he believes his double spinning backfist finish last time out was superior to the consensus Knockout of the Year in 2024.
Magomedov was in fine form inside the Octagon across the past 12 months, winning three straight fights to bring his UFC tally of victories to four and perfect professional record to 15-0.
That finish perhaps could have been in contention for Knockout of the Year awards at the end of 2024 if it wasn’t for the work of one Max Holloway, whose offer to throw down with Justin Gaethje in the closing seconds of their BMF title fight at UFC 300 culminated in one of the sport’s all-time highlights.
Magomedov, though, would still give his violent KO the edge.
“Of course, I think mine is better because mine was really a work of art,” Magomedov told MMA Fighting via his translator. “The Max knockout, even though it was fun to watch, it was basically a brawl, and how many times have we seen a brawl in a UFC fight? There’s been tons of them. But the one that I’ve done has never been done or never has been performed before in the Octagon.”
While most media outlets and fans would likely disagree given the way they went with Knockout of the Year awards, Magomedov is bestowing himself with a grander honor.
“I guess they’re right, they really did have a Knockout of the Year,” Magomedov said. “But mine was a Knockout of the Century.”
Magomedov will now look to raise the bar even further with a 13th career knockout this weekend. To do so, he’s tasked with sending Michael “Venom” Page to the first losing skid of his career in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Given “MVP’s” penchant for KOs, Magomedov may need to be wary, lest he find himself on the receiving end of such a finish inside anb Arena.
BMF titleholder Max Holloway is not only down to run it back with former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, but he even has a date in mind for their second showdown.
Talk of “Blessed” and “Do Bronx” sharing the cage a decade on from their featherweight battle has reignited this week after the latter pondered his next step in the UFC.
Fresh off a dominant win over Michael Chandler last November, Oliveira attended UFC 311 on Saturday, expecting to potentially have his next opponent decided.
Islam Makhachev ultimately emerged victorious and with the lightweight belt still in his possession, submitting Renato Moicano after he replaced Arman Tsarukyan on just 24 hours’ notice.
With the Armenian seemingly needing to re-earn his shot, Oliveira believes he warrants top contender status. But should the Dagestani champ look to sit out until the promotion’s annual Abu Dhabi PPV in October, the former titleholder wants to compete in the meantime.
Holloway last competed at UFC 294 in October, where he failed in his pursuit of another reign at 145 pounds. He was knocked out for the first time by reigning champ Ilia Topuria.
Having previously earned the BMF title and a ranking at lightweight by sleeping Justin Gaethje, it would appear that a return to the higher weight class is likely for the fan favorite.
The BMF title has been a divisive subject in MMA but there’s no denying that in the three fights that it has featured in, it has produced some iconic moments and performances. One of the most exciting contenders in the featherweight division recently revealed that he wants a piece of that action over getting his hands on UFC gold.
Steve Garcia has been proving himself to be one of the most dangerous contenders at 145-pounds with his current winning streak. Since a knockout loss to Maheshate Hayisaer at UFC 275 in 2022, he has won five consecutive fights with each victory coming by way of KO/TKO. With 14 of his 17 pro wins coming via this method, the 32-year old certainly qualifies for the category of being a victory or death kind of fighter.
Garcia recently spoke to MMA Junkie ahead of his huge clash with the #15-ranked Edson Barboza on February 22. During the interview, he spoke about his featherweight title aspirations and why he believes that the BMF belt holds more weight to him personally because not every fighter qualifies for it just by securing wins.
“If I would say that there’s a title I prefer to fight for, it would be the BMF title,” Garcia said. “I’ve been able to knock out a lot of these guys. There’s nothing against the undisputed title, but the undisputed title, you could literally win the undisputed title, and you can win on decisions the whole entire time.
“You could win on submissions the whole entire time. You can be great and do knockouts and stuff like that, too, but I think the BMF title, the meaning says it all. To be one of the baddest dudes to step into a cage, throw in my words, chingassos. You’re going for it.”
Having changed hands three times, the BMF title currently belongs to Max Holloway who was stopped by Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC 308. Whilst Garcia doesn’t expect to be put in there with “Blessed” anytime soon, he’s prepared to keep doing what he does best in order to work his way there.
“I would love a fight with Max,” Garcia said. “I’m such a huge fan of him, but my goodness, if you want to watch something that can go off, I think that would be a good fight. I guess I’ve got to keep knocking people out and prove people what I’m able to do to maybe have that opportunity or that shot. I think about the BMF title more than I think about the undisputed title to be honest.”
With 2025 underway, the MMA world is already starting to look ahead to the action that we have to look forward to over the coming 12 months rather than reflecting on the past. 2024 produced some great fights and it’s always fun to look back on them and revisit some of the most exciting moments from throughout the year.
During a recent episode of his podcast, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling did just that by listing what he thinks were the best fights of the previous year. His picks featured some key differences to the consensus picks that you’re sure to see on most peoples lists from 2024.
For a start, the BMF title fight between Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje from UFC 300 is nowhere to be seen in the five fights that Sterling discussed. This fight has accumulated the majority of the fight of the year awards but some would argue that in order for it to rank highly in this category, it needs to be a back-and-forth affair.
Holloway versus Gaethje was definitely the most memorable fight of the year but “Blessed” was fairly dominant before he capped the performance off with one of the all-time great UFC knockouts. Sterling applied this same logic when choosing highly competitive fights that saw both men have success.
“The one that comes to mind is probably Du Plessis and Strickland and I think the next one after that, not in any order, I mean back and forth, you got Gamrot versus Dan Hooker and then you also have Islam Makhachev versus Dustin Poirier.”
Sterling later pointed out a pair of split decision contests that are absolutely deserving of their recognition even if they don’t have the name value of the three previous selections. Esteban Ribovics’ war with Daniel Zellhuber at UFC 306 was undoubtedly the highlight of the promotion’s debut at the Sphere and though UFC 308 was littered with stand out moments, the battle between Mateusz Rębecki and Myktybek Orolbai is the one that “Funkmaster” thinks should take the top spot.
“So I don’t know, I think between all of those, they were all pretty good but the Orolbai one to me, because he was able to, his eye looked like it was swollen shut and they were going to stop the fight. They let him continue even though his eye was a balloon and from there, came back and looked like he was about to get Rębecki out of there… great, great fight and I think it showed a lot of heart, a lot of grit and just like the sheer will to win.”
Max Holloway is reportedly set to be the focus of an upcoming documentary, which will offer an in-depth look at both his personal journey and professional career.
According to a recent report by Deadline, Dream Bay Entertainment and Hamblin Imagery have partnered to produce an untitled film about “Blessed” in 2025. Touted as the ultimate documentary on his life, the project promises to offer an unparalleled look into the journey of the former UFC featherweight champion.
Peter Hamblin is set to direct the project and serve as an executive producer, with Dream Bay founder Thomas Drachkovitch also joining as an executive producer
UFC Icon Max Holloway Subject Of Doc From Dream Bay Entertainment & Peter Hamblin https://t.co/5PzXHNg1Gs
The documentary will chronicle “Blessed” as he steps into what promises to be the most significant year of his life, both inside and outside the Octagon. It will trace Holloway’s ascent to UFC stardom, his enduring legacy as one of the sport’s most resilient and captivating fighters, and his journey as a devoted father and proud native of Hawaii.
The film will feature exclusive interviews, rare archival footage, and behind-the-scenes access, offering a deep dive into his grueling training camps as he gears up for career-defining showdowns in 2025.
The 32-year-old Hawaiian fighter secured the BMF title with a dramatic last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje in a lightweight clash at UFC 300 this past April.
Charles Oliveira has already built an incredible legacy during his time in the UFC which is sure to endure long after he retires from the sport. That being said, the 35-year old is confident that he still has much more to give and he could enter a new phase of his career on Saturday night.
At UFC 309, “Do Bronx” returns in a rematch of one of the most important fights of his entire 45-fight career. He finished Michael Chandler in the second round back in 2021 to win the vacant lightweight title and now they will run it back over five rounds in the co-main event at Madison Square Garden.
Before his incredible lightweight winning streak that led to him beating Chandler and going on a great run as the champion, Oliveira suffered some fairly substantial setbacks along the way. One of those came to an elite competitor that has recently announced that lightweight will be his long-term home going forward.
BMF Champion Max Holloway is ready to leave featherweight behind for good following his recent loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 last month. His performance earlier this year against Justin Gaethje proved once and for all that he can hang with the best 155-pounders in the division.
Though Oliveira is focused on beating Chandler for a second time, he’s also open to the idea of meeting Holloway in a rematch.
The two fan favorites met back in 2015 where “Blessed” got the first round finish due to an injury that the Brazilian suffered. He told MMA Fighting in a recent interview that fighting Holloway for the BMF belt is a fight that interests him due to the stakes attached.
“I’m about legacy. That’d be great. Why not? As I’m talking about [legacy], I mean, being the BMF champ would be gigantic for that.”
Following his loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308, Max Holloway made an announcement about his career going forwards. The former featherweight champion has spent most of his time in the UFC competing at 145-pounds but no more.
Before returning to the weight class to challenge Topuria for the title, “Blessed” defeated Justin Gaethje for the BMF title at lightweight and put in one of his best performances to date in the process. With Holloway announcing that lightweight is now his permanent home, this opens up some very exciting options for him.
In a recent YouTube video, he made it clear that he wouldn’t usually be campaigning to see a third fight between two opponents where one of them is already two up in the series. However, Sonnen also made the case for why the third fight could be different than the previous two.
Holloway’s first encounter with Poirier came in his UFC debut where he had just four pro fights under his belt at the time. The second time around at UFC 236, Poirier was able to break the Hawaiian’s incredible winning streak but this was Holloway’s first time moving up to 155-pounds and he didn’t look the same as he did at featherweight.
With him now committing to lightweight, Sonnen thinks this makes the trilogy more interesting than before.
“So let’s make a case for Max. Is Max better now than he was then? No. But, is Max different? Yeah, he definitely could be. Yeah, you bet your a** he could be different because one thing that is different is Max is not playing at 55 before he goes back to 45. He is done at 45, he has made that commitment, he has absolutely closed that book. That’s a big deal and you’ll never hear me act like 10 pounds is a lot but from 45 to 55, it is.”
Courtesy of his BMF title-winning knockout of Justin Gaethje this past April, Holloway already finds himself inside the top five at 155 pounds. With that in mind, a potential title eliminator against a high-ranked name could be awaiting him.
Cormier, though, hopes that isn’t the case.
During the latest episode of his Good Guy / Bad Guy show alongside Chael Sonnen on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel, Cormier acknowledged that bouts against the top names in the lightweight division will be available for Holloway.
“DC,” however, would much rather see the Hawaiian start from the ground up.
“He’s asking for Dustin Poirier. That would be absolutely fantastic. But is there a better way to introduce Max Holloway into the lightweight division?” Cormier said. “Do we put him in there with a Dustin for a third time? Or do we see what happens with Michael Chandler after he fights Charles Oliveira? Or do we start to kind of look down the rankings a little bit, Chael, and say, ‘Well, it would be fun to watch him fight a Rafael Fiziev. It would be fun to watch him fight a Benoît Saint Denis. It would be fun to watch him fight a Paddy Pimblett.’
“I know that might not be fun for Max, might not be great for Max, but it would give him an opportunity to work his way back into contention without being in there with these absolute killers,” Cormier continued. “Personally, I would like to see Max Holloway not stand across from Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, Alexander Volkanovski. … Something not as crazy of a challenge.”
Unfortunately for Cormier, his pleas may prove to be too little, too late.
A recent tweet from Dustin Poirier hints that he’s interested in facing Max Holloway for his final UFC fight. Holloway, coming off a tough loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308, made history as Topuria became the first fighter ever to finish him.
Poirier hasn’t stepped into the Octagon since his lightweight title shot at UFC 302 in June, where he lost to Islam Makhachev via fifth-round submission. After that bout, Poirier teased retirement but later confirmed plans for one more fight. The question remains: who will he face?
In recent months, Poirier has considered a range of opponents for his swan song, including Nate Diaz and Justin Gaethje. However, in a Twitter exchange suggesting a bout with Holloway for the “BMF” title, Poirier seemed to approve, sparking excitement over a potential showdown.
The two first faced off at UFC 143 in February 2012, which saw Holloway fall short to Poirier via submission. Seven years later, they met for the interim lightweight title at UFC 236, which saw Poirier hand Holloway a unanimous decision loss.
There has been plenty of speculation on what Max Holloway’s next move will be following his loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308. And now, Holloway has revealed his decision — and it’s speculation that most expected.
In a new video on his YouTube channel, the former 145-pound kingpin officially confirmed his decision to move up to lightweight.
“155 (pounds) here we come, and 155 is where I want to stay,” Holloway said. “This is a new chapter. This is where we start. This is where we begin. I cannot wait.”
Max Holloway Announces Move To Lightweight, Doubts He’ll Compete At Featherweight Ever Again
While Holloway’s boxing was on full display in his bout with Topuria, the champ’s aggressiveness and power led him to become the first fighter to knock “Blessed” out. The Hawaiian is neither holding any negative feelings nor making excuses, knowing how long he’s been at the top at 145 pounds.
It was Holloway’s third unsuccessful challenge to regain the featherweight strap after already losing twice in rematches with the man who snatched the belt from him at UFC 245 in 2019, Alexander Volkanovski.
Volkanovski and Topuria are the only fighters to have beaten Holloway since his long featherweight winning streak that ran between 2013 and 2019. However, with Holloway likely far from another featherweight title shot, the logical choice is to move up.
“I can honestly look you guys in the eye and tell you guys, I’m probably not ever going back to ’45,” Holloway said. “I love what I did. I did what I did. I did what I had to do there. I worked my way back, I clawed my back to the championship fight multiple times there. I was a champion. I defended at that weight.
“Now it’s time to move on to the next chapter, and (at) 155 there’s a bunch of fun fights that I cannot wait to take.”
Holloway’s decision now opens up a variety of potential options for opponents, including Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler, Dan Hooker and champion Islam Makhachev. Rematches with Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier — who is expected to retire after one or two more fights in 2025 — are in the mix as well.
“Blessed” has fought twice at lightweight previously, losing to Poirier in an interim title match at UFC 236 and famously defeating Gaethje for the BMF title at UFC 300 earlier this year.
Though he had a strong performance against Ilia Topuria, Max Holloway’s efforts were not enough. He was knocked out for the first time in his professional career as Ilia Topuria retained the featherweight championship in the main event of UFC 308.
Holloway appeared to be performing well, getting into his groove late in the first round and trying to keep distance to land counterstrikes and combinations. But the former champ was caught in the third round, eating a flurry and being dropped by a right hand.
“It is what it is, I felt good,” Holloway said during his UFC 308 post-fight press conference. “Showing off my hands, I was landing, I was being fast, I think I had him surprised in there. Like I said, I was doing good until I wasn’t.
“Game of inches. He landed something that I found myself looking up from the ground.”
Max Holloway Mulling Over Potential Full-Time Move To Lightweight After UFC 308 Setback
Holloway originally became undisputed featherweight champion with a TKO of José Aldo at UFC 212. He retained the title against the Brazilian legend, Brian Ortega, and Frankie Edgar before losing to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 245.
Since then, Holloway has rematched Volkanovski for the title twice, losing both times. UFC 308 marked the third time “Blessed” has unsuccessfully attempted to win back the 145-pound UFC gold. However, those are his only losses at the weight class since becoming the champion.
So what could be next for Holloway? He isn’t ruling out, and is even thinking hard about, a potential move up in weight class given the potential fights that could happen there. But the Hawaiian said he’s not looking to fight again until the middle of 2025, and so there is time to think things over in full.
“We’ll sit down with the team, relax, there’s nothing needed to be rushing back right now,” Holloway said. “[I’ll] probably try to come back summer, big July card in Vegas, do something, see what happens. [Lightweight] looks really good right now.
“I had a couple of times to reclaim [the featherweight title], new guys coming up, that would be fun, but I think ’55 looks more fun…”
Holloway earned the title shot against Topuria through his famed knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 earlier this year, which gave him the BMF belt.
“Blessed” fought at lightweight in the UFC just once prior to that, losing an interim title fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 236.
Ilia Topuria may have picked up more believers and fans with his successful title defense against Max Holloway in a wild fight that saw the champion become the first man in MMA history to knock out “Blessed.”
After Holloway refused his offer to throw down in the center of the Octagon right away, Topuria managed to be patient and connected on several key combinations that busted up the former champ’s nose.
“El Matador” also scored a pair of takedowns on Holloway in the first five minutes and landed a number of leg kicks. “Blessed,” however, brought out his usual volume and found his groove late in the round, forming a mousse around one of Topuria’s eyes — in addition to leg kicks of his own.
The Spaniard continued to bring his power punching in the second round, looking to get inside, while Holloway looked to keep his distance and catch the reigning titleholder coming in.
Topuria, however, brought things to an end in the third round with a cracking right hand that rocked Holloway. While the 32-year-old legend got away from the first flurry, he was dropped by a left hook in the second round before some ground-and-pounded finished the fight.
Ilia Topuria Scores Third-Round KO Of Max Holloway To Cap Off UFC 308
Dude. Ilia Topuria is the scariest 145er of all time. This dude is unreal.
Give that man the BMF belt too. Holy shit. #ufc308
Topuria was 8-0 in the UFC and 15-0 in MMA entering tonight’s bout. This was his first fight as UFC featherweight champion after knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February.
Holloway, meanwhile, became interim UFC featherweight champion at UFC 206 with a win over Anthony Pettis before defeating José Aldo at UFC 212 to become undisputed champion. He defended the title successfully against Aldo, Brian Ortega, and Frankie Edgar. “Blessed” lost the title at UFC 245 to Alexander Volkanovski, with the Australian being the only one at 145 pounds to defeat Holloway since his five-year unbeaten streak between 2014 and 2019.
The Hawaiian had won his last three fights and five of his last six, including his last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 earlier this year to win the BMF title.
UFC 308 took place tonight from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights!
In the main event, Ilia Topuria put his featherweight title on the line against former champ Max Holloway. While in the co-main event, Robert Whittaker took on Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight matchup.
UFC 308 Results: Main Card:
Featherweight Championship Main Event: Ilia Topuria def. Max Holloway via KO: R3, 1.34
Middleweight Co-Main Event: Khamzat Chimaev def. Robert Whittaker via submission: R1, 3.34
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev def. Aleksandar Rakić via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
Featherweight: Lerone Murphy def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
Middleweight: Sharabutdin Magomedov def. Armen Petrosyan via KO: R2, 4.52
Preliminary Card:
Light Heavyweight: Ibo Aslan def. Raffael Cerqueira via TKO (punches): R1, 0:51
Welterweight: Geoff Neal def. Rafael dos Anjos via TKO (injury): R1, 1:30
Ilia Topuria has been fervently indulging in trash talk with Max Holloway ahead of their bout, and a UFC Hall of Famer suggests that it might all be part of a clever strategy.
However, Michael Bisping contends that Topuria’s words go beyond mere banter; they constitute a psychological strategy to coax Holloway into a style of fighting that could heavily favor the undefeated Spaniard.
“Topuria is very, very confident,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “But you use trash talk as a psychological weapon to wear your opponent down, to piss them off, to get them mad, and to set a trap so it plays into your game plan.”
“The Count” went on to acknowledge that while both fighters are highly skilled, he believes Topuria holds the upper hand with his explosive striking. He added that “El Matador” is cleverly toying with the Hawaiian’s pride by persistently downplaying his abilities.
“He’s trying to mess with the ego of Max Holloway by saying, ‘Come on then, let’s do your trick. Come on, point at the floor, point at the floor. I encourage you to do that because if you do, you’re going to get knocked out.’ And of course, fighters are proud people; we take sh*t like that personally. We want to prove a point, and you never know, if Topuria does that, Max Holloway might just say, ‘Okay then, you know what, brotha, let’s go.’ And if they do that, I believe it plays into the strengths of Ilia Topuria. He’s probably got better one-punch knockout power, especially in the first round.”
Topuria secured a knockout victory over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 in February, capturing the featherweight belt. He has delivered four knockouts in his seven UFC appearances to date.
Meanwhile, “Blessed” is riding high off a last-second knockout win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April, securing the BMF title. Saturday night will mark Holloway’s third shot at reclaiming the 145-pound crown.
After capturing the gold this past February by brutally knocking out the previously long-reigning Alexander Volkanovski, “El Matador” is next tasked with stalling Max Holloway’s ambitions of a return to the 145-pound mountaintop.
The stakes will also be high in the co-main event, which will see former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker look to secure another shot at regaining the crown by blemishing the currently perfect professional record of Khamzat Chimaev.
Elsewhere on the UFC 308 card, Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakić do battle for a potential shot at Alex Pereira’s light heavyweight title, Dan Ige becomes the latest threat to Lerone Murphy’s ‘O’, and middleweight prospect Shara Magomedov looks to impress once again.
Topping the lineup will be reigning UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria, who is tasked with getting the better of former kingpin Max Holloway if he’s to record a first successful title defense.
Before they go to battle, the co-main event will see ex-middleweight titleholder Robert Whittaker in action for the third time this year. After getting past Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov, “The Reaper” is next tasked with blemishing the perfect record of Khamzat Chimaev.
Also set to make the walk on Saturday will be the likes of top light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev, undefeated featherweight Lerone Murphy, middleweight prospect Shara Magomedov, and former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.
Ahead of the event, you can get some help from the group of experts at MMA News by checking out their predictions for the UFC 308 main card here.
UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway Betting Odds
Listed below are the latest betting odds for UFC 308 (as of 10/25), courtesy of DraftKings.
Main Card:
Ilia Topuria (-230) vs. Max Holloway (+190)
Robert Whittaker (+190) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (-230)
Magomed Ankalaev (-375) vs. Aleksandar Rakić (+295)
Lerone Murphy (-265) vs. Dan Ige (+215)
Sharabutdin Magomedov (-170) vs. Armen Petrosyan (+142)
Preliminary Card:
Ibo Aslan (+105) vs. Raffael Cerqueira (-125)
Geoff Neal (-298) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (+240)
Mateusz Rębecki (+260) vs. Myktybek Orolbai (-325)
Also on the main card will be returns for top light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev, unbeaten featherweight Lerone Murphy, and highly active middleweight Shara Magomedov.
UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway Weigh-In Results
UFC 308 takes place Saturday, October 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The main card begins at 2 PM ET/11 AM PT, with the preliminary card starting at 10 AM ET/7 AM PT.
See above for a replay of the UFC 308 Weigh-In Show, and check out the full results below.
Main Card:
Featherweight Championship Main Event: Ilia Topuria (145lbs) vs. Max Holloway (145lbs)
Middleweight Co-Main Event: Robert Whittaker (185.5lbs) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (186lbs)
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev (204.5lbs) vs. Aleksandar Rakić (206lbs)
Featherweight: Lerone Murphy (145.5lbs) vs. Dan Ige (146lbs)
Middleweight: Sharabutdin Magomedov (185lbs) vs. Armen Petrosyan (186lbs)
Preliminary Card:
Light Heavyweight: Ibo Aslan (205lbs) vs. Raffael Cerqueira (203lbs)
Welterweight: Geoff Neal (171lbs) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (171lbs)
Catchweight (160lbs)*: Mateusz Rębecki (160lbs) vs. Myktybek Orolbai (159lbs)
Middleweight: Abus Magomedov (185lbs) vs. Brunno Ferreira (185.5lbs)
Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu (241lbs) vs. Chris Barnett (264lbs)
Featherweight*: Farid Basharat (137lbs) vs. Victor Hugo (145.5lbs)
Middleweight: Ismail Naurdiev (185lbs) vs. Bruno Silva (186lbs)
Welterweight: Rinat Fakhretdinov (171lbs) vs. Carlos Leal (169.5lbs)
*The bout between Rębecki and Orolbai was moved from lightweight to a 160-pound catchweight before they weighed in.
**The bout between Basharat and Hugo was moved from bantamweight to featherweight before they weighed in after the latter was significantly overweight.
Max Holloway has been through countless wars in his long and successful MMA career. Now, just days away from his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 308, where he will face Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title, Holloway reflects on the toll the sport has taken on him.
While MMA offers highs like fame and fortune, it also has a significant downside—the physical and mental damage fighters endure. As Holloway prepares for another fight, he does so with heavy concerns about his long-term health.
Holloway’s Concerns
Speaking at the UFC 308 media scrum, Holloway opened up about his fears regarding brain damage and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
“Take care of your guys’ brain, and learn about brain health,” Holloway said at UFC 308 media day. “Do the right things. You only get one brain, guys, you only get one brain, and once that thing starts to deteriorate, it’s not like anything else where you can grow it back. So, be smart. Go see specialists, go see doctors, and do research on your own brain health.”
He continued, “Take care of yourself, guys. I don’t want to be a vegetable when I grow older. Everyone keeps talking to me about how many times I’ve gotten hit, like, brother, I take brain health so seriously. People will never know [what I do]. Maybe after my career, I will talk about it and all the stuff we’ve been doing. But take care of your guys’ brains, do your homework, get on it, and be smart.”
"I don't want to be a vegetable when I'm older. .. I take brain health so serious."
Max Holloway explains why his record 2,223 significant strikes absorbed in UFC competition is not a concern for him entering #UFC308. pic.twitter.com/MmhhdUIZXj
The main event will see featherweight kingpin Ilia Topuria defend his title for the first time since capturing it at the expense of Alexander Volkanovski eight months ago. To continue reign, “El Matador” is tasked with spoiling the title ambitions of former champ Max Holloway
Co-headlining will be a former titleholder in Robert Whittaker, who will look to make it three wins from three outings in 2024 to book himself another shot at regaining the middleweight gold. In his way will be the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev, who faces his toughest test to date in Abu Dhabi.
Elsewhere on the main card, Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakić meet in a likely title eliminator at 205 pounds, Lerone Murphy looks to stay unbeaten with a victory over Dan Ige, and the extremely active Sharabutdin Magomedov has his next assignment.
UFC 308: MMA News Staff Predictions
Ahead of Saturday’s UFC 308 event, Kyle Dimond, Ryan Jarrell, Thomas Albano, Pranav Pandey, Andrew Starc, and Aakrit Sharma have provided their picks for the five matchups set for the main card.
Below, you can check out the current leaderboard through seven cards.
Thomas Albano (27-7)
Ryan Jarrell (22-12)
Kyle Dimond (19-15)
Pranav Pandey (9-6)
Andrew Starc (8-11)
Aakrit Sharma (5-5)
And with that, it’s time for the team’s predictions for UFC 308.
Middleweight: Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
Images: UFC.com
Kyle Dimond: I think this is a good test for Magomedov against a very good striker in Petrosyan. I’m yet to really be on the hype train for “Bullet” and I’m expecting this to be a fight where it’s hard for him to look good. I think it might come down to a close decision where I think Magomedov might just edge it out to get the victory. Fun fight though. (Prediction: Shara Magomedov)
Ryan Jarrell: I have been waiting for Magomedov to lose his first fight, and I think “Superman” is just the guy to do it. “Bullet” did not impress me in his most recent win over Oleksiejczuk, and he will need to be significantly better to get the job done against Petrosyan. This will be a close fight throughout, with both men having their moments, but give me “Superman” to be Magomedov’s kryptonite. (Prediction: Armen Petrosyan)
Thomas Albano: Having Magomedov in the first bout of the pay-per-view will bring a flavorful kick (pun intended) to the start of the main card. This summer, Magomedov’s praises were sung thanks to his third-round finish of Antonio Trócoli and going on short notice to defeat Michał Oleksiejczuk in the Fight of the Night at UFC Saudi Arabia. The unbeaten Magomedov is known for his kick-heavy style, which may prove an interesting challenge for Petrosyan.
Having said that, Petrosyan has kickboxing and Muay Thai talent to his name as well, and he’ll look to get in on Magomedov to do damage and prevent “Bullet” from taking control of the fight. This should be an absolutely fun striking battle to get the night off on the right foot (no pun intended this time). I love the path Magomedov has been on and the upward momentum he’s got, and I expect that to continue into this battle. (Prediction: Shara Magomedov)
Pranav Pandey: Although it’s evident that Magomedov can be quite hittable when opponents close the distance, I firmly believe this matchup is intricately designed for him and could emerge as one of the most one-sided contests on the UFC 308 card. I foresee that Petrosyan lacks any standout attributes that “Bullet” couldn’t adeptly counter, whether in striking exchanges or grappling scenarios. (Prediction: Shara Magomedov)
Andrew Starc: Magomedov, though undefeated, has yet to face a high-level grappler in the UFC, and this matchup against Petrosyan seems tailored to showcase his striking skills. Petrosyan is also a kickboxer, and while he’s beaten better competition, this fight plays into Magomedov’s strengths. Given “Bullet’s” hometown advantage and the favorable stylistic matchup, this could be a close contest that leans toward Magomedov on the judges’ scorecards. (Prediction: Shara Magomedov)
Aakrit Sharma: Caio Borralho showed that taking Petrosyan down and controlling him is the easiest way to beat “Superman.” Magomedov is unlikely to head into UFC 308 with a similar gameplan, but I would give still him a slight edge on the feet. “Bullet” is quicker with his punches and it will be interesting to see how effectively he uses his kicks against a relatively higher level opponent. I expect Magomedov to walk away with a knockout win. (Prediction: Shara Magomedov)
Consensus: 5-0 Shara Magomedov
Featherweight: Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige
Images: UFC.com
Kyle Dimond: Ige is one tough customer but I think he’s going to struggle with the range and diversity from Murphy. If he was to mix in some takedowns, that would really help him, but I just think his boxing-heavy approach is going to have him walking into a buzzsaw whenever he gets close to. Murphy has consistently shown how good he is in all striking ranges. I expect him to pick Ige off for a lot of this fight, landing elbows and knees when it gets up close. (Prediction: Lerone Murphy)
Ryan Jarrell: I love the toughness that Ige possesses, and he will need every bit of it to get the win over Murphy. I expect the Brit to get the better of Ige on the feet and stuff most takedowns throughout the fight. “50K” could have some moments of top control in this one, but give me “The Miracle” to get his hand raised in the end. (Prediction: Lerone Murphy)
Thomas Albano: This should be a fun, striking-filled contest, with a bonus of high stakes attached as both men looked to get into (or in Ige’s case, return to) the top 10 of the UFC’s featherweight rankings. Murphy is unbeaten as a fighter and has tremendous boxing – a perfect blend of speed and accuracy in his strikes. He’s able to hold his own on the ground, though Ige may have an edge in that department. That said, Ige and his toughness (and you only need to look at what he did at UFC 303 during the summer to know how tough he is) will most likely keep this fight standing and make it a fire fight.
This is a fight that deserves more attention. I will never question Ige’s heart, chin, and toughness. Murphy, however, just seems more complete of a striker and will be able to do more than enough to do damage and score the win. (Prediction: Lerone Murphy)
Pranav Pandey: In my opinion, Murphy vs. Ige promises to be an authentic toss-up. This is a difficult fight to call, as I see both fighters — who are primarily strikers — holding viable chances for victory. Ige is incredibly resilient and gritty, as demonstrated in his bout against Diego Lopes, and he has never been finished in his career. However, while Murphy may have less experience, he brings a more refined skillset to the table. I believe he can push “50K” to his limits and grind his way to victory, even when faced with adversity. (Prediction: Lerone Murphy)
Andrew Starc: The undefeated Murphy is coming off a dominant win against Edson Barboza in May, where his elite striking and speed were put on show. Ige, meanwhile, is also a great boxer who showed his toughness in giving Diego Lopes a run for his money after stepping up on a few hours’ notice. This is set to be a close, competitive striking battle, but I think Murphy has the edge in striking and will get the decision. (Prediction: Lerone Murphy)
Aakrit Sharma: Murphy looked better than ever against Barboza and I expect his striking to overwhelm Ige as well. He mixes things up well and can piece “50K” up on the feet. Ige’s path to victory could be his grappling but I wouldn’t count out the “The Miracle” as he’s hard to take down and dominate on the ground. Both Murphy and Ige are tough featherweights, and I expect the undefeated prospect to win via decision. (Prediction: Lerone Murphy)
Consensus: 5-0 Lerone Murphy
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakić
Images: MMA Crazy/YouTube & UFC.com
Kyle Dimond: There isn’t a performance that I can point to that makes me think Rakić wins this fight. He’s looked good and he’s dangerous, but I just think Ankalaev will be too much for him. Standing with the Austrian could get risky for him, but mixing in the takedowns is going to give Rakić some big issues. Ankalaev falling in love with his striking is the only cause for concern, but I think he’ll be smart enough to take this fight to the floor. (Prediction: Magomed Ankalaev)
Ryan Jarrell: This is such an important fight for both of these men, with the winner in line for a title shot against Alex Pereira. Rakić really impressed me early on in his last fight against Jiří Procházka. Obviously, we know what ultimately happened in that fight, but if “Rocket” can be the best version of himself, he could present some real problems for his opponent in this one. In the end, I expect mixing up the striking and grappling will work well for Ankalaev en route to a somewhat dominant victory. (Prediction: Magomed Ankalaev)
Thomas Albano: I am one of those who is a firm believer that Ankalaev should have won the UFC light heavyweight championship back in December 2022 – let alone that he should be challenging for the UFC light heavyweight championship again now. Nevertheless, he gets an opportunity here against Rakić. With a strong performance, UFC CEO Dana White claims, Ankalaev will receive a title shot.
These are two well-rounded fighters. With a background in sambo, Ankalaev’s striking and power came on full display in his pair of fights with Johnny Walker, but he has wrestling to depend on if need be. Rakić, meanwhile, is a successful kickboxer and holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. “Rocket” has had a tough road of late, however, and I feel Ankalaev is just the better fighter all around. I’m not sure if the Russian earns the finish here, but everything leans in his favor. (Prediction: Magomed Ankalaev)
Pranav Pandey: This matchup is particularly challenging for me to predict. Both fighters are predominantly powerful strikers, but Rakić boasts a significant reach advantage, which he can leverage to keep the Russian at bay while controlling the distance. However, Ankalaev presents a formidable threat with his superior wrestling skills and ability to execute takedowns, which could tilt the scales in his favor. (Prediction: Magomed Ankalaev)
Andrew Starc: Ankalaev is a dangerous, well-rounded fighter with KO power and solid wrestling, even by Dagestani standards. Meanwhile, Rakić is a highly technical kickboxer with good takedown defense, but his striking, while elite, has been exposed by fighters like Procházka. Ankalaev’s ability to mix his striking with grappling could be the difference here. (Prediction: Magomed Ankalaev)
Aakrit Sharma: Rakić is definitely one of the most talented fighters in the UFC light heavyweight division. His loss to Volkan Oezdemir was razor close (and controversial), and he’s looked great against elite competition such as Jiří Procházka and Jan Błachowicz as well. Ankalaev has already fought, survived, and beat better competition in his career, which makes him a favorite. However, I don’t believe he has a significant advantage on the feet against “Rocket”. Rakić’s leg kicks could trouble the Russian and I predict him to win the early rounds. However, Ankalaev should set the pace in the later rounds and get a decision win. (Prediction: Magomed Ankalaev)
Consensus: 5-0 Magomed Ankalaev
Middleweight: Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Images: UFC.com & UFC/YouTube
Kyle Dimond: We’ve had to wait a long time to see Chimaev face a top middleweight over five rounds, and the more time has passed, the more I’m leaning toward Whittaker in this fight. I do think there’s a chance “Borz” can overwhelm the former champ early, a bit like he did to Kamaru Usman when he took his back. However, if he’s going to be his usual aggressive self, I haven’t seen anything from Chimaev that makes me think he can maintain that, and without that blitz approach, I don’t see him getting Whittaker down. (Prediction: Robert Whittaker)
Ryan Jarrell: Full disclosure, Whittaker is one of my all-time favorite fighters. I am going to do my best to make this prediction with my head and not my heart, but I’m not sure how to distinguish between the two. Having said all of that, I still believe the well-rounded skillset of the former champion will be enough to get his hand raised. Whittaker will have to be very careful of the power that Chimaev possesses, especially early on in the fight. However, if he can weather the early storm from “Borz,” I believe the veteran will use his movement and precision to outpoint him and potentially get a finish late in the fight. (Prediction: Robert Whittaker)
Thomas Albano: It’s not good that when this fight was rescheduled for UFC 308, there were bets out there as to if this fight would get scrapped again – and yes, was somehow the favorite. Nevertheless, we are here. It’s Chimaev’s biggest opportunity to show he’s ready to challenge for the UFC middleweight championship. And it’s Whittaker’s opportunity to show he’s ready for a rematch with Dricus Du Plessis and one last crack at regaining the 185-pound gold.
Since moving up to 185 pounds a decade or so ago, Whittaker has only ever lost to talents who went on to win the gold in Israel Adesanya and Du Plessis. Chimaev is talented, but it’s been a rough go for him over the last few years due to inactivity, illness, and a significant weight miss. Chimaev will bring a flurry of activity early, but we’ve seen Whittaker handle up-and-comers with ease, staying back and finding the timing and power to keep them at bay.
Chimaev will look to come out strong and look for an early finish, the same way Adesanya and Du Plessis got their wins. The longer this fight goes on, however, Whittaker will be more and more favored. This is the fight I’m least confident in picking, and I want to believe in “Borz.” Right now, however, there are more questions than answers regarding him, and I don’t know if he’s truly ready for Whittaker yet – let alone Whittaker who has the motivation of fighting for his own title opportunity (again). (Prediction: Robert Whittaker)
Pranav Pandey: Both fighters bring their unique styles and elite skill sets to the Octagon. I foresee this bout unfolding like a strategic chess match. Chimaev is notorious for his relentless pace, coming out of the gate with an aggressive, hunting style, overpowering his opponents with sheer physicality. “Borz” has indicated that he’s made significant adjustments to his training regimen, placing a strong emphasis on wrestling and grappling — his primary weapons. However, a crucial point to consider is that he has yet to see beyond the third round in his career, leaving me uncertain about his durability to withstand Whittaker’s pressure as the fight progresses.
Meanwhile, Whittaker stands out as a highly dynamic fighter, adept at mixing up his techniques with remarkable finesse when necessary. One pivotal element that I believe will significantly influence the outcome is “The Reaper’s” wealth of experience. I predict that while Whittaker may encounter challenges in the grappling exchanges, he possesses the stylistic versatility to take Chimaev into uncharted territory. With his astute fight IQ, Whittaker could potentially create openings to finish the Chechen if the opportunity arises. (Prediction: Robert Whittaker)
Andrew Starc: Chimaev has fallen out of favor with many fans who expected so much more from him at this stage of his career. Many weren’t convinced by his win over Usman a year ago, and he’s tried fans’ patience by pulling out of previous fights on short notice. As much as Whittaker looks to be in a great form – coming off a first-round TKO of Ikram Aliskerov in June – I think Chimaev will redeem himself in this one, doing what he usually does to overwhelm the Australian early on, before getting victory on the scorecards. (Prediction: Khamzat Chimaev)
Aakrit Sharma: Chimaev will return to the Octagon against Whittaker a year after defeating Usman via decision. The first round of his last fight proved he has elite grappling and power but the next two are hard to evaluate since he broke his hand. I feel that Chimaev won’t surprise Whittaker with anything in the Octagon. “The Reaper” has been there with the best of the best and should be able to get a finish in the later rounds.
It’s unlikely Chimaev’s cardio has improved dramatically from what we saw against Burns and Usman, so all Whittaker needs to do is survive the early wrestling onslaught. My pick is Whittaker winning by knockout, especially because this is a five-rounder. (Prediction: Robert Whittaker)
Consensus: 5-1 Robert Whittaker
UFC Featherweight Title: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway
Images: UFC/YouTube & UFC.com
Kyle Dimond: This fight is absolutely incredible and is absolutely a back and forth prediction in my mind. I’m really interested to see if Topuria uses his grappling, which is his strongest area. Holloway isn’t easy to takedown but it’s also been a good while since he fought a strong wrestler like “El Matador.” If I had seen him use it more frequently in the UFC, I think that would sway my pick.
I can see Topuria stopping him, and that’s a scary thought indeed. But I also felt that way about Holloway’s fight against Gaethje and he made that look easy at points. It’s a coin flip between the power of Topuria and the output of Holloway. Given the experience, I’ll take the latter, but I truly think these two are two of the very best in the sport today. (Prediction: Max Holloway)
Ryan Jarrell: There is no argument that Holloway has competed against the best of the best in his hall of fame career. I cannot wait to see what adjustments are made by both men in what we hope is a competitive firefight. Although “Blessed” is still only 32 years old, the fight mileage he has accumulated on his body tells me he is outside of his true prime. I still think Holloway can compete at the highest level, but reclaiming belt and becoming the champion is seems just outside of his reach, in my humble opinion.
I will be cheering for the Hawaiian to win and sit atop the featherweight mountain again, but I just don’t see it happening. I think Topuria is too technical and will use his speed and youth to his advantage to defend the title. (Prediction: Ilia Topuria)
Thomas Albano: Ever since knocking out Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year to capture the UFC featherweight championship, there have been questions about the future and star potential of Topuria. Right from the get-go of that moment: How soon can we get a UFC pay-per-view to Spain? Can Topuria become one of the greatest featherweight fighters that this sport has ever seen? But before we get anywhere on that, we need to see him defend the belt first. And with Volkanovski still making his way back after consecutive knockout losses, it’s time for Topuria to face off with another featherweight great and former champion in Max “Blessed” Holloway.
From 2017 through 2019, Holloway reigned over this division. And even in the times when he has not held the championship, Holloway has shown that no one other than Volkanovski has been kryptonite for him at 145 pounds. Then, when it looked like he was in a bit of limbo, not only did “Alexander the Great” lose the strap to Topuria, but Holloway went and had one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history with his last-second KO of Justin Gaethje. I will not take away anything that Topuria has done in the Octagon in the lead up to his championship win – and people love him. Having said that, the resume and accomplishments of Holloway are too hard to ignore. And considering Topuria’s reaction to Holloway’s KO at UFC 300 – and the fact Volkanovski may not have been 100 percent when defending his title against Topuria at UFC 298 – this fight here with Holloway may be the toughest task Topuria has ever taken on in his MMA career.
Expect Topuria to rush things out and try and take control of the fight right away. But if Holloway’s boxing is as up to par as it is – one of the best boxing in the UFC – then Holloway could avoid Topuria’s attacks, and he could land some quick, hard power on the defending champ. And it’ll be a long night for Topuria, and his chances get slimmer the longer this fight goes, in my eyes. Call me still living in the past, but I’ll take the chance here and say: #AndNew. #AndOnceAgain “The Blessed Era.” (Prediction: Max Holloway)
Pranav Pandey: From my vantage point, this showdown between Topuria and Holloway feels like a rare gem in the fight game — one of those matchups you only witness once every so often. “El Matador” steps into the Octagon armed with an array of skills, from his sharp, almost surgical boxing to footwork that dances circles around his opponents. His explosive power can change the course of a fight in an instant, and his grappling and wrestling pedigree make him a truly well-rounded mixed martial artist. On the other hand, you’ve got Holloway, a fighter who’s been trading punches with the crème de la crème of the UFC for years. “Blessed” may assert that he’s “the best boxer in the UFC,” and whether that’s up for debate or not, what’s undeniable is his striking prowess. Holloway is a high-level technician on the feet, with an iron chin that can weather the storm. The real question is, who will prevail when the dust settles?
Holloway’s legendary durability and elite takedown defense are well known, and he’s savvy enough to avoid a firefight with Topuria up close. However, I foresee the Georgian-Spaniard using his devastating power to hunt for a finish early on. There’s always a chance that if the fight drags into the later rounds, the Hawaiian could take over and dominate. But I’m convinced “El Matador” has done his homework — he’s more than ready to back up his words and deliver on fight night. (Prediction: Ilia Topuria)
Andrew Starc: Topuria proved he was the real deal by backing up his promise to knock out Volkanovski in their February title match. He’s now vowed to do the same against Holloway, a man who’s yet to be knocked out. “Blessed” is on a three-fight win streak since losing to Volkanovski for the third time in 2022, having knocked out his last two opponents. But I think Topuria is simply going to be too fast and powerful for the Hawaiian. (Prediction: Ilia Topuria)
Aakrit Sharma: The UFC 308 main event could easily be one of the year’s best fights. Holloway’s high-volume striking against Topuria’s powerful hooks will be a treat and I don’t see either of them being finished. While the contender’s cardio has never been in question, “El Matador” looked dominant across five rounds against Josh Emmett.
Holloway has a chance to look better on the feet because of his pace, but Topuria can sway the judges with control time. I expect the UFC featherweight champion to rely considerably on his grappling as Holloway has the striking prowess to pick him apart on the feet as the fight progresses. As hard as it is to predict this fight, I’m favoring Topuria to win by decision. (Prediction: Ilia Topuria)
Consensus: 4-2 Ilia Topuria
That’ll do it for our UFC 308 staff picks! What do you think? Do your picks look similar? Let us know in the comments section! Also, you can check out the full UFC 308 card below.
Main Card:
Featherweight Championship Main Event: Ilia Topuria (C) vs. Max Holloway
Middleweight Co-Main Event: Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakić
Featherweight: Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige
Middleweight: Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
Preliminary Card:
Light Heavyweight: Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira
Welterweight: Geoff Neal vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Lightweight: Mateusz Rębecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai
Middleweight: Abus Magomedov vs. Brunno Ferreira
Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Chris Barnett
Bantamweight: Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
Middleweight: Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
Welterweight: Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Carlos Leal
Be sure to keep it right here on MMANews.com for all the results, highlights, and updates on UFC 308!
We’re deep into UFC 308 fight week, meaning it was recently time for the fighters set to be in action on October 26 to take to the stage and answer some questions.
Setting the stage for the UFC 308 headliners will be crucial five-round contest at 185 pounds, with former kingpin Robert Whittaker looking to blemish the thus-far perfect professional record of Khamzat Chimaev.
Also on pay-per-view will be top light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev, who will look to finally secure a shot at Alex Pereira by getting the better of Aleksandar Rakić. That’s in addition to rising featherweight Lerone Murphy, who returns following a main event win over Edson Barboza to do battle with Dan Ige.
The UFC 308 main card will open with Shara Magomedov making his third walk to the Octagon in quick succession. “Bullet” will look to continue his winning start to life in the UFC against a fellow kickboxing specialist in Armen Petrosyan.
As is customary during major fight weeks, the athletes took to the stage on Thursday for the pre-fight press conference.
Unlike that card, this occasion sees gold on the line. Championship stakes on Oct. 26 will come at featherweight, with reigning kingpin Ilia Topuria putting his belt on the line for the first time against legendary fan favorite Max Holloway.
Before “El Matador” looks to cement his grip on the 145-pound crown, former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker will look to bring himself back into a title matchup by blemishing the perfect record of Khamzat Chimaev.
Elsewhere on the main card, Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakić collide for the likely right to challenge Alex Pereira, Dan Ige becomes the latest looking to take Lerone Murphy’s ‘O’, and Shara Magomedov keeps up his high level of activity inside the Octagon.
The event will be available exclusively on ESPN+ pay-per-view on Saturday, October 26, 2024. The main card begins at 2 PM ET, while the preliminary card kicks off at 10 AM ET.
Ahead of it, a number of UFC 308 fighters appeared for the open workouts at the Yas Mall in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Check out a highlights package posted by the UFC on X below:
We came. We saw. We put on a show! 🤩#UFC308 open workouts are COMPLETE!
