Ilia Topuria set to defend title vs. Max Holloway

UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria returns to the Octagon for the second time this year, opposite Max Holloway, the former champion and current ‘BMF’ champion, in the main event of UFC 308 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

Topuria (15-0 MMA) has quickly entered the UFC scene, winning all seven fights since making his promotional debut in 2020. He won the belt in February against then-champion Alexander Volkanovski (26-4 MMA), becoming the first Georgian UFC champion. He is now joined by newly minted UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA), who is also from the region.

“It’s gonna be exactly the same,” Topuria said. “I’m gonna take his lights out in the first round. I took (Volkanovski’s) lights out in the second round; but, in this case, it’s gonna be a little bit different. I’m gonna do it in the first round.”

Holloway (26-7 MMA) earned the title shot after upsetting former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje (25-5 MMA) at UFC 300 in April with a fifth-round KO. It was his third straight win since losing to Volkanovski in July 2022 at UFC 276. It was the pair’s third fight in 31 months. Before his fights with Volkanovski, Holloway had held the featherweight title since June 2017, successfully defending the belt four times.

Holloway, 32, said he is excited about potentially becoming the first man to beat Topuria while regaining his belt. Holloway has fought for the promotion since 2012, competing against some of the sport’s best, including Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Anthony Pettis.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t (think I could win), brother,” Holloway said. “We get to find out come Saturday night, my guy. Tune in.”

The co-main event is a five-round non-title eliminator between former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (27-7 MMA) and Khamzat Chimaev (13-0 MMA). Whittaker is fresh off a first-round KO victory against Ikram Aliskerov (15-2 MMA) in June, part of a 3-1 stretch in his past four fights.

Meanwhile, Chimaev returns to the Octagon for the first time since last October, when he defeated former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (20-4 MMA) by decision. Usman reportedly accepted the fight after Chimaev’s original opponent, Paulo Costa, withdrew due to an elbow infection.

UFC 308 features 13 fights, beginning at 10 a.m. ET for the prelims on ESPN+ and ESPN News and continuing with the main card at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

Below is the main card bout order:

–Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway, featherweight — Topuria’s UFC featherweight title

–Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev, middleweight (five rounds)

–Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic, light heavyweight

–Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige, featherweight

–Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan, middleweight

–Field Level Media