Did you miss the debut of UFC 308 “Countdown” or just want to watch it again? Check out the main event preview now.
The segment takes a special look at the featherweight title fight between unbeaten champion Ilia Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and challenger Max Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC), a former champ who has won five of his past six, including the “BMF” belt.
UFC 308 (pay-per-view, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. “Countdown” goes behind the scenes with the two fighters, and you can watch the full segment above. And don’t miss the entire episode in the video below.
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.
Francis Ngannou was the undisputed best heavyweight in the world when he left the UFC. Now that he’s officially a PFL champion, does he regain the top spot?
That’s the question posed to the MMA Fighting rankings panel following Ngannou’s emotional knockout of Renan Ferreira in the Battle of the Giants main event, which marked Ngannou’s first MMA fight since January 2022. “The Predator” made the most of his time away from the cage, booking lucrative boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, but he wasn’t active in MMA and that meant an automatic removal from our heavyweight list.
In his absence, Jon Jones bulldozed Ciryl Gane to claim the belt vacated by Ngannou, and a surge of contenders made their mark, most notably current interim UFC champion Tom Aspinall. Jones—also currently out of the rankings due to inactivity—is set to fight Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November, but Aspinall already has one up on “Bones” as he has already recorded a successful heavyweight title defense, something Jones is yet to do.
Because of that, Aspinall is our No. 1 for now, though two panelists saw fit to shift their allegiance to the returning Ngannou. Not only that, he placed high enough on the other ballots to jump all the way to the No. 2 spot, ahead of several notable names. It goes to show that Ngannou’s mystique remains as strong as ever and as long as he continues to deliver on fight night, his place in the heavyweight hierarchy is secure.
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Check out the latest edition of the MMA Fighting heavyweight rankings and let us know where you rank Ngannou in the poll below.
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Where do you place Francis Ngannou in the heavyweight rankings?
Now Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has been rebooked against Whittaker (27-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 308 (pay-per-view, ESPN+) co-main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Chimaev was scheduled to face Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6 in Riyadh, but was forced out due to illness which hospitalized him. Whittaker faced Ikram Aliskerov instead, knocking him out in Round 1. Chimaev opened up on what happened to him ahead of his rescheduled matchup vs. Whittaker.
“We were in training camp. The first month was very good,” Chimaev said on UFC Countdown. “The last three weeks, my immunity goes down. I don’t know what happened. All the guys ate the same food, (but) only (I) got sick.
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“I was in the hospital for a couple of days. I came out and started to train again and the same sh*t happened again. The doctor said to me, ‘You need to just be off from the gym and not just training, not doing nothing.’ I went home to the mountains.”
Undefeated Chimaev hasn’t competed since edging out former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman last October at UFC 294. His fight vs. Whittaker is being dubbed as a No. 1 contender bout.
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.
Sunday’s sole fixture pitched Kilmarnock up against Rangers at Rugby Park and it was the home fans who were celebrating…
Paul: First half, I thought we were the better team. We gave up more possession second half, but I think we were happy to let them have the ball and try to break us down. That is the worst Rangers team I’ve seen us play in years. We were confident we could take something from the game and it wasn’t a shock to take all three points. A well-deserved first home win.
Stephen: At last, a home win, clean sheet and a full 90-minute performance. The back four were composed, the midfield supported our defence and drove forward when winning possession and the front two didn’t give the opposition defence a minute’s peace. The right subs made at the right time too. Never mind Storm Ashley, Rangers couldn’t cope with Storm Marley. Great win.
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Robert: Absolutely superb. We were the better side throughout the whole game and it was as comfortable a game against one of the Old Firm we’ve ever had. Rangers are a very poor side. We were much better than Rangers despite not being at our best.
Anon: A great team performance, but special mention to Robbie Deas. Whenever called upon, he more than steps up and has contributed massively to some of our best defensive performances under Derek McInnes. We are lucky to have him and he deserves to start more often.
Anna: A hard-fought but well-deserved win for the boys. A good solid defence with Deas and Stuart Findlay in the middle. The midfield caused no end of problems for Rangers. I feel David Watson should have started instead of coming on from the bench. As for Watkins, need I say any more?
Derek: As comfortable a win against either half of the Old Firm as I can remember. Absolutely brilliant to see Brad Lyons and Liam Donnelly winning the midfield battle with a man disadvantage and, with the exception of Jefte-Armstrong, it felt like Kilmarnock resoundingly won every individual battle. Phenomenal performance and hopefully a sign of things to come.
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Rangers fans were far from impressed…
Matt: Lacklustre. Sloppy. No Fight, no spirit, but more worryingly, it’s not surprising. Club is in a right mess from top to bottom and the only ones who are hurting are us, the fans. Philippe Clement has a major problem. Fans starting to lose belief and we’ve been here far too many times.
Anon: Utterly gutless! Rotten from the first minute and no real game plan, empty jerseys – no fight, no passion and sadly no hope! We will be lucky to finish third with that squad.
Ian: Clement said earlier in the season to judge his team in October. This is now October and the team show no signs of improvement. The midfield three and front three are as poor a front six as I have seen for years. We also should have sold James Tavernier in the summer, if not sooner. Recruitment has been terrible for years and there is a long season ahead.
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Margaret: Why oh why can we never take advantage when Celtic drop points? It seems as if our bottle goes. So disappointed – we don’t seem to have the fight to win.
Alexander: Totally inept and tactically incompetent. No direction from middle of the park, which allowed Kilmarnock to play their own game. Rangers players were easily knocked off the ball and deserved what they got. Nothing. Things need to change and fast.
Ronnie: Arguably our most important league game of the season after Saturday’s result at Parkhead. A golden opportunity totally squandered in what was the worst 90 minutes I’ve seen from a Rangers side against domestic opposition in a long time. No pass marks other than Jack Butland. We looked like a Championship side again. It’s beyond forgivable.
Chris: How many real Rangers men are in this team? All this lot are playing for is the money not the jersey. Unless we get a player base of young academy players in the team, we are not going anywhere. Buying injury-prone mercenaries is not a viable strategy.
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Roy: First and foremost is the formation. Mr Clement sticks to his 4-2-3-1 and we are struggling to score goals. Up until about seven or eight years ago, Rangers regularly played two up front. Somehow, we need to get back to that, whether that means 4-4-2 or 3-5-2. Currently, we are just not good enough and will struggle to finish third!
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL and Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Oct. 14-20.
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UFC 308, Abu Dhabi, Saturday
Carlos Leal def. Dilano Taylor 2023 PFL 6
UFC Fight Night 246, Las Vegas, Nov. 9
Jul 29, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Matthew Semelsberger (red gloves) fights Uros Medic (blue gloves) during UFC 291 at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
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UFC Fight Night 247, Macau, Nov. 23
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 13: (R-L) Nikolas Motta of Brazil kicks Tom Nolan of Australia in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on January 13, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
2024 PFL Championships, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 29
Jun 1, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Randy Brown (red gloves) fights Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos (blue gloves) during UFC 302 at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
UFC Fight Night, Las Vegas, Jan. 11
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JULY 27: Preston Parsons looks on in a welterweight bout against Oban Elliott of England during the UFC 304 event at Co-op Live on July 27, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
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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.
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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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.
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.
In a week featuring marquee matchups, the Chiefs prevailed over the banged-up 49ers in a Super Bowl rematch. And in a pair of two-point thrillers, the Lions edged the Vikings and the Packers outlasted the Texans.
That caused some shuffling in my rankings, with Detroit inching up and Green Bay making a sizable jump. But there’s no change at the top, with the Chiefs remaining unbeaten despite not yet looking like a three-peat juggernaut. Meanwhile, after a couple of consequential lineup changes, don’t sleep on the Steelers and Bills.
It is hard to move the back-to-back champs from the top spot when they pile up wins against quality opponents. The Chiefs can win by playing various styles to exploit their opponent or mask their own deficiencies. Though Patrick Mahomes has not found his rhythm consistently in 2024, the Chiefs remain unbeaten despite the former MVP’s turnover woes.
Tom Brady on Chiefs’ dominance after defeating 49ers in Week 7
After dispatching a division rival, the Lions inch closer to the top of the charts. This is a rare squad that wins with force or finesse, employing a punishing running game or electric aerial attack directed by a red-hot quarterback (Jared Goff) playing at an MVP level. The balance and diversity of the Lions’ offense forces opponents to abandon their preferred approach to chase points against an opportunistic defense that feasts on turnovers.
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Did Lions QB Jared Goff just show he’s the MVP favorite?
Despite a tough loss, the Vikings look the part of a title contender. A nasty defense complemented by a dynamic offense will give Kevin O’Connell’s squad a chance to make a deep postseason run. If Sam Darnold continues to play efficiently from the pocket, the Vikings could emerge as the team no one wants to face in the NFC.
Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry make the Ravens the team no one in the league wants to face down the stretch. When executing option plays and stretch-bootleg combinations in the backfield, the two-time MVP and two-time NFL rushing champ make the Ravens’ smash-mouth offense nearly impossible to defend. With offensive coordinator Todd Monken mixing in complementary passing plays to keep defenders guessing, the Ravens are the offensive juggernaut with the most potential to run through the postseason tournament.
Jayden Daniels is already a superstar, but the Commanders are more than a one-man show. Dan Quinn has built a well-rounded team that can win by playing complementary football without its star player on the field, which we saw on Sunday when Daniels left early with a rib injury. Relying on a veteran-laden defense and an underrated running game, the Commanders are quietly climbing the charts as a playoff contender.
The defense is starting to steal the show in Green Bay, with the hard-playing unit leading the league in takeaways. The turnover obsession has helped the Packers become a more balanced team that doesn’t need to rely on the heroics of Jordan Love or Josh Jacobs to get a win. With Xavier McKinney & Co. leading the way, the Packers have emerged as legitimate title contenders in the NFC.
It has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride for Houston so far this season. Despite their impressive 5-2 start, the Texans have not played at the level many expected when touting H-Town as a Super Bowl favorite. That said, C.J. Stroud & Co. can get hot at any moment, and the Will Anderson-led defense can suffocate opponents with its collective speed and quickness. With plenty of time remaining, the Texans will find their way back up the chart.
Todd Bowles has his squad humming heading into a Monday night matchup with a formidable opponent. If the Buccaneers can knock off the Ravens in a prime-time tilt, the NFC South leaders deserve to climb the ladder as a potential title contender.
Perhaps Mike Tomlin knows best about building his team. His controversial decision to put Russell Wilson into the lineup might have given the offense the playmaking potential in the passing game to knock off an AFC heavyweight. If the defense continues to dismantle opponents with its blitz-heavy tactics and aggressive play, the Steelers will creep into the top five as a dangerous team to face in the playoffs.
Amari Cooper‘s arrival addressed the Bills’ biggest offensive need for a dependable No. 1 receiver. The veteran will help Josh Allen settle down in the post-Stefon Diggs era by giving the MVP candidate an experienced pass-catcher to target on crucial downs. With Cooper establishing the pecking order in the passing game, Buffalo’s offense now has the balance and diversity to compete with the AFC’s heavyweights.
Bucky Brooks is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. He also breaks down the game for NFL Network and as a cohost of the “Moving the Sticks” podcast. Follow him on Twitter @BuckyBrooks.
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