Winners And Losers From Topuria Vs. Holloway Card

The UFC is at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi for tonight’s UFC 308 pay-per-view fight card. UFC 308 features a title fights at the top of the card. In the main event, UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria faces former UFC 145-pound champion Max Holloway. Meanwhile in the co-main event, ex-UFC middleweight titleholder Robert Whittaker meets Khamzat Chimaev in what could be a 185-pound title eliminator. Another possible title eliminator is also on the PPV portion of the fight card as Magomed Ankalaev matches up with Aleksandar Rakic at light heavyweight.

The main card for UFC 308 streams on ESPN+ PPV at 2:00 p.m. ET following prelims ESPN+ at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Topuria(15-0), a former Cage Warriors champion, joined the UFC in 2020 with a 9-0 record. He was ranked No. 14 at 145 pounds after three bouts with the promotion at featherweight and one contest in the lightweight division. Topuria won three of those contests by knockout.

In his first fight as a ranked featherweight, Topuria submitted Bryce Mitchell in the second round. He moved to No. 9 in the rankings after that victory.

A matchup with No. 5 ranked Josh Emmett followed. Topuria won that scrap by decision. Topuria then faced Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 298. Topuria entered that bout as the No. 3 ranked 145-pounder. He left the event as the UFC champion after knocking out Volkanovski in the second stanza.

Holloway (26-7) has been with the UFC since 2012. If there’s a stat that the UFC tracks, chances are Holloway is among the leaders. He holds the UFC featherweight record for wins (20), finishes (11), knockouts (nine), win streak (13 straight), fight night bonuses (10), total fight time (6:47:23), significant strikes landed (2,892), and total strikes landed (3,096).

Holloway’s run as UFC featherweight champ began in June 2017 when he knocked out Jose Aldo. Holloway entered that contest as the interim champ, a title he won by knocking out Anthony Pettis in December 2016. He defended his title against Aldo (TKO), Brian Ortega (TKO), and Frankie Edgar (decision). He also attempted to win the interim UFC lightweight belt during that run, but he fell short, losing a decision to Dustin Poirier.

Holloway’s championship run ended in December 2019 when Alexander Volkanovski beat him by decision. Volkanovski retained the title in a rematch.

Wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez earned Holloway another shot at Volkanovski and his title in July 2022, but the champ retained his belt with a decision victory.

Since that loss, Holloway has defeated Arnold Allen, the Korean Zombie, and Justin Gaethje. The Gaethje victory, an April lightweight fight in the running for 2024’s “Fight of the Year” and “Knockout of the Year,” earned Holloway the BMF title. Holloway has not competed since he picked up that highlight-reel KO.

Holloway is the No. 2 fighter in the official UFC featherweight rankings, where he trails Volkanovski.

Whittaker (26-7) is the No. 3 fighter in the official UFC middleweight rankings, while Chimaev (13-0) is the No. 12 fighter in the UFC’s 185-pound division. There is a chance the winner of Saturday’s middleweight co-main event could face the as yet unbooked fight between middleweight champ Dricus du Plessis and ex-champ Sean Strickland.

With Alex Pereira’s successful title defense over Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307, the winner of the Ankalaev vs. Rakic fight could be next in line for a shot at Pereira’s belt. Ankalaev (18-1-1-1) is the No. 2 ranked UFC light heavyweight, while Rakic (14-4) is ranked at No. 5.

UFC 308 Winners

Kennedy Nzechukwu: UFC 308 was the first UFC bout at heavyweight for Kennedy Nzechukwu since signing with the promotion in 2018. He had a massive height and reach advantage and used his length well, employing straight kicks to stay at a distance and mixing up his targets. Nzechukwu also looked to use his punches when the opportunity arose. The heavyweight competitor looked good before finishing the fight inside the first round.

Farid Basharat: Farid Basharat moved to 13-0 with a decision victory over Victor Hugo in a featherweight fight that was initially booked at 135 pounds. Basharat weighed in at 137, but his foe came in at 145.5. Basharat, looking to compete, and get paid, accepted the change in weight divisions.

Basharat looked good in staying unbeaten. He was faster, had better movement, footwork, and speed, and had Hugo biting on feints throughout the contest. He added some wrestling to the mix in the third stanza.

Basharat deserves a step up in competition.

Ismail Naurdiev: Ismail Naurdiev fought like a man who wanted to make a statement at UFC 308. The 28-year-old had a stint in the UFC from 2019 to 2020, where he went 2-2. The UFC allowed him to walk after that. Naurdiev went 4-3 outside the UFC, mostly with Brave CF before getting the call to return to the promotion to face Bruno Silva.

Naurdiev was aggressive in his return, throwing powerful strikes, especially his kicks, and landing takedowns while looking for finishes when the opportunity was there. Naurdiev showed the UFC they did not make a mistake in giving him a second chance.

Rinat Fakhretdinov: Rinat Fakhretdinov has been with the UFC since 2022. He brought a lengthy unbeaten streak with him, last dropping a fight in 2013. That run continued on Saturday when he earned a controversial decision over Carlos Leal, who made his UFC debut at UFC 308.

The UFC commentary team was incredulous after the scorecards were read for the opening fight on the card, and they were correct to be upset.

UFC 308 Losers

Chris Barnett: At UFC 308, Chris Barnett competed in his first fight since knocking out Jake Collier in September 2022. Barnett struggled with the length of his opponent throughout the fight. He also looked to injure his leg during the fight, which left him unable to stave off the striking of Kennedy Nzechukwu.

Victor Hugo: Victor Hugo weighed 145.5 pounds for a fight initially booked at bantamweight. Despite having a size advantage over Farid Basharat, Hugo dropped a decision at UFC 308.

Bruno Silva: Was 1-5 in the UFC entering his matchup against Ismail Naurdiev. He fell to 1-6 with a lackluster effort at UFC 308. Silva looked flat throughout the entire 15-minute matchup. It would not be surprising to see Silva outside the UFC following this loss.

Carlos Leal: Carlos Leal made his UFC debut Saturday against Rinat Fakhretdinov in a welterweight scrap. The Brazilian spent time with PFL, LFA, and Bellator before getting the call to compete on UFC 308.

Leal looked good in the early going, shutting down multiple takedown attempts against Fakhretdinov. He then showed superior striking, throwing powerful head strikes while adding effective calf kicks. Leal faded a bit down the stretch, but his takedown defense, stopping 17 of 19 attempts, and striking were on point and should have been enough to lead him to victory, but he was on the wrong side of a decision.

UFC 308 Fight Card Results

UFC 308 Pay-Per-View card Results

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

UFC 308 Preliminary Card Results

Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira

Geoff Neal vs. Rafael dos Anjos

Mateusz Rebecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai

Abus Magomedov vs. Brunno Ferreira

Kennedy Nzechukwu defeats Chris Barnett via TKO at 4:27 of Round 1 (Knee to body at distance)

Farid Basharat defeeats Victor Hugo via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Ismail Naurdiev defeats Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Rinat Fakhretdinov defeats Carlos Leal via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

UFC 308 Video Highlights

UFC 308 Scorecards

UFC 308 Fight Night Bonuses

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