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Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway is finally here.

This Saturday, UFC 308 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, headlined by the featherweight title fight that has captured the interest of the entire MMA world. On top of that, a five-round middleweight showdown between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev will finally take place. With all that going down, MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew is back to break down all the fights.

This week, Jed runs solo, breaking down all the key aspects of this Saturday’s card. Topics discussed include whether Topuria can back up all his trash talk, whether Chimaev can finally earn a title shot, whether Magomed Ankalaev can convince the UFC he deserves a shot at Alex Pereira, and much more.

Tune in for episode 105 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.

OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO came close to having his leg AMPUTATED as a teenager due to frostbite.

The Arsenal full-back, 27, made his name at Manchester City from 2016 to 2022, winning four Prem titles, four Carabao Cups and one FA Cup.

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He has also gone on to captain Ukraine at major tournaments and recently helped the Gunners become top-flight title challengers once more under Mikel Arteta.

But at the age of 17, his entire life could have changed thanks to a dry ice incident that left the defender with a gangrenous foot and moments away from amputation.

It came about following a call from German club Hoffenheim to attend a trial, having been frozen out of the Shakhtar Donetsk academy and trying to reignite his career while taking part in the Russian street leagues.

He explained: “The day before I was due to fly [to Germany], FC Meteor, one of the non-league clubs I played for, called me. They had a big game and wanted me to fill in.

“These leagues were a bit rogue, sometimes more like a cage fight. Some opponent did a crazy tackle on me and caught my right ankle. It swelled up like a balloon.

“There was no way I could play the next day in Germany. Just walking was causing me pain. I was in no state to do a trial. But I couldn’t cancel and lose this life-changing opportunity.

“We decided I would go anyway and ask them to let me train a couple of days later, by which time the swelling would have hopefully gone down.

“I was on the plane with Lufthansa and I remember thinking: ‘Let’s not waste time to get the swelling down. Let’s use the flight.’ So, I asked the stewardess for some ice for my ankle.

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“She didn’t understand me at first because my English wasn’t great and I didn’t speak any German. But she came over with what looked like ice in a plastic package.

“I wrapped it up, put it on my ankle and went to sleep. Problem solved. An hour or so later, I woke up and expected to see a bag full of melted water. But there was none.

“Then I looked at my ankle. All the skin had turned white. I put my sock back on

and, within around 20 minutes, as it warmed up, it started to blister.

“When we arrived in Frankfurt, an associate of my agent was waiting. ‘I have a little problem,’ I told him. I think I gave him the shock of his life when I showed him my ankle.

“We drove to the Hoffenheim academy, taken immediately to a physio, who pulled down my sock and turned nearly as white as the skin on my ankle when he saw it.

“His reaction told me this was bad. ‘We’re taking you to hospital, right now.’ I was rushed into an operating theatre and surgery commenced immediately.

“They were removing gangrenous tissue. If that had spread, it could have affected the whole foot, requiring it all to be removed. The reason? I had frostbite.

“It turned out that when the air stewardess gave me ice, it was dry ice, which is three times colder than normal ice, exposing my bare ankle to Arctic-like temperatures.

“The German doctor looked at me gravely. ‘You are fortunate. You came at the right time. Any later, and you might have lost your leg.’

“Only then did I realise quite how close my dreams had come to ending and my life changing utterly.”

After his near-death experience and a spell in the Russian Premier League, Zinchenko spent six seasons at City before joining Arsenal in the summer of 2022 for £35m.

However, Zinchenko has also revealed he could have played for the North Londoners much sooner with Arsene Wenger keeping tabs on his situation back in 2014 following a Youth Champions League clash between Arsenal and Shakhtar.

Zinchenko said: “I got a call from an agent who said: ‘Alex, I have a very good connection with Arsene Wenger. He called me after your game. He really wants to see you in the club.

“I was speechless; my jaw was on the floor. When I gathered my thoughts after a few seconds, I said: ‘This is probably a joke. Someone is having a laugh here.’

“For one reason or another, it never happened. I had sort of forgotten about this whole thing until Wenger came to the Emirates in December 2022 to watch us beat West Ham 3-1.

“I shook his hand. I had never met him in person before… ‘Mister, eight years ago, I played for Shakhtar Donetsk in a Youth League game against Arsenal…’ I said, cautiously.

“He interrupted me. ‘Yes, it was at Boreham Wood. Arsenal won 3-1. And after 20 minutes, I pointed at you and said: “I need this guy.”‘ It was all true. Incredible.

“I sometimes imagine what would have happened if I had joined the first team as a 17-year-old.”

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It didn’t take long for the UFC’s matchmaking team and brass to make a decision on Jake Hadley after his third loss in four fights.

Hadley will have to work his way back to the UFC after an upset loss on the main card at UFC Fight Night 245 this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Hadley announced the news on social media Wednesday, but made a point to say his contract was up, and he “wasn’t cut.”

Hadley (11-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) was the biggest favorite on the card at more than 6-1 against Smotherman (12-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who took the fight on just a few days’ notice after Brady Hiestand pulled out. But Smotherman outworked him over 15 minutes for a unanimous decision.

“I wasn’t cut my contract came to an end,” Hadley posted on social media. “took 2 big risks my last 2 fights being a company man and it bit me on the arse. Took block head on a weeks notice but missed the weight which was obviously held against me then took cam on 3 days notice after originally training for a wrestling based opponent I understand cam didn’t do a camp but everyone’s ready always for 3x5s cmon I proven that vs block head took the fight on baby’s due date because fight was offered and didn’t wanna say no to the ufc and be a company man but ohh well if I choose to work my way back to the UFC I know I can do that again no problem.”

https://twitter.com/jakehadleymma/status/1849179246129746417

Hadley won the Cage Warriors flyweight title in late 2020. Ten months later, he took a fight on Dana White’s Contender Series and earned his way into the UFC – even though he missed weight.

After a loss in his promotional debut, he won back-to-back fights against Carlos Candelario and Malcolm Gordon, the latter of which was a 61-second knockout worth an extra $50,000.

But then came consecutive losses to Cody Durden and Charles Johnson at flyweight, and he missed weight when he moved up to bantamweight for a fight with Caolan Loughran earlier this year, which he referenced in his post.

The Smotherman loss was the nail in the coffin of the 28-year-old Brit’s UFC tenure for now.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones might not be likely, but it is possible, at least so says PFL Chairman Donn Davis.

This past weekend, Ngannou made his long-awaited return to MMA, stopping Renan Ferreira in the main event of PFL Superfights: Battle of the Giants. The bout was Ngannou’s first fight for the PFL and vaulted “The Predator” back into the MMA Fighting Global Rankings to the No. 2 spot at heavyweight. It also re-ignited talk of the now-lost Ngannou vs. Jon Jones superfight that captivated fan imaginations for years. But for the PFL Chairman, that matchup may not be as lost as many believe.

“I’m a pretty optimistic guy,” Davis told MMA Fighting during a Town Hall on Wednesday. “I’m a realist from a business standpoint, but I’m always optimistic. Even Jon Jones’s Tweets struck me as very interesting. … That’s a lot different than the last three years. That’s a lot different than the last three years between those two guys.

“So for me, I’m an optimistic, can-do guy. To me, it hasn’t happened in the past but the future is the future.”

Ngannou and Jones teased a possible fight with each other for over a year when both men were in the UFC, but the bout never came to fruition. After Ngannou left the promotion in 2023 to sign with the PFL, Jones then finally made his move up to heavyweight, claiming the vacant UFC title by beating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285.

But despite now fighting for different promotions, the heat between Ngannou and Jones never fully dissipated, with the two even having an impromptu face off at a PFL event last year. And though UFC CEO Dana White is staunchly opposed to co-promotion and has repeatedly dismissed the idea of working with the PFL for this, Davis thinks the odds are better than you might think.

“If I was a betting person, if you gave me even odds, no,” Davis said. “Even odds are is it likely? Is that a good bet? No. But if you gave me four to one? I would take those odds. I would take that bet. So do I think it’s possible? Yes. Likely? No.

“And do I think, since it’s the biggest fight that could ever be made in MMA in perhaps the last or next decade, that’s why I think it’s possible. Because it’s so big and it’s so thrilling. And sometimes people say, ‘What the eff. We’re going to find a way to do it. Let’s find a way to do it.’ So that’s why I think it’s possible.”

And while a co-promotion between the UFC and PFL does seem extremely unlikely, there is one thing that can always change the equation: money. Dana White is notoriously opposed to MMA fighters crossing over into boxing, but famously allowed Conor McGregor to do so against Floyd Mayweather for one of the biggest sporting events of the year.

Something similar could happen here, Davis suggests, especially with the the involvment of Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia. Alalshikh has invested heavily in combat sports over the past few years, and already has relationships with both promotions, and has shown a desire to make the biggest fights possible. Given that, Davis believes that anything is possible.

“I have a ton of respect for Dana,” Davis said. “He built the entire industry. Does he want to be part of the biggest fight in 10 years, that he made happen? Turki is the biggest man in combat sports. Could he make the biggest fight happen? Sure. I just think there’s a lot of cool stuff that could happen here. I’m the least important guy here. Turki and Dana are the most important guys here. I’m just the guy that said yes.”