Ilia Topuria likely has a familiar foe awaiting him for his second title defense.

After becoming the first person to knock out Max Holloway in a stunning performance to cap off UFC 308 on Saturday, the reigning UFC featherweight champion came face-to-face with the man he beat to win the belt. Alexander Volkanovski made his way into the cage following Topuria’s win and the former opponents shared a few kind words for each other in anticipation of an expected rematch.

While UFC CEO Dana White typically doesn’t like to play matchmaker on the same night of an event, he says it’s almost certain that Volkanovski gets the chance to run it back with Topuria next.

“Listen, Volkanovski’s one of those guys, we’re not going to say no to Volkanovski,” White said at the UFC 308 post-fight press conference. “He’s been that guy for us. Any time we needed him. He was on this run like [Israel] Adesanya, like Alex [Pereira] is on right now, when things don’t go our way, and you’ve got to call a guy, Volkanovski’s always been that guy. He really was.

“I don’t think anybody’s in this room going ‘oh this is ridiculous or crazy’ and who wouldn’t want to see it again?”

Volkanovski hasn’t fought since he suffered a knockout loss to Topuria back in February in the fight that cost him the featherweight title. That actually served as his second consecutive knockout loss after Volkanovski fell to UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in similar fashion after he accepted a short-notice fight with hopes of winning a second title.

Instead, Volkanovski ate a brutal head kick in the first round that ended his night. Four months later, Topuria dished out the same result. Afterwards, Volkanovski was told he could get a rematch when he was ready to compete again and it appears the UFC is following through on that promise.

There’s no timeline when the fight might happen, although Volkanovski was pushing to return at the upcoming UFC 312 card scheduled for Australia in February. Prior to his win on Saturday, Topuria shot down any hope that he would defend his title in enemy territory so it remains to be seen when or where the rematch against Volkanovski happens.

With a perfect 16-0 record that now includes wins over two of the greatest featherweights of all time in Volkanovski and Holloway, Topuria is already entering rarified area when it comes to his career. A second win over Volkanovski would separate Topuria even further from his peers at 145 pounds.

“We were just talking in the back. As you start to clip off legend after legend after legend, you eventually become a legend,” White said about Topuria. “Both guys looked great tonight. Max came in with the right game plan. I think the early calf kicks added up and took their toll later in the fight. Those things are so devastating when people throw them the right way. He couldn’t have fought a better fight.

“[Topuria] took some big shots himself. Has the chin, kept coming forward, incredible performance by both guys. But Topuria did something that nobody’s ever done before.”

“We definitely believe the goal can give us some momentum – 2-1 compared to 2-0 is a big difference and it could be a very important goal.

“I am glad to have been the one to put it away and hopefully we can put a few more away in Cardiff on Tuesday.”

Morgan said Wales’ players were frustrated with a performance that Wilkinson described as the “worst” in her time as Wales boss.

“It’s obviously disappointing for us as a team, we felt prepared coming in and we didn’t get the result that we wanted,” she said.

“Slovakia were aggressive and we knew they were. Maybe we didn’t react to what they were doing and challenge them enough and compete at their level.

“We will review the game, watch it individually and show where we need to be better and hopefully we can put it right on Tuesday, which I know that we can.”

ABU DHABI – Magomed Ankalaev may have finally been granted his title shot after UFC 308.

Unbeaten in his past 13 fights, Ankalaev outpointed Aleksandar Rakic (14-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) to earn a unanimous decision win on Saturday’s main card at Etihad Arena.

Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) has been chomping at the bit for his shot at UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, telling him to “stop running” in his post-octagon interview. Dana White was asked about Ankalaev’s performance, and the UFC CEO was impressed.

“He looked good,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie at the UFC 308 post-fight news conference. “He absolutely looked great.”

Ankalaev was passed up for a title fight when Pereira drew No. 8 ranked Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 earlier this month. Pereira retained his belt with another knockout finish, and poked at Ankalaev prior to UFC 308 by telling him that he’s rooting for him to beat Rakic so he can make him wait longer. He also dubbed his style as boring.

But Ankalaev no longer has to worry since he now has White’s word that he’s next in line.

“I would have to say yes,” White said when asked if Ankalaev is No. 1 contender.

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

Khamzat Chimaev didn’t mean to hurt Robert Whittaker, but it just happened that way.

On Saturday night at UFC 308, Chimaev picked up the eighth win of his UFC career, stopping Whittaker with a neck crank in the first round. The submission was so brutal that it shattered the former middleweight champion’s jaw and teeth, something Chimaev was not aware of until after the fight.

“Before I come in here they showed it to me, but I felt something was wrong with his chin when I pushed it,” Chimaev said in his post-fight press scrum. “So I feel bad for that. I didn’t mean to break somebody’s chin, but it’s my work, to make somebody pain and make me happy, my family.

“I wasn’t trying to break his jaw in any way,” Chimaev added later. “It just happened that I went for a choke and I heard something click. I thought I was taking his neck, but I guess I broke the jaw.”

The win is Chimaev’s sixth finish in the UFC and earned him his fifth Performance bonus. It also may have earned “Borz” a title shot. While former champion Sean Strickland appears to be next in line for champion Dricus du Plessis, UFC CEO Dana White suggested after the fight that perhaps the pecking order may have changed. If so, Chimaev is happy to meet du Plessis on his home turf of South Africa for the opportunity.

“If it would be for the belt, it doesn’t matter where this goes,” Chimaev said. “I’m just going to go there and take my gold. So it’s up to Dana. I think they’ve never been to South Africa, so if they go it will be good history, and I would like to enjoy that.”

And while winning the title may be the end goal for many fighters, for Chimaev that is only the beginning.

“I talked about three belts a long time ago so of course I want to go up,” Chimaev said. “But what Dana White and the UFC want, I don’t know. First, I have to in my weight class take the belt, then I’m going to think about it.”

Michael Cohen

College Football and College Basketball Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Try as they might, the horns and the percussionists from Ohio State‘s famous marching band couldn’t drown out the boos as the third quarter drew to a close on Saturday afternoon. Clinging to an increasingly fraught five-point lead, the Buckeyes’ offense had just gone three-and-out for the third time in a span of four possessions, with the only reprieve coming in the form of a gobsmacking interception by quarterback Will Howard. The latest irritant to the crowd of 104,830 at Ohio Stadium was a failed third-down carry from running back TreVeyon Henderson, who was enveloped for negative yardage while the offensive line capitulated. Smatterings of fans let their exasperation be heard as the punt team readied for duty and the band played on like nothing was wrong.

But there were plenty of problems with Ohio State’s harrowing 21-17 survival against Nebraska, a middling Big Ten foe that, seven days prior, was garroted by 49 points in a nationally televised implosion against then-No. 16 Indiana. The Cornhuskers arrived here as underdogs of more than 25 points and losers of their last 26 games against ranked opponents, a streak that predates head coach Matt Rhule. And yet there stood the Buckeyes, dumbfounded and dazed and disbelieving what they were seeing, trailing by three with 10:47 remaining once Nebraska tailback Dante Dowdell soared across the goal line for a 1-yard score. In that moment, and with all the warts that had been exposed, the idea that Ohio State should be viewed as one of the best teams in college football — a bonafide contender to win its first national championship since 2014 — felt rather farcical. 

“It wasn’t perfect,” Howard said. “But a win is a win.”

And the fans could feel it. Sure, there were some micro frustrations amid the collective disdain on a beautiful fall day in Columbus. They were irritated by an ineffective rushing attack that only gained 2.1 yards per carry on 31 attempts. They were annoyed by the porous pass blocking that seemed to accelerate the clock in Howard’s head. They were galled by the shanked field goal from kicker Jayden Fielding. They were incensed at the trio of penalties called against cornerback Davison Igbinosun, even if one of them was declined. They were livid over the ejection of linebacker Arvell Reese for targeting and threw bottles onto the field, briefly halting the game as stadium staff cleared debris. And they were mystified that head coach Ryan Day and his staff hadn’t done a better job of energizing and enlivening this bunch with two full weeks of practice since their soul-crushing loss to Oregon.

But it was the macro overtones that were far more concerning for a fan base desperate to cleanse itself after watching archrival Michigan win the Big Ten Championship and reach the College Football Playoff in three consecutive seasons, the last of which was punctuated with the conference’s first national title in a decade. Indeed, what the Buckeyes displayed against Nebraska was far from the kind of gritty, fourth-quarter win that Day described it to be in his postgame news conference, an equivocation that raised more than a few eyebrows among reporters. No amount of coach speak or cliché spewing could obfuscate the harsh reality facing Ohio State: that it is an immensely talented football team falling short of expectations.

“We’ve gotta go back and look at the film and get it corrected because [it’s like] we’re in the playoffs now,” Howard said. “Every game is the most important game. We can’t afford to put a performance out there that we’re not proud of like today. And I think today will wake us up and remind us that we’ve got to just continue to grind every single day, every single week and not ever get complacent, because you never know.”

That Ohio State’s offensive malaise against Nebraska could be easily juxtaposed with the 56-7 beating Indiana applied to the Cornhuskers last week only deepened the concern. How could the Buckeyes, whose running back tandem of Henderson and Quinshon Judkins is arguably the best in the country, be tackled behind the line of scrimmage seven times by a defense that surrendered 215 rushing yards and 6.5 yards per carry to the significantly less-talented Hoosiers? How could Ohio State, whose receiving trio of Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate is the envy of college football, only convert once in 10 tries on third down after Indiana moved the chains against Nebraska at a 55.6% clip? How could an offense overseen by Day and first-year offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who is considered one of the brightest minds in the sport, produce 35 fewer points than IU did when facing the same unit in successive weeks?

To varying degrees, all of those questions point back to Ohio State’s injury problems along the offensive line, where starting left tackle Josh Simmons is out for the season with an undisclosed left knee injury suffered in the loss to Oregon. Without Simmons, who had blossomed into the team’s best lineman in his second season since arriving from San Diego State, offensive line coach Justin Frye entrusted senior Zen Michalski to fill that role against Nebraska despite logging just 105 snaps across the first six games.

A former four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting cycle, Michalski struggled in his first career start before exiting in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a hip injury. He allowed a sack on Ohio State’s opening possession when defensive lineman Jimari Butler beat him at the line of scrimmage and seemed to miss an assignment on each of the Buckeyes’ next two drives, including one that directly contributed to a three-and-out. Were it not for the lengthy touchdown throws from Howard, who connected with Tate for a 40-yard score and Smith for a 60-yard score, the revolving door of mistakes off the left side would have proven even more detrimental considering Judkins and Henderson only combined for 54 rushing yards and failed to reach the end zone on the ground. 

“For our offensive line,” Judkins said, “definitely wasn’t our best day up front. But I think those guys will get it corrected. Coach Frye, you know, he is great at what he does as far as coaching, and I think he’ll definitely fix it for next week. But I think everyone could improve.”

It’s a message that applied to nearly every member of Ohio State’s team on an afternoon when the Buckeyes needed to mount an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with 6:04 remaining in the fourth quarter to finally reclaim the lead, when the victory wasn’t assured until defensive back Jordan Hancock intercepted a poorly thrown ball from five-star freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola — a one-time OSU commit — in the final 90 seconds, when the toughness and desire and will of a roster that reportedly cost more than $20 million to assemble were all called into question as the path toward an expanded College Football Playoff temporarily faded.

That’s why there were boos echoing around the stadium on Saturday. And even the Ohio State band couldn’t overpower them. 

“We’re going to look back,” Day said, “and find that we should not be in games like this, quite honestly. I mean, that’s just the way we look at it.

“But we were [today]. Give Nebraska credit.”

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.

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ABU DHABI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 308 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $252,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 308 took place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN+

The full UFC 308 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

Ilia Topuria: $42,000
def. Max Holloway: $32,000

Khamzat Chimaev: $6,000
def. Robert Whittaker: $21,000

Magomed Ankalaev: $11,000
def. Aleksandar Rakic: $6,000

Lerone Murphy: $6,000
def. Dan Ige: $16,000

Shara Magomedov: $4,500
def. Armen Petrosyan: $6,000

Ibo Aslan: $4,000
def. Rafael Cerqueira: $4,000

Geoff Neal: $11,000
def. Rafael dos Anjos: $21,000

Mateusz Rebecki: $4,500
def. Myktybek Orolbai: $4,000

Abus Magomedov: $4,500
def. Brunno Ferreira: $4,500

Kennedy Nzechukwu: $11,000
def. Chris Barnett: $4,500

Farid Basharat: $4,500
def. Victor Hugo: $4,000

Ismail Naurdiev: $4,000
def. Bruno Silva: $6,000

Rinat Fakhretdinov: $6,000
def. Carlos Leal: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

• “UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway” – $252,000
• “UFC Fight Night 245: Hernandez vs. Pereira” – $155,500
• “UFC Fight Night 244: Royval vs. Taira” – $186,000
• “UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.” – $407,500
• “UFC Fight Night 243: Moicano vs. Saint Denis” – $173,500
• “UFC 306: Riyadh Season Noche UFC” – $239,500
• “UFC Fight Night 242: Burns vs. Brady” – $157,500
• “UFC on ESPN 62: Cannonier vs. Borralho” – $166,500
• “UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya” – $243,500
• “UFC on ESPN 61: Tybura vs. Spivac 2” – $128,000
• “UFC on ABC 7: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov” – $211,000
• “UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2” – $307,500
• “UFC on ESPN 60: Lemos vs. Jandiroba” – $139,000
• “UFC on ESPN 59: Namajunas vs. Cortez” – $180,500
• “UFC 303: Pereira vs. Prochazka 2”, – $311,500
• “UFC on ABC 6: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov” – $186,000
• “UFC on ESPN 58: Perez vs. Taira” – $116,000
• “UFC on ESPN 57: Cannonier vs. Imavov” – $186,500
• “UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier” – $281,500
• “UFC Fight Night 241: Barboza vs. Murphy” – $158,500
• “UFC on ESPN 56: Lewis vs. Nascimento” – $186,000
• “UFC 301: Pantoja vs. Erceg” – $280,000
• “UFC on ESPN 55: Nicolau vs. Perez” – $175,000
• “UFC 300: Pereira vs. Hill” – $460,000
• “UFC Fight Night 240: Allen vs. Curtis 2” – $162,500
• “UFC on ESPN 54: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot” – $173,000
• “UFC on ESPN 53: Ribas vs. Namajunas” – $148,000
• “UFC Fight Night 239: Tuivasa vs. Tybura” – $189,500
• “UFC 299: O’Malley vs. Vera 2” – $359,000
• “UFC Fight Night 238: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev” – $133,500
• “UFC Fight Night 237: Moreno vs. Royval 2” – $135,500
• “UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria” – $243,000
• “UFC Fight Night 236: Hermansson vs. Pyfer” – $236,500
• “UFC Fight Night 235: Dolidze vs. Imavov” – $170,500
• “UFC 297: Strickland vs. Du Plessis” – $285,500
• “UFC Fight Night 234: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2” – $159,500

Year-to-date total: $6,896,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $29,633,000

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