Max Holloway vs. Ilia Topuria Title Fight Headlines UFC 308 Card Announcement
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IV
Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria will headline UFC 308 in a featherweight title fight on October 26, Dana White announced on Saturday.
danawhite @danawhite<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFC308?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UFC308</a> October 26th from Fight Island, Abu Dhabi!<a href="https://twitter.com/VisitAbuDhabi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VisitAbuDhabi</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/InAbuDhabi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@InAbuDhabi</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/InAbuDhabi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#InAbuDhabi</a> <a href="https://t.co/v7FdlGXQzl">pic.twitter.com/v7FdlGXQzl</a>
UFC 308 will also feature Robert Whittaker versus Khamzat Chimaev and Magomed Ankalaev versus Aleksandar Rakic, among other fights:
UFC_Asia @UFC_AsiaThis <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFC308?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UFC308</a> line-up! 🔥🏆🔥<br><br>The Boss has made it official and we got an incredible card ahead this October <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/InAbuDhabi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#InAbuDhabi</a>!<a href="https://twitter.com/VisitAbuDhabi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VisitAbuDhabi</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/InAbuDhabi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@InAbuDhabi</a> <a href="https://t.co/T0WvrJ75IB">pic.twitter.com/T0WvrJ75IB</a>
Islam Makhachev previously confirmed he has a partial ligament tear in his hand, jeopardizing his availability for a potential showdown with Topuria:
Championship Rounds @ChampRDSIslam Makhachev reveals a hand injury that could potentially keep him out for the rest of the year:<br><br>"An MRI recently confirmed that I have a partial ligament tear. Let's see if I can recover. If not, I might even have to have surgery...<br><br>It is questionable [that I fight in… <a href="https://t.co/h1LckjReRP">pic.twitter.com/h1LckjReRP</a>
Holloway is coming off a fifth-round knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April, which earned him the symbolic BMF belt. After his victory, he challenged both Topuria and Makhachev, and the former was on hand to hear it live as he had a spot on fighter row for the show.
During the July 15 edition of The MMA Hour (via Ryan Harkness of MMA Mania), Ariel Helwani laid out the potential slate of big fights to come. He said one tentative plan had Holloway and Topuria crossing paths at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City.
Chatting with fans on the live-streaming platform Kick (via Championship Rounds), Holloway said he expected to compete one more time in 2024 but downplayed the likelihood of it happening in Utah.
Losing Makhachev for the foreseeable future is a major blow to UFC. He's the top pound-for-pound fighter in the promotion's official rankings, and there isn't another natural spot to put him on the calendar if October is out.
However, Holloway vs. Topuria is a fight that will get fans excited.
Holloway is riding a three-fight winning streak and has moved up to the No. 2 position among the featherweight challengers. Topuria is a perfect 15-0 as a pro and won the featherweight title from Alexander Volkanovski with a second-round knockout at UFC 298 in February.
Beyond their individual skill, there appears to be some actual heat between the two.
This is undoubtedly a matchup that can headline a major event.
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