Undefeated UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria makes the primary protection of his title in opposition to former champ Max Holloway in the primary occasion of UFC 308 at Etihad Enviornment in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Topuria (15-0) gained the belt in February with a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski. Topuria is No. 3 within the ESPN pound-for-pound males’s rankings.
The Tenth-ranked Holloway (26-7), who reigned from June 2017 till December 2019, has gained three fights in a row, most just lately a KO of Justin Gaethje at 4:59 of the fifth spherical of their April bout at light-weight.
Brett Okamoto, Andreas Hale, Jeff Wagenheim and Dre Waters break down all of the motion from UFC 308.
How one can watch the fights
Watch the pay-per-view and prelims on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ right here.
There’s additionally FightCenter, which affords reside updates for each UFC card.
UFC 308 struggle card
ESPN+ PPV, 2 p.m. ET
Featherweight championship: Ilia Topuria (c) vs. Max Holloway
Middleweight: Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Gentle heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Featherweight: Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige
Middleweight: Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
ESPN+, 10 a.m. ET
Gentle heavyweight: Ibo Aslan vs. Rafael Cerqueira
Welterweight: Geoff Neal vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
Light-weight: Mateusz Rebecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai
Middleweight: Abus Magomedov vs. Brunno Ferreira
Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Chris Barnett
Males’s bantamweight: Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
Middleweight: Ismail Naurdiev def. Bruno Silva
Welterweight: Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Carlos Leal
(c) = defending champion
A touring MMA fighter’s hardest opponent whereas abroad? Sleep
For a lot of the world, being totally purposeful at work with out a good evening of relaxation presents a major impediment. Thankfully, most haven’t got to fret about being punched within the face. Nonetheless, for fighters working with out correct sleep, the margin for error at their place of employment is microscopic and will be the distinction between a victory and waking up on the canvas. Few navigate these less-than-optimal touring conditions in addition to Max Holloway.
“I reside in the course of the ocean,” Holloway mentioned in an interview with the UFC’s Megan Olivi as he ready to compete within the UAE for the third time. “It doesn’t matter what manner I am going, it is a good distance.”
There is no such factor as a house recreation for Holloway. He hasn’t fought in Hawaii since his fourth skilled struggle in 2011. Since then, the present BMF champion has competed on the highway within the UFC for 29 skilled fights throughout eight time zones.
UFC 308 struggle rankings: Does any matchup prime Topuria vs. Holloway?
The gross sales pitch for the featherweight championship conflict between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway can stick with latest occasions. It may well start and finish in early 2024. One struggle apiece — the newest for every of them — is all we have to find out about to be bought on Saturday’s matchup in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
For Topuria, that one persuasive struggle occurred in February, when he snatched away the belt with a knockout that abruptly ended Alexander Volkanovski’s four-year reign. As for Holloway, his arduous promote got here two months later, when he authored maybe the best KO in MMA historical past by sending Justin Gaethje face-first to the canvas with only one second remaining of their fifth spherical of violence.
UFC 308 first look: Huge questions on Topuria-Holloway, Chimaev’s return, extra
Ilia Topuria seized the second at UFC 298 when he confronted one of many featherweight GOATs, Alexander Volkanovski. Topuria dethroned Volkanovski in February and have become the 145-pound champion. Eight months later, Topuria will now tackle arguably the opposite featherweight GOAT, as Max Holloway will look to regain his title.
Andreas Hale, Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim supply their first ideas, evaluation and predictions on UFC 308.
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Finest energetic MMA knockout artists throughout weight courses
Perhaps we must always put one thing additional on the road when Holloway challenges Topuria on Oct. 26. Along with the UFC featherweight championship, how about we additionally break a tie and proclaim the winner as the highest KO artist at 145 kilos?. That may be the case, after all, provided that the man who walks out of the cage with the belt has secured the win through knockout. And it will be a major achievement if it occurs, as Topuria is undefeated and Holloway has by no means been knocked out in 33 professional fights.
Learn the story.
2024 MMA midyear awards: Unanimous winners, uncommon submissions and epic knockouts
There’ll by no means be a consensus “best knockout in UFC historical past,” however Holloway’s KO of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April could be the preferred decide. Standing within the heart of the Octagon within the ultimate seconds of a five-round struggle he was clearly successful and sleeping Gaethje — it was simply all Holloway. It outlined Holloway as a fighter and an individual. The very fact it occurred up a weight class in a BMF title struggle could not have been any extra good.
Learn the story.
