Mixed marital arts fans are in for a treat this weekend with UFC 308, which is headlined by Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway for the undisputed featherweight championship.
Topuria is undefeated in MMA and became champion in his seventh UFC appearance in February when he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, while Holloway is looking to become a two-time featherweight champion.
The former champ is coming off an epic last-second knockout win over Justin Gaethje to earn the organization’s symbolic BMF Title in a featured lightweight matchup at UFC 300 and the current champ has been talking plenty of trash in the leadup to his first title defence.
UFC 308 takes place in the United Arab Emirates, so start times for the event and the pre-fight festivities are earlier than usual for North American audiences.
With that in mind, here’s what else fight fans need to know this week ahead of the anticipated event.
WHERE AND WHEN DOES IT TAKE PLACE?
The event takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is the eighth event from Etihad Arena since the venue opened in January of 2021 and the 17th UFC event in Abu Dhabi since 2020. The UFC held three events there prior to 2020, which is when the organization began holding regular events there during lockdowns. The most recent event there was August’s Fight Night that was headlined by Umar Nurmagomedov defeating Cory Sandhagen in a bantamweight title eliminator.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING DURING FIGHT WEEK?
Media Day: All 10 main card athletes are scheduled to speak with gathered media on Wednesday to discuss their upcoming fights, preparation, opponent and anything in between. This event is closed to the public and lasts from late morning to late afternoon local time, which means it will take place in the early hours of the morning for North American fans.
Open Workout: Later in the day Wednesday, once media day has wrapped up, five main card fighters will participate in an open workout in front of fans at Yas Mall. Topuria, Holloway, Robert Whittaker, Khamzat Chimaev and Shara Magomedov will each hit pads and/or grapple with a coach or training partner for roughly 10 minutes each and participate in a brief Q&A that’ll be conducted in both English and Arabic.
Press conference: The main card athletes will reunite on Thursday at the official pre-fight press conference, which will take place in Etihad Arena beginning approximately 8:30 a.m. ET / 5:30 a.m. PT on Sportsnet+. It could be a lively atmosphere with 10 fighters on stage at the same time and fans in attendance. The five sets of opponents will square off for face-to-face staredowns once the questions and answers have concluded.
Official weigh-ins: Fans can catch the official weigh-ins live depending on their sleep schedule. Fighters will have a two-hour window beginning at 1 a.m. ET Friday / 10 p.m. PT Thursday to make their contracted weight.
Ceremonial weigh-ins: Seven hours after the official weigh-ins are done, the fighters will head over to Etihad Arena for the ceremonial weigh-ins where fans will get one last chance to see the competitors face off before stepping into the Octagon on Saturday. These ceremonial weigh-ins are set to begin 10:00 a.m. ET / 8:00 a.m. PT.
UFC 308: The fights start Saturday evening local time but for the North American audience it’s a rare numbered event that begins in the morning. Sportsnet’s preliminary card coverage begins at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT, before the pay-per-view main card gets underway at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT.
WHO ELSE IS ON THE CARD? WHAT ELSE IS AT STAKE?
In addition to the enthralling 145-pound title fight atop the card, UFC 308 features multiple fights with title implications.
The co-main event is a five-round middleweight contest between former champion Robert Whittaker and unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev. It will serve as a de facto title eliminator in the 185-pound weight class.
Chimaev hasn’t fought in a full year after dealing with injuries and illness. He and Whittaker were expected to headline the organization’s June event in Saudi Arabia but Chimaev withdrew during fight week due to illness and Whittaker made quick work of short-notice replacement opponent Ikram Aliskerov in under two minutes.
Alex Pereira’s next opponent could be determined if either Magomed Ankalaev or his opponent, Aleksandar Rakic, impress UFC brass on the main card.
Ankalaev is the No. 2-ranked contender at 205 pounds and has been skipped over for a title shot despite the fact he is unbeaten in his past 12 fights. Rakic has lost two in a row but both were to former champions; one was due to a knee injury against Jan Blachowicz and his most recent appearance was a TKO loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC 300 in a Fight of the Night performance Rakic was in control of until Prochazka put together a highlight finishing sequence.
Other notable fighters on the card include unbeaten featherweight Lerone Murphy, rising middleweights Shara Magomedov, Abusupiyan Magomedov and Brunno Ferreira, former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, rising contenders Myktybek Orolbai, Rinat Fakhretdinov 11-0 debuting heavyweight Raffael Cerqueira
Below is a look at the projected bout order as of Monday afternoon:
MAIN CARD
— Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway
— Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev
— Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige
— Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
— Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Geoff Neal vs. Rafael dos Anjos
— Mateusz Rębecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai
— Said Nurmagomedov vs. TBD
— Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Brunno Ferreira
— Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Chris Barnett
— Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
— Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
— Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Carlos Leal
— Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira
LATEST UPDATES AND CANCELLED BOUTS
This card is still deep but would’ve been even more robust had a heavyweight scrap between No. 2 contender Ciryl Gane and No. 3 contender Alexander Volkov not been rescheduled for UFC 310 in December after Volkov sustained an injury that prevented him from being ready to compete in Abu Dhabi.
A lightweight contest between Said Nurmagomedov and Daniel Santos has fallen apart with MMAFighting’s Damon Martin reporting Monday that Santos is out of the fight and UFC matchmakers are seeking a replacement opponent for Nurmagomedov on less than a week’s notice.
The UFC confirmed Monday Justin Tafa was removed from a heavyweight bout with Kennedy Nzechukwu and was replaced by Chris Barnett, and that former LFA welterweight champion Carlos Leal will make his debut against Rinat Fakhretdinov after filling in for Nursulton Ruziboev.
IS THE ‘BMF’ BELT ON THE LINE?
The short answer is no. First, not that the BMF belt is exclusively a lightweight distinction, but Holloway won it in April in a fight contested at 155 pounds. Saturday’s headliner is a 145-pound contest. Second, there is also typically an unofficial gentleman’s agreement there will be no wrestling or submission attempts in a BMF bout, which is not necessarily relevant nor an intelligent game plan in undisputed title fights.
The fact only one belt will be presented to the main event winner does not diminish this matchup in any way, shape or form. Topuria’s featherweight title is on the line and that is more meaningful for the sport. Plain and simple.
WHO’S ON THE BROADCAST TEAM?
It’ll be a quick turnaround this week for Paul Felder when it comes to commentary duties. The former UFC lightweight-turned-analyst was on the desk this past Saturday at the UFC Apex and he will be filling in for Joe Rogan on the broadcast for UFC 308. Rogan has not been working during the UFC’s international events, so it’ll be Felder joining Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier with John Gooden taking the role of in-house reporter for this card.
WHO’S GETTING CUSTOM SHORTS?!
We’ve seen on various special occasions UFC stars get to wear custom fight shorts for anticipated high-profile matchups. Holloway was one of the fighters who wore personalized gear at UFC 300 and his opponent will be wearing new digs when they step into the cage on Saturday.
WHAT ARE SOME X-FACTORS TO WATCH FOR?
Chimaev fight weeks often bring unexpected drama. The 30-year-old’s three most recent scheduled fights have been changed for on short notice for various reasons. He was unprofessional and badly missed weight ahead of a scheduled fight with Nate Diaz in 2022 that forced the UFC to shuffle its UFC 279 lineup at the eleventh hour. His most recent win was over Kamaru Usman 12 months ago in a fight Usman accepted on short notice up a weight class after Chimaev’s original opponent, Paulo Costa, withdrew. Then, as mentioned above, health issues prevented him from fighting Whittaker in June. Chimaev fought three times in his first three months in the UFC but has only fought four times since 2020.
Featherweight standout Diego Lopes was named the official backup fighter for Saturday’s main event. Lopes, 29, made his promotional debut at UFC 288 in May of last year and his stock has steadily been on the rise. He has rattled off five consecutive wins, including his recent UFC 306 victory over Brian Ortega, which saw him shoot to No. 3 in the 145-pound contender rankings. Lopes will weigh in on Friday along with the UFC 308 athletes and be ready should anything prevent either Topuria or Holloway from competing.
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