Can Ilia Topuria retain his title, how can Max Holloway become the new champion again, and what are we most intrigued by in this matchup? Let’s dive in.
MMA is supposed to be an honorable combat sport, where two men step into a cage to find out who is the better, more skilled fighter. This is why fighters get so bent out of shape about Performance Enhancing Drugs because when one fighter takes them and the other doesn’t, it constitutes an unfair advantage. Well, Max Holloway also has an unfair advantage in every fight he’s in: he’s impossible to hurt.
Holloway’s chin is made of some alloy of adamantium and mithril. Through 29 UFC bouts and nearly eight hours of octagon time, Holloway has never officially been knocked down (I say officially because Justin Gaethje100 percent did drop him, and the stat keepers are idiots) much less out. He’s fought some of the heaviest hitters across two weight classes and they can’t dent him. That’s astonishing, to put it mildly. It’s also cheating because if you cannot be killed, then what chance does your opponent have?!
Well, that chance is in out-working Holloway tactically over 25 minutes, as Alexander Volkanovski did three times. That’s the task ahead for Topuria in his first title defense.
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In broad terms, over their first two fights, Volkanovski was able to edge out Holloway with feints, footwork, a sturdy jab, and a bevy of low kicks, both inside and outside. Then in their third encounters, Volkanovski simply whipped his ass with those same tools, plus a renewed willingness to throw in combination, with power. And fortunately for Topuria, he can do all of those things.
Topuria does not generally throw a lot of leg kicks, but I expect that to change for this fight. The champion is certainly capable of throwing them, and they’re a huge weapon both to score and to stifle Holloway’s movement as Topuria tries to back him to the fence. More importantly though, I think the best thing Topuria can do in this fight is commit to body work early and often.
Holloway’s game is built off of his jab and so to beat him, that needs to be priority one. Volkanovski solved that with low kicks and while Topuria should do those as well, he also has the opportunity to change his level under the jab and hit to the body with his own jab or right hand. It’s an excellent weapon to both move Holloway back, square him up, and create openings for going up high in combination. That is the sort of offense that will really get to Holloway and put him behind the eight ball early.
As mentioned, Holloway’s chin is nigh uncrackable, and while that doesn’t mean Topuria should abandon attacking it entirely, it’s ambitious to think all he needs to do to beat Holloway is get him along the fence and lower the boom. Instead, Topuria needs to be prepared for a drawn-out contest where he simply out-scoring Holloway by attacking all levels available.
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Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Paths to victory for Max Holloway at UFC 308
For years, Max Holloway has claimed to have the best boxing in the UFC. Well, that’s about to be put to the test once again.
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Though he is only 27 years old, Ilia Topuria already has some of the best boxing in MMA. He has excellent pressure footwork, cuts angles, throws in combination, works all levels of the body and head, and packs ludicrous power. It’s a game designed to walk down opponents, seize the initiative, and level them with efficiency. But it’s not without its weaknesses.
At this point the book is out on kicking Topuria on the open side. Volkanovski, Josh Emmett, and even Jai Herbert all made a point of popping left kicks into the body and up to the head. Topuria employs a high and tight boxing guard, and wants to walk opponents down and these kicks make that more difficult by setting a longer range, outside of his punching threat, or by simply keeping his guard locked in to defend.
In a similar vein, Holloway should also look to kick the legs. Though Topuria ultimately clubbed him with a combination, Volkanovski had decent success against Topuria early by moving around on angles and chopping the lead leg. Given his heavy boxing stance and the frequency with which Topuria uses feints and level changes, it’s a good scoring tool for Holloway.
Lastly, and this would be a relatively new one for Holloway, would be for Max to look for clinches. Holloway does solid work when he’s forced into the clinch but never seeks it out, and so against Topuria that could be a good wrinkle, especially as Topuria himself isn’t a focused clinch fighter. Volkanovski landed good knees in the clinch and Holloway could have similar success.
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One Big Thing
The outcome of most high level fights depends on dozens of different things, but frankly, it’s a lot to list all of those out. Instead, let’s simplify things by determining the One Big Thing that will determine Saturday’s winner.
Who seizes the initiative?
Both Topuria and Holloway prefer to fight on the front foot, taking the initiative and leading the dance. For Topuria, it’s imposing pressure and physicality to maneuver opponents back to the fence, cut off their escape routes, and level them. For Holloway, it’s simply to force opponents to the back foot where he has more freedom to work in long combinations against retreating forces. But in both cases, both men want to be leading the dance and whoever wins this battle of wills should win the fight.
One Small Thing
Now we know the single most important factor of Saturday’s main event, but what about something else entirely that almost certainly won’t happen but if it does could change everything.
I fear this may be a difficult fight for Max Holloway. “Blessed” has had a remarkable career and his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 will live forever, but upon closer inspection that victory has some of the trappings of an all-time great fighter proving his bonafides despite declining. Meanwhile, Topuria is not yet in his best or final form and was able to Volkanovski — a man who beat Holloway three times — with relative ease. And given that Holloway isn’t nearly as good on the back foot as Volkanovski is, the most likely scenario to mean seems to be Topuria bullying Holloway around the cage for 25 minutes.
Holloway is an exceptional fighter and if he can defy the odds on Saturday, it will be an all-time great performance, but I think we’re living in the Topuria era now.
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Ilia Topuria def. Max Holloway via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46).
Back in August, Nurmagomedov defeated Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, setting himself up as the next title challenger for the bantamweight title. So one month later, when Merab Dvalishvili took the belt from Sean O’Malley at UFC 306, it looked for all intents and purposes that the promotion had a fight, to the extent that they even asked Dvalishvili about Nurmagomedov in his post-fight speech.
But now things don’t seem nearly so certain.
Over the past couple of months, Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov have feuded publicly over their possible fight, with Dvalishvili even lobbying for an immediate rematch with O’Malley during a Fan Q&A ahead of UFC 308 this weekend. And of course Nurmagomedov responded.
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I am always ready, and right now I am waiting for an opponent, as Yadong declined to fight in December — I was told he is injured.
Merab, before my fight with Sandhagen, you said that if I beat him, I would deserve recognition. Now you have changed your position — decide who…
I am not waiting for anyone and I want to fight before Ramadan. I hope UFC finds an opponent. And the title, inshaAllah, is just a matter of time. pic.twitter.com/hasZPpDO2k
“I am always ready, and right now I am waiting for an opponent, as [Song] Yadong declined to fight in December — I was told he is injured.
“Merab, before my fight with Sandhagen, you said that if I beat him, I would deserve recognition. Now you have changed your position — decide who you are. All the fans and analysts are noticing how you are avoiding the fight. Championship is recognition, but you haven’t received it, and you know that perfectly well.
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“I am not waiting for anyone and I want to fight before Ramadan. I hope UFC finds an opponent. And the title, inshaAllah, is just a matter of time.”
While the fight was never confirmed, Nurmagomedov was rumored to face Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Tampa on Dec. 14. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili is targeting a return to the cage in 2025.
UFC 308 goes down this Saturday, headlined by the long-awaited featherweight title matchup between Ilia Topuria and ‘BMF’ champion Max Holloway. On top of that, the #UFC presents a highly-anticipated middleweight matchup in the co-main event, as former champion Robert Whittaker faces undefeated terror Khamzat Chimaev.
UFC 308 is one of the biggest events of the year and so ahead of Saturday’s doubleheader, MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and Mike Heck preview the massive card, discuss Holloway’s chances at upsetting Topuria, whether or not Chimaev can finally earn himself a title shot, just how badly Magomed Ankalaev needs a win over Aleksandar Rakic, and much more.
Catch the UFC 307 preview show above. An audio-only version of the show can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi on Saturday with a superstar atop the lineup in an attempt to recapture a title that used belong to him.
The UFC has released the UFC 308 cold open video. The card features a featherweight title fight between champion Ilia Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and former champ Max Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC).
The video is narrated by actor and regular UFC voice-over narrator Ron Perlman and has a backdrop soundtrack of “Unleash The Power” by Hidden Citizens, featuring Rayelle and Sam Tinnesz. That song recently was featured in Netflix’s series “Blue Eye Samurai.”
The cold open also looks at the co-main event middleweight title eliminator between the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and former champ Robert Whittaker (27-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC).
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Check out the UFC 308 cold open video above.
UFC 308 (pay-per-view, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 2 p.m. ET)
Champ Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy
Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 10 a.m. ET)
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Geoff Neal
Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki
Brunno Ferreira vs. Abus Magomedov
Chris Barnett vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Carlos Leal
Ibo Aslan vs. Rafael Cerqueira
Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
The injury occurred with 42 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter after Godwin reeled in a 21-yard completion.
Baker Mayfield, Bucs silenced in tough loss + Chris Godwin, Mike Evans injured
In March, NFL owners voted unanimously to remove the hip-drop tackle, which is “when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto ball carrier’s legs during the tackle.”
A defender executing a hip-drop tackle results in a 15-yard penalty. That said, Smith wasn’t flagged for the banned tackle in live time.
Prior to the injury, Godwin logged seven receptions for 65 yards and was leading the NFL with 50 receptions for 576 yards and five touchdowns. Meanwhile, Smith finished the 41-31 Ravens win with a combined 18 tackles. Smith, a two-time All-Pro, is in his second full season with the Ravens, logging 74 combined tackles and one forced fumble this season.
Baltimore has won five consecutive games following its 0-2 start, while Tampa Bay has lost three of its past five and is also expected to be without star wide receiver Mike Evans for at least three weeks due to a hamstring injury.
Raffael Cerqueira considered walking away from the sport after receiving ludicrous offers to compete in his native Brazil.
Cerqueira, who had three different opponents for the Sept. 10 card of Dana White’s Contender Series before being pulled straight to the UFC 308 line-up, said in an interview with MMA Fighting he decided to hang up his gloves after being offered as little as $70 for a fight.
“There’s a promotion out there, I won’t even mention names, that the promoter offered me R$ 400 to fight in Sao Paulo, and he would only pay for the meal, no transportation and hotel,” Cerqueira said. “And I had to sign a contract with him that he would take a portion of my purse if I fought for an international promotion next. My managers were like, ‘Are you insane? We won’t fight for your promotion.’ It’s bizarre. Very bizarre.”
Cerqueira started fighting in 2019 and quickly earned the Demo Fight light heavyweight championship, defending it on three occasions before a couple of short-notice trips to heavyweight earlier this year. He has campaigned for a chance in the UFC since 2023, calling out Dana White and Mick Maynard following wins in Brazil, but was tired of waiting.
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“It’s hard to life as an athlete in Brazil because we’re not valued,” Cerqueira said. “I have two kids, and I have to buy them stuff, healthcare and everything else. I fought in December and Mick told [my manager Leonardo] Pateira he wanted me, but I would have to wait a little. In my head it was like, ‘Ok, I’m in the UFC already’. I called my mom and my dad, ‘F*ck, I’m in the UFC, I’ll change our lives now.’ January came and no answer. I had to fight, so my team got me another fight.”
Cerqueira replaced a teammate in a heavyweight bout in late January, and won by first-round knockout. He called out Maynard again inside the cage, but no deal was offered.
“I reached a point I thought about quitting fighting,” Cerqueira said. “It’s hard for us financially speaking, right? ‘I can’t take it no more, I’ll quit everything and go back to school and focus on getting a job’. I started sending my resume to people who I have worked with in the past.”
Cerqueira’s coaches at Galpão da Luta insisted that he should give it another try, and if one more win didn’t earn a deal in the UFC, so be it. Cerqueira’s mother was hospitalized, and he needed money to put food on the table at home, so he took another last-minute heavyweight fight in Salvador.
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“I remember warming up in the locker room, feeling completely demotivated and sad,” Cerqueira said. “I think I trained two weeks for that fight, tops. I was so tired that things would happen. I told my cousin 10 minutes before the fight, warming up, ‘If I get nothing out of this fight, I’m done. To me, this is my last fight.’”
Cerqueira recalls fighting poorly, considering he barely trained for that match, but still doing enough to put away Rodrigo Araujo in the opening round. He drove back home and told his mother he had won, now 11-0 as a professional, and she smiled back. “Good, let’s wait now,” she told her son.
“A week went by. Two, three, four weeks, and still no answer [from the UFC],” Cerqueira said. “I went back to the gym and told Mario Piazzon I’ve had enough. Mario told me, ‘Brother, remember when you told me that when life is hard at you, it’s because something good is about to happen?’ And the news literally came on the next day that I had been signed to the Contender Series. I started crying man, thanking God for everything.”
Cerqueira never had to fight on DWCS, with the matchmakers shifting him to UFC 308 instead, joining teammates Jailton Almeida and Eduarda Moura on the UFC roster. He feels the pressure of fighting for a deal would be as hard as “a job interview” with Dana White, but feels as motivated for the UFC. Aslan is 13-1 as a professional with five straight finishes going into UFC 308, but Cerqueira is confident.
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“When this season of the Contender Series started,” Cerqueira said, “Dana White came out and said he’s not looking for guys over 30, and I’m like, ‘Damn, I’m 34 and the boss says that? I have to put on a show and knock this guy out or have a there-round bloody war.’ Being in the UFC doesn’t take any pressure away from me, because the card is a lot bigger now. I have to put on a great fight to show why I was signed.”
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