ABU DHABI – UFC 308 takes place Saturday at Etihad Arena, and you can watch a live video stream of the post-event news conference here on MMA Junkie.
Expected to take part in the press conference are the winners of the top main card bouts, including the featherweight championship fight of Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway and co-main event of Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev.
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UFC CEO Dana White is also expects to answer questions from reporters and recap the event.
You can watch the press conference in the video above, which will go live upon the conclusion of the headlining bout.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
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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 FIA is to revise the wording of its controversial racing guidelines after a meeting with the Formula 1 drivers in Mexico in the wake of Max Verstappen’s tactics against Lando Norris at Austin.
The governing body is understood to have accepted that changes to the guidelines were required to close a loophole Verstappen has been exploiting regarding strong defending when under attack from another car, with other instances of questionable tactics also being targeted.
Motorsport.com understands it will present its suggested revisions back to the drivers for approval at another meeting with them in Qatar next month and because these are guidelines they can be used by the stewards immediately rather than requiring sign-off by other FIA bodies.
There could be a potential issue in that Grand Prix Drivers’ Association signs off on F1’s racing guidelines and the drivers are not united on the incidents that occurred last weekend.
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Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas said on Thursday in Mexico that “some drivers are pushing the limits of the regulations more and almost like kind of taking the piss out of it”.
The usual post-FP2 drivers’ meeting for the Mexico event ran for an unusually long time, as, Motorsport.com understands, the FIA briefing and explanation of Norris’s penalty for overtaking Verstappen off the track late in their Austin battle was followed by a GPDA meeting.
The stewards of the Mexico meeting attended along with the team sporting managers as usual, along with the sporting representative of Formula One Management.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, battles with Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
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During the meeting, the drivers outlined their positions on what Verstappen has been doing, with some siding strongly with Norris’s point of view – expressed post-race in Austin and again on the Mexico media day that he was “no longer the attacking car, [Verstappen] was” – while others felt Verstappen’s tactics were hard but fair within the rules as they are currently written.
However, although getting complete driver unanimity is always going to be a tough ask, Motorsport.com understands there is enough support at this stage for the guidelines changes to be accepted before the end of the current campaign and following the Qatar meeting.
In a statement provided to media, the FIA said of the meeting, “there was a general commitment to continue to update the driving standards guidelines”.
“Bearing in mind the drivers requested the drivers’ racing guidelines and agreed to their introduction along with the GPDA,” the statement added, “each time they are updated it is consultation with the drivers.
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“It is generally accepted that they should continue to evolve, not because of isolated incidents such as Austin, but driven by the desire to bring consistency to determinations and decisions from the stewards.”
The last significant evolution of the guidelines – first introduced at the drivers’ request in 2022 – is understood to have occurred after the 2023 Singapore GP and in the Mexico meeting while there were specific disagreements the overall tone of the meeting was collaborative.
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Ibo Aslan preached patience heading into his fight at UFC 308 but sometimes strategy goes out the window and it results in a stunning 51-second standing knockout.
The Turkish powerhouse wasted no time coming after undefeated prospect Raffael Cerqueira as soon as the fight got started. Aslan connected with a huge left hook early in the opening round and replays showed Cerqueira’s eyes just rolling back in his head as he shifted into survival mode against the cage.
Aslan continued to unload rapid-fire punches with Cerqueira doing very little to defend himself outside of covering up and hoping he didn’t get flattened on the canvas. As the barrage continued, Cerqueira just kept eating punches and referee Marc Goddard had no choice but to stop the fight.
The 51-second finish moved Aslan to 2-0 in his UFC career with a pair of knockouts already on his resume.
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“After this left hook, I watch him in the eyes,” Aslan said about his knockout win. “This is just the beginning of the end. I just crashed. I have Turkish power in my hands. If I touch somebody, he’s already done.”
Since arriving from The Contender Series, Aslan appeared to be a name to watch but he’s looked very impressive in his short time spent in the octagon thus far.
He’s now riding a five-fight win streak overall and his UFC debut already allowed him to avenge the only loss of his career when he put away Anton Turkalj back in March.
“I am coming for all of you,” Aslan shouted when he was asked who he wanted next.
British number one Jack Draper reached the Erste Bank Open final by beating Italian Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets in Vienna.
Seventh seed Draper broke the serve of sixth seed Musetti five times to beat his fellow 22-year-old 6-2 6-4 and reach his first ATP 500 final.
Draper has won one ATP 250 title – the Stuttgart Open in June.
“I suppose it is my biggest final yet,” Draper said.
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This has been a stellar year for Draper, with the highlight being his run to the US Open semi-finals in September.
Now he will move to a career-high ranking, inside the top 16 for the first time.
He said: “I have been in 250 finals, Grand Slam semis, obviously a bigger match than tomorrow, but at the same time to be in the final of a 500 after all the work I put in this year and the season I have had, I am incredibly grateful.”
One difference between ATP 250 and ATP 500 titles is the amount of ranking points a player earns for winning a tournament.
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Victory over Musetti moved Draper to provisional world number 15, leapfrogging the Italian.
Draper will play Karen Khachanov in Sunday’s final after the unseeded Russian beat second seed Alex de Minaur – also by a 6-2 6-4 margin.
World number 24 Khachanov, 28, resisted a De Minaur fightback in the second set, when the Australian recovered a break of serve.
Khachanov will be attempting to win the eighth ATP singles title of his career, and a third of the year after wins in Qatar and – only last weekend – in Kazakhstan.
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