The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi with a stacked card headlined by Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway and Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev. This event promises to be a thrilling night of fights.
Opponents Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway face off.
Main Event: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway
UFC 308 Prediction: Will Max Holloway End Ilia Topuria's Perfect Run and Reclaim Gold? | Breakdown
The main event will pit featherweight champ Ilia Topuria against former champ Max Holloway. It's one of the best matchups in MMA right now, and an incredibly difficult fight to pick.
At just 27 years old, Ilia Topuria is the youngest UFC champion and boasts a resume nothing short of dominant. He faces the biggest test of his career against a surging Max Holloway who looks to reclaim non-BMF gold for the first time in five years.
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It wasn't long ago that Holloway was in Topuria's shoes as the young champ looking to prove himself against the UFC's most established stars.
Holloway had a brilliant run as champion from 2017 to 2019 before running into rival Alexander Volkanovski, a fellow future Hall of Famer that just so happens to be his perfect foil.
Holloway’s inability to get one over on Volkanovski seemed to signal the end of his run as 145’s top dog, but he just kept winning tough fights, putting on spectacular performances, and creating viral moments to the point that he forced his way back into the title conversation.
Now we’ll see if Holloway can cap off one of the most feel-good stories we’ve ever seen.
Whether you’re rooting for Max Holloway or not, there’s plenty of reason to believe he can beat Ilia Topuria besides good vibes.
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Yes, Topuria beat Alexander Volkanovski and Volkanovski beat Holloway three times, but put aside the MMA math and you’ll see this is a classic case of styles making fights.
Holloway and Topuria are two of the best boxers in the UFC right now, and they can both do a lot more than that. This is going to be extremely high level fighting.
Topuria has one of the highest ceilings in the world, but is he ready for the chaos that is a Max Holloway fight?
The “finish fast” mind set Topuria employed against Volkanovski won’t serve him as well against the titanium-chinned Holloway. If Topuria goes too hard in the opening rounds, he could find himself swimming upstream in the championship frames.
It’s on Holloway to make him work though. Holloway’s mixture of high volume and precision will give Topuria headaches, but Topuria’s technical skills are so sharp, he could catch Holloway with some of the same shots that felled Volkanovski.
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I don’t expect Holloway to go down and stay down, but could Topuria become just the second fighter to knock him down? I see it.
I’m looking past all of the weird side quests Topuria seems determined to talk about and trusting him to be at his best on fight night, because when he’s on, he’s legitimately one of the five best fighters in the world.
Ilia solidifies a changing of the guard at featherweight by taking a page out of Alex Volkanovski's guide on how to beat Holloway. Get in close, avoid the reach of the former champ, and pick your spots.
Topuria can make a huge statement with a convincing win over Holloway and while I don’t expect him to dominate from bell-to-bell, he should come out with a controversy-free decision victory.
Predictions:
- Haris Kruskic: Topuria by unanimous decision
- Lyle Fitzsimmons: Topuria by TKO, Rd. 3
- Tom Taylor: Topuria by unanimous decision
Co-Main Event: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker
UFC 308 Prediction: Will Max Holloway End Ilia Topuria's Perfect Run and Reclaim Gold? | Breakdown
The co-main event is just as good, with former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker taking on surging contender Khamzat Chimaev.
The stakes aren’t quite as high for Whittaker in the co-main event, but he faces a similar challenge as he takes on a gifted opponent who has never tasted defeat.
Whittaker faced his own version of Volkanovski in the form of then-champion Israel Adesanya and future champion Dricus du Plessis, two opponents that relegated Whittaker to contender status.
But like Holloway, he’s crawled his way back into spitting distance of a title, and an upset of Chimaev will have fans blowing up Dana White’s socials to give “The Reaper” his due.
Everyone should appreciate what Holloway and Whittaker are attempting to achieve here, because no one would have blamed them if they gave up on their championship dreams when they were at their lowest.
The talk around this fight reminds me of the narrative that surrounded Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis. Everyone knew the longer the fight lasted, the better Whittaker's odds would be.
Dricus du Plessis wrote the blueprint for bullying Whittaker and as much as Whittaker learned from that loss, I don’t think he he has an answer for the sheer physicality of Khamzat Chimaev.
As I write this, there’s still plenty of time for Saturday’s co-main event to fall through, but assuming Chimaev makes the walk, I expect his unreal combination of strength, speed, wrestling ability, and raw power to be on full display.
If Khamzat Chimaev can impose his will in the first round like he always does, this could be a quick fight. Luckily for Whittaker, this is a five-round fight. We've never even seen Chimaev get to a fourth round before. In fact, he looked exhausted getting to a third round against Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns.
The issue is getting Chimaev to those late rounds. He may just be too ferocious of a fighter for Whittaker to keep at bay for long enough. Look for Khamzat to finally cement his title shot.
We’ll know early if Whittaker is poised to play the spoiler if he can stuff a few Chimaev takedowns and avoid early flurries on the feet.
Don’t forget, this is a five-round fight, and if Whittaker takes it past Round 3, Chimaev’s chances of winning decrease exponentially with every passing minute.
So this is a leap of faith of sorts as I’m going with Chimaev to keep his act together and finish Whittaker in the first or second round.
Predictions:
- Haris Kruskic: Chimaev by TKO, Rd. 2
- Lyle Fitzsimmons: Chimaev by unanimous decision
- Tom Taylor: Robert Whittaker by TKO, Rd. 5
Other Main Card Fights
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Magomed Ankalaev will meet Aleksandar Rakic in what should be a No. 1 contender fight at 205 pounds.
Unbeaten in 12 straight fights, Ankalaev is somehow at risk of potentially losing out on what should have been a surefire crack at the light heavyweight title to Aleksandar Rakic, despite Rakic coming off of two straight losses separated by a two-year injury layoff.
Rakic is a threat, too! He looked sharp in his comeback fight before getting Prochazka’d and if he sticks to the game plan of leg kicks and counter combos, it could be a serious problem for Ankalaev.
When Ankalaev fought to a draw with Jan Blachowicz, much of his struggles came as a result of Blachowicz chipping away at his leg for the first three rounds. Then Ankalaev went to his wrestling to turn the fight on its head.
Should he consider focusing on his wrestling to stifle Rakic’s offense? It couldn’t hurt, though the rangy Rakic has shown good takedown defense when he’s had to use it.
With only three rounds to work-and more importantly, to impress Dana White-Ankalaev might have to throw caution to the wind and stick to a standup duel.
That won’t be a problem for Ankalaev, a great striker that has strangely been labeled as an unappealing challenger for Pereira despite half of his UFC wins coming by way of knockout.
He’ll mix the martial arts to break Rakic’s rhythm if it comes to it, but when it’s time to finish, Ankalaev will let loose with his limbs and take Rakic out.
Predictions:
- Haris Kruskic: Ankalaev by TKO, Rd. 2
- Lyle Fitzsimmons: Ankalaev by TKO, Round 1
- Tom Taylor: Ankalaev by TKO, Rd. 1
Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige
Dan Ige will meet Lerone Murphy at featherweight.
After several years where he struggled to string together fights, Lerone Murphy is finally in the swing of things and now it’s just a matter of making that brutal climb up the featherweight ladder.
Dan Ige is the next logical step, a veteran that has gone the distance with the best of them even if he’s fallen short of proving he’s a top-10 fighter himself.
Murphy showed off an incredible pressure game in his recent win over Edson Barboza, but don’t expect Ige to wilt against the same tactics.
“50K” is always in great shape and a hard 15 minutes won’t trouble him in the slightest.
I’m guessing we see Murphy mixing up his tactics more, stinging Ige on the feet when he finds an opening and taking him down if the standup exchanges get too hot.
Overall though, I like Murphy to edge out a close striking battle, doing just enough to beat Ige to the punch and prevent him from getting his own offense going. It won’t be easy, but Murphy’s undefeated streak continues.
Predictions:
- Haris Kruskic: Murphy by unanimous decision
- Lyle Fitzsimmons: Murphy by unanimous decision
- Tom Taylor: Murphy by unanimous decision
Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
Shara Magomedov will meet Armen Petrosyan at middleweight.
“Shara Bullet” should win this based on his finishing ability and unpredictable movement, but they haven’t given him a layup in Armen Petrosyan.
The Russian-Armenian kickboxer specializes in drawn-out, methodical standup fights, which could lead to frustration for Magomedov (and those of us watching at home).