UFC 308 is right around the corner, and the headliners Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway are itching to step into the cage to settle things for the featherweight title.

The undefeated champion Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is confident he will not only retain his gold, but also become the first to finish former champ Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) by knockout.

The fight goes down in the main event of UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. While there are still two weeks before they can get their hands on each other, that hasn’t stopped them from hurling verbal jabs at one another.

“You already know how it feels to bounce back,” Topuria said to Holloway in a pre-fight interview moderated by Brendan Fitzgerald. “You already have seven professional defeats. I have zero. So, you’re going to do it once again really well, I don’t have any doubts about that. You are a great example of that.”

The interview began with respectful yet sarcastic banter, but with each exchange, the sarcasm grew until full-on insults were spewed.

“I took a lot of people’s doughnuts, bro,” Holloway replied. “I hope you like churros because you’re about to get one come Oct. 26, buddy.”

Topuria dismissed Holloway, and claimed he will become the first person to knock out the former featherweight champion, whose only stoppage loss came by submission to Dustin Poirier at UFC 143 in 2012.

“The only thing I’m going to do is take your lights out and party with all my people, all my team. That’s what I’m going to do,” Topuria said. “And Still. This is what’s going to happen.

“… I don’t have any doubts that I will be the first one to knock you out. I don’t even want you to trust in that because if you’re starting to trust in what I’m saying, you’re not going to show up, and I need you to show up for the fight.”

Topuria explained his confidence comes from studying the division’s greats before him, including Alexander Volkanovski and Holloway. Topuria knocked out the former in his last fight at UFC 298, finishing the former champion in the second round.

Holloway enters this title opportunity coming off a Knockout of the Year contender at UFC 300, when he violently slept Justin Gaethje with one second left on the clock after pointing to the ground, inviting him to trade bombs until the final horn.

Topuria was not impressed with that fight, nor the finish. He even took it a step further, issuing a challenge to Holloway.

“Bro, I was so bored watching that fight,” Topuria said. “The only thing exciting about that fight was the last 10 seconds, to be honest. But I didn’t see any technique in that fight. I didn’t see any strategy. I didn’t see any f*cking thing. I just saw a bar fight, to be honest. It was very spectacular for the fans, but for me, as a professional, it was a – I don’t know. Not something very impressive.

“I challenge you to have that exchange in the first 10 seconds of the fight and you will see what’s going to happen. When you face a fighter like me inside the octagon, who brings that technique and that power, you can’t do that. I’m going to take your head off if you do that.”

Holloway laughed at the challenge and said Topuria wouldn’t do it because he gets tired quickly. The recurring response from “Blessed” was to express his excitement for fight night while repeating, “We’ll see,” and, “We’re going to find out,” in rebuttal to Topuria’s bold opinions.

Topuria claimed Holloway didn’t want to take the fight against him and would have rathered face Michael Chandler, which prompted a fiery reply.

“You were the first guy I asked for,” Holloway said. “I said I want Ilia Topuria. I want the easiest fight. I want Ilia Topuria. That’s what I said.”

Yaroslav Amosov hopes to claim gold once again, but this time in the UFC.

Approaching one year since his most recent fight, the Ukrainian star Amosov (27-1) is a free agent. His sights are firmly set on the same end location they’ve been for a few years now behind the scenes.

“We have a plan,” Amosov recently told MMA Junkie in his first interview since his Bellator departure. “We want to sign a contract for just one fight (somewhere). After one fight, we want to go to the UFC.”

According to Amosov, the conclusion of his Bellator contract was the result of an expiration of time, not the conclusion of fights. Amosov says he informed the promotion in 2022 or 2023 of his plans to explore free agency and thinks perhaps that’s what led to a delayed exit.

When he withdrew from a bout vs. Michael Page to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war, Amosov said one year was tacked onto the end of his contract – but claims he was not offered additional fights during this time.

“In 2023, one maybe two years ago, we said, ‘Bellator, we have plan. We don’t want to sign new contract. After finishing the contract, we’ll go outside.’ I think that’s maybe why they continued my contract one year. Maybe that’s why. But yes, we have plan to go to the UFC.”

Manager Andriy Spivachuk hinted his client might already know where he’s going next, but elected to not yet publicly announce.

“They promised, but they didn’t give,” Spivachuk said.

Amosov aims for a January 2025 return to action. Renowned for his strong grappling abilities, Amosov thinks he might have to show more exciting aspects of his game to twist the arm of UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby.

That’s why he’s training boxing with WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk (19-0), a fellow countryman.

“I feel I can change my style,” Amosov said. “That’s why I’m an MMA fighter. That’s why I’m an MMA fighter because I can fight in striking, grappling. Now, the last couple months, I trained in boxing. Maybe a couple months ago, I’ve been in boxing camp. Then, maybe now I go to boxing camp again now in Spain. … For me, I think I can grapple and striking. Sometimes, for me, I feel better if I do takedowns and ground-and-pound. Maybe submissions. It’s maybe better for me. I feel it’s, for me, comfortable.”

Despite the result of his last fight, a TKO loss to Jason Jackson in November 2023 that shocked bookmakers, Amosov said he’s identified the problems that went wrong and is not deterred from UFC title gold aspirations.

“I had in my last fight it was many problems in my camp,” Amosov said. “I had many situations close to my family about my country and I had a couple problems. It’s just my problem and he’s a very hard guy. 100 percent. But my last fight was me, but not me.

“… Of course, I have big motivation because my last fight was not so good. I want to show this world I’m a good fighter and I will be champion. My last fight is my fault. I want to show it’s just a mistake. I show this world this mistake. … I think I can do this. I will do this. Maybe that’s better. I’ve trained with many guys, many years and I feel I can do this. I’ll take this belt.”

The Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol fight card shows the seven fights that will make up Saturday’s event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Beterbiev puts his WBC, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight titles on the line against WBA champion Bivol, with the winner walking out as the undisputed champion of the 175-pound division. The two were originally scheduled to fight in June 1, but Beterbiev withdrew due to an injury and Bivol went on to defeat replacement Malik Zinad instead to keep the unification bout alive.

Beterbiev, a native of Dagestan who fights out of Quebec, Canada, is 20-0 as a pro with all of his wins coming by way of knockout. He faces his toughest challenge yet in the favored Bivol, also undefeated at 23-0.

After winning an interim WBA title in 2016, Bivol has won 14 consecutive title fights, most famously scoring a unanimous decision over Canelo Alvarez in May 2022.

In Saturday’s co-main event, Chris Eubank Jr. fights Kamil Szeremeta. Also on the card, WBC featherweight champion Skye Nicolson defends her title against Raven Chapman, and viral boxing sensation Ben Whittaker takes on Liam Cameron in a light heavyweight bout.

See the full Beterbiev vs. Bivol card below.

Main Event (ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET)

Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol — for the IBF, WBC, WBO and WBA light heavyweight titles

Undercard (DAZN at 12 p.m. ET)

Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Kamil Szeremeta

Fabio Wardley vs. Frazer Clarke

Jai Opetaia vs. Jack Massey — for Opetaia’s IBF cruiserweight title

Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron

Skye Nicolson vs. Raven Chapman — for Nicolson’s WBC featherweight title

Mohammaed Alakel vs. Jesus Gonzalez

Francis Ngannou is feeling healthy and strong ahead of his return to MMA against Renan Ferreira at PFL: Battle of the Giants, but the clock is apparently ticking on his time in combat sports.

Ngannou (17-3) already mulled retirement once this year after the tragic death of his 15-month-old son, Kobe. He ultimately decided to return to honor the memory of his child and is all in as he prepares to compete in his first MMA fight in 991 days against Ferreira (13-3) on Oct. 19 at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (ESPN+ pay-per-view, DAZN).

Since officially parting ways with the UFC in January 2022, Ngannou has competed only in boxing. He fought Tyson Fury to a controversial split decision loss in October 2023 and then suffered a knockout against Anthony Joshua in March. He’s now back in the sport that made his name, and with fight camp essentially complete, Ngannou said he’s in good form.

“My body is holding up well,” Ngannou told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “Obviously I had a knee surgery, but that was over two years ago now. It took me quite a long time, over a year to really get back. But now I’m really strong. By the time I get back into the fight, I get very strong. I can kick. Even though kicking is not my cup of tea, I do kick.”

Although Ngannou is solely focused on the task at hand, he admits this fight is the beginning of his wind down from his fighting career. He intends to have more MMA and boxing matches before he hangs up the gloves, but after celebrating his 38th birthday on Sept. 5, he said a timeline to hang it up is crystallizing in his mind.

“I have an appetite to go back into boxing,” Ngannou said. “For sure, I still have a couple fights in both left. I just turned 38, so I will say my retirement, when I start getting around 41 or 42. It could be 40, but this is just in an exceptional case. This time I think I really have to enjoy my time inside the octagon and inside the ring, and then have my last dance and go home.”

Ngannou understands that heavyweights tend to have longer careers in professional fighting than lower divisions. The founder of his home gym in Las Vegas, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, competed well into his 40s. There’s multiple other prominent examples, as well, but Ngannou said he is not in a position where he needs to cling on.

With financial security achieved for his lifetime and beyond, Ngannou said it’s all about picking the right moment to walk away. He has seen all too many instances of athletes sticking around beyond their expiration dates, and Ngannou is adamant he won’t be one of those people.

“Heavyweights can go for a long time,” Ngannou said. “Even middleweight, I think Dan Henderson was 46 when he fought (Michael) Bisping the last time in London and that was in middleweight. Then Glover Teixeira was champion at 42. He was a light heavyweight. But the thing here, I just want to say I want to leave the sport before the sport leaves me. I would like to leave at the top of my game. We will see how it goes. You make plans, but then God has plans. We will see.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.

UFC 307 is in the books which means it’s time to head back to the APEX!

UFC Vegas 98 takes place this Saturday, headlined by a flyweight contest between former title challenger Brandon Royval and rising super-prospect Tatsuro Taira, and No Bets Barred is back to break the whole card down.

This week, host Jed Meshew is joined by former professional fighter Billy Ward of Action Network to dive into all the UFC action this weekend. Topics discussed include Royval’s chances at denying the wunderkind Taira, just how past his prime is Brad Tavares, and the possible return of heavyweight overs? All that, plus, Jed unveils his newest gimmick: The Climb.

Tune in for episode 103 of No Bets Barred.

New episodes of the No Bets Barred podcast drop every Wednesday and are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts. The latest episode can be heard below.