ABU DHABI – Robert Whittaker vows to match Khamzat Chimaev’s pace at UFC 308.

Whittaker (27-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) will look to hand Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) his first-career loss in Saturday’s co-main event at Etihad Arena (pay-per-view, ESPN+). This will mark Chimaev’s first five-round fight, whereas former UFC middleweight champion Whittaker has competed in numerous five rounders. Chimaev doesn’t plan on changing his approach, and Whittaker is ready for it.

“I am expecting him to come out hard and aggressive from the first second to the last,” Whittaker told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 308 media day. “And I have prepared accordingly for that. I’ve prepared for the hardest fight of my life, to start extremely hard, like sprinting for the first 5 to 10 minutes, but also drag it out the five (rounds). I’m ready to sprint for 25 minutes if so, and I’m coming for war.”

Chimaev said Whittaker knows how to lose, but he doesn’t. While that statement might be true, Whittaker takes that as motivation.

“Experience,” Whittaker answered on what makes him different from Chimaev’s prior opponents. “I’m good at what I do. I’m a different fighter than he’s fought before, and I guess maybe the fact that I know how to lose, it gives me strength, it gives me a reason why I don’t like being there, why I don’t want that to be my reality. It sucks, so I’m going to go out there and give him a taste of it.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Ilia Topuria won’t hide his long term goals as a UFC champion, but he’s also going to take on whatever challenge the promotion throws at him.

Just days away from his inaugural title defense at 145 pounds, the Georgian-born fighter recently commented that his dream was becoming the UFC’s first ever three-division champion with plans to conquer lightweight and welterweight after already claiming the featherweight title. But as much as he wants that for himself, Topuria admitted on Wednesday that he’s just as ready to take out lightweight champion Islam Makhachev as he would be if a rematch against former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is what comes next.

“Before, I used to make more predictions about that — ‘I want to fight this one or that,’” Topuria explained during UFC 308 media day. “But at the end of the day, I want to do my job, which is to show up and fight and we’ll see what the UFC wants me to do.

“If they call me and they want me to move up to the lightweight division, I will be OK with that moving up and be the first one to submit Islam. If they want me to keep on defending that belt in the featherweight division, I will be OK with that, too. Let’s leave that decision to the UFC.”

There’s always going to be new challenge for a defending champion, but Topuria has the chance to put himself in rarified air if he delivers on his promise to defeat Holloway on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

Considering he already knocked out Volkanovski back in February, Topuria could add another all-time featherweight great to his resume with the upcoming fight against Holloway. That’s certainly not lost on Topuria, who has made a number of bold predictions about his upcoming fight but still maintains respect when it comes to Holloway’s skills and the accolades he’s earned as a 12-year UFC veteran.

“I have all the respect for him,” Topuria said about Holloway. “He’s a great fighter. He has achieved many great things in the sport. You can’t take credit from him. I have learned many, many things from him.

“He called me a fan. Yeah, I followed his career, I’ve been a fan. How can you not be a fan of Max Holloway? He’s been a great example for me but now it’s my time to be that example for the next generation.”

When it comes to the matchup, Topuria has promised that he plans on becoming the first person to finish Holloway with strikes, which is a nod to his power and precision compared to the Hawaiian’s legendary durability in the cage.

In the past, Holloway has called himself the best boxer on the entire UFC roster but Topuria seemingly takes that as a challenge to prove he’s better.

“In reality, he’s a good striker,” Topuria said. “It’s not only boxer because calling himself the best boxer in the UFC is kind of a shame, I think, because he’s not the best boxer in the UFC. But he’s a good striker.

“He has a lot of experience, he’s very patient inside the octagon. But everyone is good when they can develop a style in the octagon and someone is not putting the pressure on him. On Saturday night, he’s going to feel something he never felt with any other opponents that he had in the past. The pressure he’s going to feel with me, it’s going to be completely different.”

Topuria also responded to Holloway’s claim that he hasn’t yet earned the right to meet him in the middle of the octagon and use his signature move, which is pointing to the ground and inviting a slugfest to ensue.

Holloway’s argument was that Topuria doesn’t really understand why he’s famously used that move — a gesture to give an opponent who’s about to lose the fight one last chance at redemption — but none of that seems to matter much to the reigning UFC featherweight champion.

He doesn’t need anybody’s permission so Topuria absolutely plans on making that challenge to start his fight with Holloway but that’s not the only trick he has up his sleeve.

“I never asked him if I deserve that or not,” Topuria said in response. “I will be pointing to the ground since the first second of the fight.

“If he wants to stand with me in the middle, it’s OK and prove he’s the real ‘BMF.’ If he decides [to not do that], it’s OK, too. I’m going to find a different way to finish him and take his head off.”

Video Details

ABU DHABI – Max Holloway ripped UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria for trying to impersonate Conor McGregor.

Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) challenges Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) for the title in Saturday’s UFC 308 headliner at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (pay-per-view, ESPN+).

Topuria has made some bold statements and not minced words when it comes to Holloway. However, “Blessed” is unfazed by the trash talk.

“I’m more confused about everything he’s saying,” Holloway told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 308 media day. “He’s talking about me not wanting to fight, me being forced to fight. He got me out here feeling like how he looked after my Gaethje fight, so it’s crazy.

“His mind is very interesting. But if that’s what it takes to be the best version of himself come Saturday night then so be it. He can talk all that talk he wants because at the end of the day, he still has to see me in three days.”

Topuria said he’ll challenge Holloway to his own game by pointing to the middle of the octagon for a throwdown in the first 10 seconds of the fight. Holloway isn’t buying Topuria’s claim and accuses “El Matador” of copying Conor McGregor’s persona.

“It just makes no sense,” Holloway said. “To me, I don’t think he deserves – you’ve got to earn that right. I don’t think he deserves that right. I mean, you guys know the guy he’s copycatting. This guy is a copycat down to his tattoos, to his aura, to the way he’s approaching fights. The guy is a copycat. At the end of the day, I think you’ve got to earn that moment, and I believe he could have earned it with Josh Emmett.

“In their five-round war, Josh Emmett was trying to swing. If you guys go back to that fight and watch what happened, when Josh Emmett tried to swing, someone shot, and someone held someone down for the rest of the fight. So, I think the moment needs to be earned, and he’s just trying to steal stuff. He’s already trying to steal one person’s aura, and now he’s trying to steal somebody else’s thing.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

ABU DHABI – Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has an issue with Max Holloway calling himself the best boxer in the UFC.

Undefeated Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) will look to make his first title defense against former champ Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 308 main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (pay-per-view, ESPN+).

Holloway famously shouted that he’s the best boxer in the UFC while piecing up Calvin Kattar in one of his most impressive career performances in January 2021. Topuria didn’t brand himself as the best but thinks Holloway is known more for his overall striking than boxing specifically.

“In reality, he’s a good striker,” Topuria told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 308 media day. “It’s not only boxer because calling himself the best boxer in the UFC is kind of a shame, because he’s not the best boxer in the UFC, but he’s a good striker. He has a lot of experience. He’s very patient inside the octagon.

“But everyone is good when they can develop their style in the octagon and someone is not putting the pressure on him. So, on Saturday night, he’s going to feel something that he’s never felt with any other opponents that he had in the past. The pressure he’s going to feel with me is going to be completely different.”

Topuria said he represents the new wave of talent in MMA whereas Holloway hasn’t evolved in years.

“The way I apply the techniques and the skills to my opponent, the way I move my head, the way I dominate the octagon, that’s the difference,” Topuria said. “What evolution do you see in Max Holloway in every fight? Maybe only in striking.

“But you don’t see him getting better in wrestling or on the ground, you don’t see him trying to new things. Only in the striking. This is what I’m talking about. I try to evolve the game all the time, not only in the striking. With the wrestling, the ground game, everything.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Khamzat Chimaev might not have the experience of Robert Whittaker, but in this case, he thinks a lack of knowledge could be power.

In 13 pro bouts, including his seven UFC appearances, Chimaev is yet to lose. He faces arguably the biggest test of his career this Saturday when he fights former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the five-round co-main event of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.

While Chimaev hasn’t faced the level of opponents Whittaker has, there’s a reason he feels he has the edge in their matchup.

“He knows how to lose, we don’t know, so I’m ready for victory,” Chimaev said at UFC 308 media day on Wednesday.

Whittaker won an interim title in 2017 that was later elevated to undisputed status, eventually losing it to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243. He is 6-2 since that defeat with losses to Adesanya in their rematch at UFC 271 and then a one-sided TKO loss to future champion Dricus du Plessis. Outside of those setbacks, “The Reaper” has continued to prove he’s a step above the contenders at 185 pounds.

Whatever Whittaker brings to the table on Saturday, Chimaev is confident that he’ll impose his will on the fight and that fans shouldn’t expect Whittaker to force him into a standup fight.

“Who did stop my takedowns?” Chimaev said. “Nobody. I don’t think this guy will be different. If Kamaru Usman, he’s a great champion, and he took down everyone, but I took him down, I dominated him in the rounds, easy. What’s going to be different with Taekwondo or karate guy?”

Chimaev fielded several questions about his conditioning, having never gone 25 minutes in a fight, something Whittaker has done on multiple occasions. He answered that he and his team have tweaked his preparation, but there was no need for a complete overhaul of their training strategy.

Should Chimaev win a decision over Whittaker or become the first UFC fighter to submit him, it would undoubtedly answer a lot of questions. Questions that Chimaev himself has little interest in.

“Just win, that’s it,” Chimaev said. “I don’t think about five rounds, I don’t think about submission. Just go to the cage, win the fight, smash that guy, and take my money. That’s it. Never when I go to the cage, thinking about how, just win the fight. How doesn’t matter.”