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.”

Tottenham Hotspur have been fined £20,000 by the Football Association after accepting a charge of failing to control their players during the 4-1 win against West Ham United.

Both clubs were charged on Tuesday for failing to ensure their players “didn’t behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or violent way”.

Spurs admitted the charge and accepted the fine for the scuffle in last weekend’s game.

The altercation occurred after Mohamed Kudus kicked Spurs defender Micky van de Ven then pushed the Netherlands defender and midfielder Pape Matar Sarr in the face.

The Ghana winger was initially shown a yellow card but it was upgraded to a red after a review by the video assistant referee.

The 24-year-old will serve a three-match ban for his dismissal.

He was separately charged on Tuesday for improper conduct for an incident “after the offence he was sent off for”.

The former Ajax winger could serve an extra punishment on top of the three-game suspension if found guilty.

West Ham and Kudus have until Thursday to provide their responses.

ABU DHABI – Khamzat Chimaev is confident he’ll be able to take Robert Whittaker to his world with ease.

Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) meets Whittaker (27-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 308 co-main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (pay-per-view, ESPN+). When asked if he thinks he could stand with Whittaker, Chimaev said he doesn’t see the fight playing out there.

“Who did stop my takedowns?” Chimaev told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 308 media day. “Nobody. So, I don’t think this guy will be different. Kamaru Usman has been a great champ, and he took down everyone. But I took him down. I dominate him in the rounds easy. What’s going to be different with taekwondo or karate guy compared to Usman, who’s been a wrestler? He was a professional wrestler before.”

Chimaev hasn’t competed since defeating former UFC welterweight champion Usman last October at UFC 294. He has recently experienced some health issues and appeared to slow down late in his recent wins over Gilbert Burns and Usman.

But Chimaev assures that despite this being his first scheduled five-round fight, he’s still going to storm out of the gate like always.

“I’ve been pushing from first second to last second in my sparring, but I don’t think it will be different in the cage, as well,” Chimaev said. “I didn’t say anything about my health before the Usman fight, so everyone thinks Khamzat went into the cage healthy, but it wasn’t that. I was sick in the morning before the fight. I didn’t find an excuse. I didn’t cry.”

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

Max Holloway respects Ilia Topuria’s skills ahead of their lightweight title bout at UFC 308 on Saturday, but he doesn’t understands a few things about his opponent.

Topuria captured the UFC belt by stopping Alexander Volkanovski in shocking fashion earlier this year, and now faces the man that has given the MMA world one an all-time memorable moment with a last-second knockout over Justin Gaethje to claim the BMF belt. Topuria challenged Holloway to do his “point down” call in the first 10 seconds of the bout rather than the final ones, and Holloway thinks that’s just Topuria being unoriginal.

“It just makes no sense,” Holloway said at the UFC 308 media day in Abu Dhabi. “At the end of the day, to me, I don’t think he deserves. You gotta earn that right. I don’t think he deserved that right. I mean, you know the guy that he’s copycatting. This guy’s a copycat. Down to the tattoos, his aura, to the way he’s approaching fights. The guy’s a copycat and you’re best friends with the guy he’s trying to copy.

“At the end of the day, I think you got to earn that moment. 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 was trying to swing, someone shot and someone hold someone down for the rest of the fight, so I think the moment needs to be earned. 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, so it’s amazing.”

Holloway called Topuria’s mind “very interesting” with the way he speaks and acts going into a fight, but “if that’s what it takes to be the best version of himself come Saturday night, so be it.”

“I’m more confused about everything he’s saying about me not wanting to fight him, me getting forced to fight him,” he said. “He got me out here feeling like how he looked after my Gaethje fight. It’s crazy.”

Having said all that, Holloway does not underestimate a man that has won seven straight inside the octagon and 18 overall as a MMA fighter.

“He’s good,” Holloway said. “A lot of people forget that when he came into the UFC he got brought in as a grappler and wrestler, that’s what he was, and he came to the UFC and started knocking people out. His boxing is nice. As a fighter, you cannot be a hater and say he’s not good. Is he proven? He did what he had to do, when he had to do it, to get to the position he has, so there’s no disrespect to that. But he get to see me come Saturday night, so that should be fun.”

UFC 308 will mark Holloway’s 16th five-round fight since joining the UFC in February of 2012, three years prior to Topuria’s first MMA bout. Yet, “Blessed” doesn’t feel in disadvantage being five years older than the current champion.

“I’m just a couple years older than him,” said Holloway, who has more than double the experience in terms of MMA bouts with 34 appearances. “I’ve been here, done that. A lot of people keep forgetting how young I was. I think ESPN posted it. When I was at his age, I had all my title wins and title defenses, so that’s just how that goes. … I know he talked about his cardio. He believed he has cardio, but most of the time, his cardio is outshining the opponent’s cardio because he’s hurting them early in their fights. The beautiful thing is guys, I just cannot wait, man. I can’t wait. There’s going to be something special. Tune in Saturday night.”

Week 7 is in the books, which means it’s time for FOX Sports lead NFL analyst Tom Brady to name his latest 3 Stars of The Week. 

At the end of each week throughout the regular season, Brady will choose three players whose performances stood out to him the most. Brady also selects his power rankings of the Top 5 teams in the NFL every week and chooses one player from each game he broadcasts this season as his LFG Player of the Game. Here’s his latest 3 Stars of the Week:

Tom Brady’s 3 Stars of Week 7: Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, Russell Wilson | DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE

Check out how Brady’s 3 Stars of Week 7 performed, with the GOAT’s full analysis below!

Week 7 stats: 21-for-33 passing, 323 pass yards, two touchdown passes, no interceptions, 116.1 passer rating in 34-10 win over Tennessee Titans

Brady’s thoughts: “First up, one of my favorite players in the league, Josh Allen. He had 323 yards, two tuddies against the Titans on Sunday. They got off to a little bit of a slow start, but they came flying back. I love to see him cleaning up the turnovers. He’s yet to throw a pick this year. That’s incredible. Twelve touchdown passes, zero interceptions. Listen, they’re fresh off a trade, they got Amari Cooper in the mix. He had 66 yards and a touchdown in his first game as a Bill. They scored on every possession in the second half. So carrying that momentum into Week 8 at Seattle, which I’ll be on the call for, is going to be important if they want to get a win.”

Bills QB Josh Allen threw for a season-high 323 yards in Sunday’s win over the Titans and he’s yet to throw an interception this season. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

Week 7 stats: 176 rushing yards, 17 carries (10.4 yards per carry), one rushing touchdown, two receptions, 11 receiving yards in 28-3 win over New York Giants

Brady’s thoughts: “Giants fans, look away! Saquon made his return to MetLife and went off — 176 yards and a touchdown against his former team. He’s averaging 110 yards rushing  game. Philly needs another big game from Saquon this week as they take on Joe Burrow and the Bengals. That’s going to be a great game.”

Saquon Barkley on dominant performance against former team – ‘We got the dub’

Week 7 stats: 16-for-29 passing, 264 pass yards, two touchdown passes, no interceptions, one rush touchdown in 37-15 win over New York Jets

Brady’s thoughts: “Russell Wilson, he proved why he should be the starter in his debut against the Jets on Sunday night. Mike Tomlin made a tough decision, but he got the job done. Russ came in, he threw for 264 yards, [accounted for] three total touchdowns, and the Steelers scored 37 points, their most in a game since 2021. Let’s see if Russell and the Steelers can win their second in a row as they take on the Giants on Monday night next week.”

Russell Wilson helped the Steelers score four touchdowns and led them to seven scoring drives in his first start with the team. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)

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