The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi on Saturday with the UFC 308 pay-per-view event taking place at the Etihad Arena. The card features a highly-anticipated featherweight title headliner as current champion Ilia Topuria looks for his first title defense when he faces former 145-pound king Max Holloway. The co-main event is a massive middleweight showdown featuring former champion Robert Whittaker and the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev.
With plenty of other great fights on what is a stacked card, let’s take a look at all of the action.
UFC 308 Prelim Card
The prelims kick off with a light heavyweight fight between Ibo Aslan and Raffael Cerqueira. This is an extremely close one, but oddsmakers are just about backing Cerqueira.
Welterweights are also in action as Rinat Fakhretdinov battles Carlos Leal. The Russian Fakhretdinov is a solid favorite and should come away with the victory of the UFC debuting Brazilian.
Ismail Naurdiev clashes with Bruno Silva in a middleweight encounter. Expect Morocco Naurdiev to emerge victorious.
Farid Basharat faces Victor Hugo in a bantamweight tilt. Basharat is a massive favorite and will expect a comfortable win.
Kennedy Nzechukwu collides with Chris Barnett in a heavyweight affair. The Nigerian Nezchukwu is the biggest favorite on the night and should earn the victory over Beastboy that hasn’t fought since 2022.
Abus Magomedov returns to action when he faces Brunno Ferreira in a middleweight encounter. Both fighters are coming in with wins, but Magomedov is favored to keep his streak going.
Mateusz Rebecki takes on Myktybek Orolbai in a lightweight battle. Orolbai is a heavy favorite and should have this one in the bag against the Kyrgyzstan figher.
The featured prelim is a welterweight clash between top #15 ranked fighters in Geoff Neal and former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. While it should be competitive, it’s hard to see Neal not coming out on top against the aging veteran.
UFC 308 Main Card
Magomedov (14-0) vs Petrosyan (9-3)
The main card kicks off with a middleweight battle between Sharaputdin Magomedov and Armen Petrosyan. Shara is a big fan favorite for his attacking style and remains undefeated with a 14-0 record while he is 3-0 in the UFC in just over a year. He holds victories over Bruno Silva, Antonio Trocoli and Michal Oleksiejczuk.
Petrosyan meanwhile is coming off a submission defeat to Rodolfo Vieira in February. Overall, he is 3-2 in the UFC two wins in his last four. This should be competitive but given that Petrosyan is mainly a striker with no real takedown threat, the odds will favor Magomedov.
Ankalaev (19-1-1, 1NC) vs Rakic (14-4)
Magomed Ankalaev battles Aleksandar Rakic in what could essentially be a light heavyweight title eliminator. Ankalaev hasn't competed since his knockout win over Johnny Walker back in January. Overall, he is undefeated in his last 12 outings that have seen him earn wins over Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, Volkan Oezdemir and Nikita Krylov.
Rakic, meanwhile, is on a two-fight losing streak. After injuring himself against Jan Blachowicz, Rakic returned at UFC 300 earlier this year only to get knocked out by former champion Jiri Prochazka. He will be looking to return to the win column with a bang and may even be next in line for a title shot with a win over Ankalaev. While Ankalaev should earn the victory and challenge for the belt next, at such a big underdog, Rakic might be worth a play here.
Murphy (14-0-1) vs Ige (18-8)
A featherweight encounter is also on the cards as undefeated Briton Lerone Murphy takes on Dan Ige. Murphy earned the biggest win of his career after a dominant unanimous decision victory over Edson Barboza back in May. Overall, he has won his last six fights in a row.
Ige, on the other hand, is coming off a defeat to Diego Lopes although it was a short-notice 165-pound bout. Prior to that, the Hawaiian knocked out Andre Fili. Overall, he is 3-2 in his last five fights. This should be competitive, but Murphy’s striking should be enough to see him earn a win on points.
Whittaker (27-7) vs Chimaev (13-0)
Arguably the fight fans are most excited for is a middleweight clash between former champion Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev. The pair were originally supposed to fight in June earlier this year before Chimaev pulled out. Whittaker instead faced Ikram Aliskerov on short notice and knocked him out in the first round for his first finish since 2017. The Aussie defeated Paulo Costa prior to that and has won three of his last four outings.
Chimaev last competed in October last year when he defeated former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman via majority decision. Overall, he is 7-0 in the UFC but inactivity and health issues have been a major problem for him. Whittaker, arguably the toughest fighter Chimaev will have faced, is also a very strong anti-wrestler who was able to nullify the wrestling of Olympic medalist Yoel Romero. That said, Chimaev is still heavily favored to beat Whittaker with a victory likely propelling him to a title shot. Nobody has been able to stop the attack of a healthy Khamzat, and securing two of three rounds should not be a challenge.
Topuria (15-0) vs Holloway (26-7)
The main event sees Ilia Topuria battle Max Holloway for the featherweight title. Topuria has enjoyed a dream run in the UFC, remaining undefeated and knocking out arguably the greatest featherweight of all time in Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year to become the new 145-pound king. His seven-fight winning streak in the UFC also includes dominant wins over Josh Emmett, Bryce Mitchell and Ryan Hall.
Holloway, meanwhile, is looking to become a two-time featherweight champion. “Blessed” is coming off a legendary knockout win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. Prior to that, he knocked out the Korean Zombie and outpointed Arnold Allen. Overall, he has won five of his last six outings which also includes wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez.
This fight should play out largely on the feet and while Holloway is arguably the superior fighter with an iron chin, Topuria carries dynamite with his punches as displayed against Volkanovski. Could Topuria be the first to knock Holloway out? The champ thinks so. Or will Holloway pick him off from the outside and employ a striking game plan that saw him completely nullify Gaethje who also carries heavy fists? Another interesting factor to consider is that Topuria is also very good on the ground and more than capable of wrestling which opens up another potential path to victory.
It is likely because of this, but more so his knockout power, youth and undefeated record, that he is a considerable favorite against Holloway. Knocking Holloway out is unlikely, but not impossible, and if anyone could do it, it’s Topuria. This should be a good one, and its easier to see the champ hurt the Hawaiian in the 25 minutes in route to a win.
