Ilia Topuria has started so many beefs, you could be forgiven for forgetting what actually lies ahead of him.
In recent weeks, the UFC featherweight champion has traded public shots with Conor McGregor, Islam Makhachev, and Belal Muhammad, seemingly uninterested in focusing his attention on the man he defends his title against at UFC 308 this Saturday: Max Holloway.
“Blessed” brings his recently won “BMF” belt into the main event matchup, but famously held the 145-pound title from 2017-2019 before a series of losses to Alexander Volkanovski seemingly put his championship days behind him. However, Holloway continued to fend off featherweight contenders, and with a stunning last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje this past April, he was able to call his shot and what he wanted was a crack at Topuria and a chance to reign over his division again.
MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew dig deeper into the headlining narrative, plus the other drama that could unfold at Saturday’s event Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
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Max HollowayPhoto by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
1. Where would Max Holloway regaining the featherweight title rank among MMA’s best feel-good stories?
Lee: Holloway stepping right back into the title conversation with that virtuoso performance against Gaethje was already inspirational and the positive vibes have only intensified with the way Topuria has portrayed himself.
I get that we live in an era where every fighter feels like they need to be Conor McGregor—like, I don’t actually get it, but I get it—but seeing Topuria set his sights every which way before even authoring a single title defense just isn’t sitting right with me. To what end are some of these callouts? Is he really going to fight Belal Muhammad anytime soon? Just defend the belt, man!
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Putting aside whatever animosity one might have for Topuria, it would be incredible to see Holloway claim the featherweight throne again. Sure, maybe Alexander Volkanovski has his number, but outside of that there’s no one better at 145 pounds—or at least there isn’t if Holloway wins on Saturday. All Holloway does is put on fan-friendly fights, take on anyone the UFC sends his way, and he does it all while showing nothing but respect to his opponents.
Holloway is already a champion for life in most fans’ eyes, and seeing him with a divisional title around his waist one more time, would surely bring a tear to those same eyes.
Martin: Every fighter has haters, but Holloway arguably has less than just about anybody else out there. I mean how can you not love this guy? He doesn’t say stupid stuff to get attention. He literally fights anyone the UFC throws at him. And he produced quite possibly the greatest finish in UFC history with his stunning last-second knockout over Gaethje at UFC 300.
That’s why Holloway reclaiming the belt at this stage of his career over an undefeated wrecking machine like Topuria would absolutely rank near the top of the list.
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After dropping three fights to Volkanovski—I still hold on to Holloway deserving the win in the rematch—it looked like “Blessed” was stuck in limbo in his chosen division. Sure, he’s taken out just about every other contender who’s even sniffed a title shot but the losses to Volkanovski banished him to the sidelines when it came to the championship. Fortunately for him, the sheer unpredictability of this sport brought things around again with Holloway scoring that dramatic knockout over Gaethje, and Topuria sending Volkanovski to the shadow realm.
Holloway has already cemented himself as one of the greatest UFC fighters of all-time and he’s a guaranteed Hall of Famer. But watching him ascend to take the throne again at UFC 308? That might be the one time in 2024 when almost every fan finds a way to cheer for the winner.
Meshew: I would argue that Holloway reclaiming the title actually isn’t a massive feel-good story because Max already was champion. This is not like Miesha Tate unexpectedly winning the title from Holly Holm, or Glover Teixeira winning the title late in his career. Honestly, it’s not even Robbie Lawler retiring off an incredible KO win.
Which isn’t to say it’s not impressive. To the contrary, I think Holloway reclaiming the featherweight title five years after he lost it is one of the most impressive feats in UFC history.
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Twenty fighters have won multiple titles in the same weight class in UFC history. Almost all of those title reclamations came within a year or two of losing the belt. The most obvious exception to this is Carla Esparza, who had almost eight years between her title reigns. That was an amazing achievement, but also the manner in which it occurred was a bit curious as Rose Namajunas fought one of the worst fights in modern MMA history. That won’t be the case with Holloway.
If Max reclaims the belt after twice failing to do so, and does it by beating a fighter everyone agrees is one of the best in the world, well, that’s incredible. It’s a nearly peerless accomplishment and one that I don’t think enough people will respect on those terms. But it would be another incredible achievement in an already Hall of Fame career.
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Robert WhittakerPhoto by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
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2. Is the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev guaranteed a title shot?
Meshew: No. And while I think they’d be the odds-on favorite to get the next one, middleweight is real wonky right now.
All signs point to Sean Strickland getting a rematch with Dricus du Plessis next. We can debate the merits of that (I think it’s silly but whatever), but that appears to be what’s happening. And while the winner of this weekend’s co-main event makes logical sense to fight the winner and would “deserve” it, deserve’s got nothing to do with it.
First, what if Strickland wins? Then he and DDP are 1-1, and a trilogy bout could make sense. Which would mean either Whittaker or Chimaev has to now sit out for nearly a year. Do they want to do that? Does the UFC? What about the rising crop of middleweight contenders behind them? No guarantee.
And if DDP wins, and so does Whittaker, are we in a rush to run that one back? Maybe it happens, but there’s also the possibility of DDP vs. Alex Pereira out there so I wouldn’t go counting my chickens.
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And of course there’s the issue of Chimaev himself. Knock on wood, it looks like Chimaev is going to make it to the fight this week, but the man is simply not reliable. On top of that, it sure seems like he’s only fighting in Saudi Arabia or Abu Dhabi, which isn’t prohibitive, but it does limit options.
All things considered, I’d say it’s likely but none of this screams “guarantee” to me.
Lee: The word “guarantee,” and Chimaev should probably never be near each other.
I’m hesitant to even write about this given Chimaev’s track record of missing out on big fights, and while I don’t believe in jinxes, it feels wrong to poke this bear. But here we are. Assuming (gulp) Chimaev actually makes it to the cage, and scores a win over Whittaker, he’s next in line.
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The timing seems to be perfect, too, as he can take his sweet time preparing for his title shot while du Plessis presumably rematches Strickland at some point in the first quarter of 2025. Then the UFC can nudge Chimaev out of hibernation for an opportunity that once seemed like a guarantee (whoops, did it again) and is now the shakiest of propositions.
So no, I can’t imagine Chimaev beating Whittaker and not being sent a contract to fight for a UFC championship. What happens after he signs that contract is anybody’s guess.
Martin: In the lexicon of MMA, the word “guaranteed” falls just behind “deserves” as a term you should absolutely strike from your vocabulary if you want to stay sane watching this sport. This particular situation gets even more tenuous when you look at the two fighters involved in this matchup.
There’s no denying Whittaker is a legend at middleweight, but with a pair of losses to former champion Israel Adesanya and a one-sided drubbing from du Plessis barely 15 months ago, it’s tough to see him jump right back into title contention.
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Truthfully, Chimaev actually has a better chance at a title shot with a win, but even that seems a bit unclear. His long history of injuries and illness have prevented him from building any sort of momentum over the past couple of years. Add to that, Chimaev has reportedly struggled to get a visa to travel to the United States and that’s almost like a nail in his coffin when it comes to a title fight. As much as the UFC travels internationally, Chimaev not being able to fight in the U.S. dramatically changes the ability to promote him as champion.
So basically that means nothing is guaranteed for the winner in this fight except hearing Dana White say, “we don’t make fights on the night of an event.”
3. What is the fight to watch outside of the top-2 matchups?
By all accounts, Ankalaev should have faced Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title at UFC 307, but Khalil Rountree Jr. was granted that opportunity instead. Did it make sense? Not really, but we’ve all moved on largely thanks to Rountree’s gutsy performance before falling to the Brazilian hammer just a few weeks ago.
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So now it’s up to Ankalaev to cement himself as the No. 1 contender. He must have shattered a mirror or crossed paths with a black cat because he sure seems to have the worst luck possible. He fought to a split draw with Jan Blachowicz in a title fight back in 2022 and then had a no-contest with Johnny Walker thanks to an illegal knee strike delivered in that fight that further delayed his championship aspirations.
Ankalaev can’t leave anything to chance this time. He needs to demolish or otherwise dismantle Rakic to state his case for a title shot and hope that Pereira sticks around at light heavyweight to face him.
Meshew: Low key, this card is trash but for the top fights. But when you have big fights like this event, you can get away with an undercard that underwhelms. And given that, Damon is correct: there’s only one answer and it’s Magomed Ankalaev.
I don’t know why the UFC hates Ankalaev, but they clearly do. Even Alex Pereira is talking about rejecting him. This man may well be the best light heavyweight in the world, has a rock solid case to fight for the title next, SHOULD be the consensus pick to do so, and everyone is collectively working to screw him out of it. It must be maddening for him.
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So given all that, I expect Ankalaev is going to come out looking to make a statement, because he needs to. The UFC hates you? Become undeniable. Fans incorrectly think you’re boring? Become undeniable. Pereira wants to big league you? Become undeniable.
Ankalaev is going to go out on Saturday and put on the best performance he is physically capable of because he has to. And so for that, I’m tuning in.
Lee: Maybe I just have middleweight fever, but I feel like Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan will be one to watch if only because it seems ripe for weirdness.
We still don’t know what’s up with “Shara Bullet” never fighting in the U.S. That’s weird. We still don’t know if he’s actually that good, but he has that shiny undefeated record still. That’s weird. And then there’s Petrosyan, a striking specialist who seems incapable of actually knocking anyone out at the UFC level? Weird, weird, weird.
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That’s been a recent trend for UFC events, the bizarre and inexplicable weighing in alongside the great and spectacular. I’m not saying Magomedov vs. Petrosyan will be the best fight of the night; in fact, there’s a strong chance it turns out to be the worst fight of the night, objectively speaking.
But I’m willing to bet at the end of the night, for better or worse, we’ll be talking about it.
LAS VEGAS – Melissa Martinez beat Alice Ardelean with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 245 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Martinez, who returned after more than two years away to pick up her first UFC win.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 19: (L-R) Melissa Martinez of Mexico punches Alice Ardelean of Romania in a strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 19, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
“I was happy to actually to put it into practice, everything that I can do. I wasn’t able to do it in my first (UFC) fight because the nerves got in the way. … I knew she was a tough fighter. I think when you get to this level, every fighter is tough. This is an organization that whoever, her or anyone else, is going to be a tough fighter. I knew it was going to be a tough challenge and I think when you’re up here, you have to be ready to face everyone.”
Martinez on a phantom low blow
Melissa Martinez def. Alice Ardelean, UFC Fight Night 245 phantom low blow
“I felt that the shot was legal, and (the ref missed it), … but I didn’t let that distract me from the fight because the focus is actually to come out with the win. I would love for that to be a different result (and it was a TKO), but I think the referees are doing their job and I think that it was the correct procedure because they were not sure whether it was legal. The only thing was not to let myself get distracted and continue to fight.”
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Martinez on what she wants next
Melissa Martinez def. Alice Ardelean, UFC Fight Night 245 (via UFC)
“I’m going to rest a little bit, but I’m going to go back into the gym – not with the same intensity as usual, but I’m going to be right there and continue to support all my my other teammates because they have their fights coming.”
To hear more from Martinez, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
The UFC’s year-end pay-per-view event has taken its first significant hit just one week after the lineup was officially announced as Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba is no longer happening.
X user MMA Melotto reported Monday that Suarez suffered an injury that has forced her out of the UFC 310 matchup on Dec. 7 in Las Vegas. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Junkie. It’s unclear if Jandiroba will remain on the card against a replacement opponent.
The fight between Suarez and Jandiroba, who are ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the strawweight division, respectively, was widely viewed as a title eliminator to determine the next challenger for champion Zhang Weili.
Suarez (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who hasn’t lost as a professional, most recently competed in August 2023 when she submitted former champion Jessica Andrade. Her other notable UFC wins include former champions Carla Esparza and Alexa Grasso. Suarez’s career has been riddled with injuries, which kept her out of action for three-and-a-half years before she returned in February 2023.
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Jandiroba (21-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC), a former Invicta FC champ, is on a four-fight winning streak after consecutive victories over Angela Hill, Marina Rodriguez, Loopy Godinez, and a Submission of the Year candidate armbar against Amanda Lemos in July.
With the change, the UFC 310 lineup includes:
Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov – for welterweight title
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – for flyweight title
Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque
Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
Virna Jandiroba vs. opponent TBD
Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Top ranked strawweight contender Tatiana Suarez will have to wait until 2025 to make her return after she was forced out of her upcoming fight against Virna Jandiroba, which was scheduled for UFC 310 on Dec. 7 in Las Vegas.
Sources told MMA Fighting on Monday that Suarez is dealing with a health issue that will prevent her from competing in December in what was expected to be a No. 1 contender’s bout at 115 pounds. MMA Melotto first reported the news.
It’s an unfortunate setback for Suarez, who has long been considered a popular pick as a future champion in the UFC but health problems have continued to plague her career. After she dispatched Nina Nunes back in 2019, Suarez appeared on the cusp of title contention but injuries kept her sidelined for more than three years.
When she finally returned to action, Suarez jumped right back into the deep end of the waters with a submission win over Montana De La Rosa at flyweight and then finishing former UFC champion Jessica Andrade to earn a Performance of the Night bonus back in August 2023.
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Suarez was then scheduled to face Amanda Lemos in February but an injury knocked her out of that matchup before she was then set to clash with Jandiroba in December.
Sadly now that fight has also been cancelled.
There’s no word yet on how long Suarez is expected to be sidelined after falling out of her upcoming fight in December. It’s unclear if Jandiroba plans to remain on the UFC 310 card against a new opponent or potentially wait for a future date to compete again.
If LeBron James Sr. and his son, Bronny, make NBA history Tuesday night by playing in the same game for the Los Angeles Lakers, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. will be there to witness it.
The first father-son duo to play together in Major League Baseball plans to be in attendance at the Lakers’ season opener in their downtown arena, where the entire crowd will be hoping the James family accomplishes the same rare sporting feat for the NBA.
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“First father and son to play baseball, (and) now the first father and son to play basketball,” the younger Griffey told MLB Network Radio. “It’s a big deal for my dad and I to be there. We made history. Now we get to watch history, so that’s what’s going to be cool about it.”
Bronny James is already excited to make his official NBA debut, but the Griffeys’ presence adds an extra layer of anticipation for the Lakers’ second-round pick.
“Yeah, it’s gonna be insane,” the 20-year-old Bronny said after practice Monday at the Lakers’ training complex. “I mean, only two families to do it, so it’s going to be a crazy experience, especially (with) what they’ve done.”
Bronny made it clear that he doesn’t know if he’ll actually get to play against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Lakers coach JJ Redick said “nothing has been finalized or anything” about Los Angeles’ playing rotation.
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Yet it seems unlikely the Lakers will wait to make the moment of history they’ve been planning ever since the franchise chose Bronny with the 55th overall pick this summer to play with LeBron, the 39-year-old top scorer in NBA history. The father and son already played together in the preseason, first taking the court together outside Palm Springs earlier this month.
A father and son play together roughly once in a generation in North American professional sports. The Griffeys accomplished the feat in 1990 and 1991, playing in 51 games for the Seattle Mariners — and even homering in the same game on Sept. 14, 1990.
Tim Raines and his namesake son also played four games together for the Baltimore Orioles at the end of the 2001 season. Before that, Gordie Howe suited up with his sons Mark and Marty in the WHA and the NHL and for Team Canada in the 1970s.
LeBron and Bronny share court for 1st time in preseason | The Facility
Bronny grew up in his father’s locker rooms and arenas in Cleveland, Miami and Los Angeles, so he’s more than ready to get beyond the historic moment and into the day-to-day grind of becoming a contributing NBA player. The Lakers begin the season with three home games in five days.
“I think it will be different,” Bronny said of the opener. “No different than me getting ready for any other game, but just a feeling of being in our home arena for the first time and playing a game will be a special experience. … I’m just trying to come in and get better every day, learn from the guys that have been here before me. Just take it all in and enjoy the experience.”
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Bronny played in all six of the Lakers’ preseason games, but his 4.2 points per game average was boosted greatly by his 17-point performance in last week’s preseason finale in which the Lakers and Warriors both rested most of their key players.
Bronny hit 29.7% of his shots in the preseason while averaging 1.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists, playing 16.2 minutes per game. His defensive work was praised by Redick, who sees the 6-foot-2 guard becoming a solid perimeter player in the future.
“Had some bad games, some rough starts, so (I’ve been) just continuing to play my game and play hard,” Bronny said.
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Bronny isn’t expected to be an immediate rotation player for the Lakers, who already have D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and 2023 first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino ahead of him at point guard. There’s a good chance Bronny will begin the season with the Lakers before heading to the G League to get the consistent playing time he probably needs to improve.
But he’s still thrilled to reach this milestone moment — and he’s even pretty sure what he’ll call his father on the court after LeBron prohibited him from using “Dad.”
“Probably Bron,” Bronny said with a smile. “That will probably be the easiest one.”
Belal Muhammad isn’t opposed to chasing a second UFC title, but wants to ensure there’s no work left in his division first.
Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) became the new UFC welterweight champion in July by defeating Leon Edwards at UFC 304. He already has his first title defense lined up against the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in December.
It’s a fast turnaround for a new champion. If Muhammad is able to get past the “boogeyman” of the division in Rakhmonov and keep up a similar pace, he would run out of worthy title challengers pretty quickly. But the champ isn’t exactly planning on a speed run, and knows the names in wait will have to challenge one another to be the next man up.
“In general, with any fighter, you have to cement yourself as the leader in the division and the guy that there’s nobody that can beat,” Muhammad said. “I think after Shavkat, you’ve got a couple of guys that are there. You got Ian Garry, you got JDM (Jack Della Maddalena) and you got Kamaru Usman. But some of those guys are going to have to fight each other now.
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“There’s no just waiting on the sidelines saying, ‘I’m next. I got next, I earned it.’ I don’t think nobody’s really earned that next spot left, so there’s going to be guys that are going to be taking losses. The cream has to rise to the top.”
Becoming a UFC champion is one thing. It’s a career-long goal that Muhammad successfully achieved. But becoming a champ-champ is a whole different game that Muhammad doesn’t want to think about until he’s done clearing out welterweight challengers.
However, that time may be closer than many realize, considering Muhammad had to run the gauntlet before getting his first title shot against Edwards earlier this year.
“Maybe one or two more fights, I think then I could start talking about middleweight and could start talking about double champ status,” Muhammad said. “When you look at the guys I’ve fought – what do I have? Six or seven wins in the top 10, top 15 of my division right now, so I’ve already fought all these guys even before getting to the title.
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“So now that I’m at the champion status, it’s like, well OK, now I probably only got a couple more left before I can start talking about the bums at 185.”
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic have accomplished a lot in their UFC careers, which is a pivotal feature of the UFC 309 poster.
The UFC dropped the new poster on Monday, which features headliners Jones, the heavyweight champion, and former titleholder and challenger Stipe Miocic. The event takes place Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The matchup was initially set for UFC 295 this past November, but Jones withdrew due to injury. “Bones” makes his first appearance in 20 months since capturing the heavyweight strap with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane in the main event of UFC 285 in March 2023.
The layoff is even longer for Miocic, who returns to the octagon for the first time since losing the heavyweight title to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021. Miocic seeks his first win in over four years.
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