THE UFC is giving fight fans a double dose of pay-per-view action this month with a truly stacked card.

The worldwide leader in mixed martial arts makes its annual visit to Abu Dhabi later this month for UFC 308.

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And the promotion has an incredibly stacked card in place for their return to the United Arab Emirates.

Topping the bill of their 12th pay-per-view card of what has been an incredible 2024 is a mouth-watering title fight between two fan favourites.

Ilia Topuria will make the maiden defence of his featherweight title against former champion Max Holloway.

Topuria claimed the 145lbs crown in February with a devastating second-round KO of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298.

Hawaiian hitman Holloway, meanwhile, will enter the fight on the back of a viral buzzer-beater KO of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April.

UFC 308’s co-main event of the evening will also have huge title implications.

Former middleweight king Robert Whittaker will bid to end the seemingly unstoppable steamtrain that is the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev.

UFC 308 is packed with incredible fights from top to bottom.

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And SunSport is on hand with everything you need to know about the upcoming card.

When is UFC 308?

UFC 308 will take place on Saturday, October 26.

Where is UFC 308 taking place?

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena – the venue where Conor McGregor lost his rematch with Dustin Poirier in January 2021 – will host the incredible night of fights.

What channel is UFC 308 on?

The Fight Pass prelims and the ensuing preliminary bouts will be broadcast live on UFC Fight Pass and TNT Sports 1.

The main card will be available to watch live on TNT Sports Box Office for a fee of £19.99.

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What time does the UFC 308 card start in the UK and US?

The stacked prelims are set to commence at 3:30pm BST time, meaning they’ll get underway at 10:30am and 7:30am on the east and west coasts of America.

UFC 308’s main card will commence at 7pm BST time in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The pay-per-view portion of the card will start at 2pm and 11am respectively on the USA‘s east and west coasts.

What time will Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway start in the UK and US?

The octagon walks for the main event are expected to take place at approximately 9:30pm BST time (4:30pm ET/1:30pm PT).

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UFC 308: Topuria vs Holloway fight card

• Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway (men’s featherweight title bout)
• Robert Whittaker vs Khamza Chimaev (middleweight bout)
• Lerone Murphy vs Dan Ige (men’s featherweight bout)
• Magomed Ankalaev vs Aleksandr Rakic (light-heavyweight bout)
• Sharabutdin Magomedov vs Armen Petrosyan (middleweight bout)

Prelims

• Geoff Neal vs Rafael dos Anjos (welterweight bout)
• Mateusz Rebecki vs Myktybek Orolbai (lightweight bout)
• Said Nurmagomedov vs Daniel Santos (men’s bantamweight bout)
• Abusupiyan Magomedov vs Brunno Ferreira (middleweight bout)
• Farid Basharat vs Victor Hugo (men’s bantamweight bout)

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Fight Pass Prelims

• Ismail Naurdiev vs Bruno Silva (middleweight bout)
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs Nursulton Ruziboev (welterweight bout)
• Ibo Aslan vs Raffael Cerqueira (light-heavyweight bout)

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In a statement released on Monday, HMS gave the following explanation for their decision to accept the penalty: “Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the disqualification of the No. 48 car following Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Roval. NASCAR allows a clear margin to account for the difference in pre- and post-race weight.

“After a thorough review by our team and the sanctioning body, we simply did not give ourselves enough margin to meet the post-race requirement. Although unintentional, the infraction was avoidable. We are extremely disappointed to lose a playoff spot under these circumstances and apologize to our fans and partners.”

Originally, all four Hendrick drivers had advanced into the Round of 8 after Kyle Larson’s victory on Sunday. But in post-race technical inspection, the No. 48 HMS Chevrolet failed to meet minimum weight requirements, which includes a tolerance around 17 pounds. Per Brad Moran, the managing series director for Cup, the car was weighed multiple times and the team was given the chance to both fuel up the car and add water.

Bowman was disqualified and the subsequent loss of points resulted in him being eliminated from the 2024 NASCAR Cup playoffs. Bowman’s misfortune put two-time NASCAR Cup champion and Team Penske driver Joey Logano back in. At the checkered flag, he was out by four points. This also changed the owner’s championship, as the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota was originally eliminated there, but is now back in as well.

The official Round of 8 points grid:

Richard Wigglesworth has been promoted to head coach Steve Borthwick’s number two in the latest change to England’s coaching set-up.

Former England scrum-half Wigglesworth, 41, remains in charge of the team’s attack, but now will collaborate with Borthwick on England’s overall gameplan and managing the rest of the coaching group.

“Richard’s deep knowledge of the game and his excellent tactical understanding means he has become a key figure in our coaching team,” said Borthwick.

“He shares our emotional commitment to English rugby, and I am certain he will play a crucial role in driving the standards of this England team.”

Wigglesworth said: “This is an exciting time for England rugby. Steve has created a coaching environment based on collaboration and hard work, and we are constantly evolving and growing and striving for success.”

Wigglesworth, who played 33 times for England, was brought into the England camp by Borthwick after the pair worked together when Leicester Tigers won the Premiership in 2022.

England hired Oyonnax’s Joe El-Abd as defence coach in September after Felix Jones resigned from the post after seven months.

Kevin Sinfield, who was set to leave earlier this year, has agreed to remain on reduced hours in a role overseeing skills, kicking and the mentoring of players.

Irishman Jones is working remotely to provide tactical analysis while being held to his 12-month notice period.

England take on New Zealand on 2 November before continuing their autumn campaign against Australia, South Africa and Japan.

England’s coaching staff:

Steve Borthwick – head coach

Richard Wigglesworth – senior assistant coach (attack)

Joe El-Abd – assistant coach (defence)

Tom Harrison – assistant coach (scrum)

Kevin Sinfield – assistant coach (skills & kicking)

Andrew Strawbridge – assistant coach & coaching advisor

FANS spotted a funny mistake by the FA following the release of the FA Cup first-round fixtures.

The first round proper will take place between November 1-4.

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It will feature some big teams like Birmingham, Huddersfield and Wrexham, as well as non-league minnows.

A total of 44 names were pulled out of the hat for the first round – but one appeared as something else on the FA‘s website.

In the list of fixtures they listed a tie between Hartlepool/Brackley vs Aintree.

A correction was later made so the correct team, Braintree Town, was put in place of Aintree.

But not before eagle-eyed fans spotted the mistake, with some joking the game would be held on a racecourse, referencing Aintree’s famous horse racing venue.

One fan reacted saying: “Wonder how long it will take for the FA to realise that they’ve currently got the winner of the Hartlepool-Brackley replay hosting a race course…”

Another added: “To be a fair, a team of players on horses is something I’d pay good money to see.”

Elsewhere there are some notable ties including AFC Wimbledon‘s visit to MK Dons.

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While League One leaders Birmingham face a trip to non league side Sutton United.

Huddersfield also take on non league Tamworth.

Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira will battle for a brand new championship belt this Saturday.

The massive heavyweights headline this weekend’s PFL pay-per-view event, and battle for the PFL Superfight heavyweight title in Saudi Arabia. The bout will be Ngannou’s first for the promotion since vacating the UFC heavyweight title to sign with PFL.

On Monday, PFL revealed the new Superfight titles that Ngannou and Ferreira — along with Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco — will be fighting for. Check out the new belts below.

Ngannou competes in an MMA fight for the first time since defeating Ciryl Gane in a UFC heavyweight title defense at UFC 270 in January 2022. Since then, “The Predator” has competed in the boxing ring, losing a pair of bouts to top-ranked heavyweights Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Ferreira has stopped his past four opponents, including Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in 21 seconds at PFL vs. Bellator in February.

Cyborg makes her promotional debut, and first MMA appearance in over a year. The Bellator women’s featherweight champ picked up two boxing knockouts in her two combat appearances in 2024.

Pacheco enters the matchup coming off of back-to-back $1 million PFL championships, including a victory over now-UFC fighter Kayla Harrison at the PFL World Championships 2022 event.