The fourth quarter of 2024 will get off to a blazing start for the UFC.
On Saturday during UFC Abu Dhabi, UFC CEO Dana White took to social media to announce the full main card for UFC 308, the promotion’s next visit to the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
In the main event, UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will defend his title against Max Holloway. In the co-main event, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker faces Khamzat Chimaev. This fight will be five rounds.
That combination of fights would’ve made the main card pretty strong, even with a few so-so fights to round out the pay-per-view portion of the show. But that’s not the end of it.
We’ll also see No-2-ranked Cyril Gane taking on No-3-ranked Alexander Volkov in a crucial heavyweight matchup that will almost certainly put the winner in a position to challenge for the title in their next fight.
Lastly, White announced that No-2-ranked light heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev was facing No-5-ranked Aleksandar Rakic.
Here is a look at the announcement below:
Topuria vs. Holloway is one of the most highly anticipated fights in the sport. In February, Topuria emphatically won the 145-pound title when he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski.
Holloway is arguably the greatest champion in the division’s history, but Volkanovski proved to be his nemesis. Topuria represents a new challenge for Holloway and another route to regaining his title.
The two men have traded barbs on social media ever since Holloway scored his iconic KO win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. Now, we’ll finally get a chance to see them settle things in the Octagon. In addition to the title bout, every other fight on the main card has championship implications.
The Whittaker-Chimaev co-main event was supposed to take place in June in Saudi Arabia, but the latter became ill and had to pull out. Iskram Aliskerov was the late replacement, and Whittaker quickly proved the former was out of his depth, scoring a first-round KO win.
Were it not for injuries and illness, Chimaev might have already ascended to a championship level. A win over Whittaker would put him in a position to challenge for middleweight gold sometime in 2025. The top of the heavyweight division is seemingly locked in an odd spot.
Heavyweight champion Jon Jones is facing Stipe Miocic in November. Interim champion Tom Aspinall just destroyed Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. Aspinall has been promised a shot at the winner of Jones-Miocic for a shot at becoming the undisputed champion.
Because of that, the winner of Gane-Volkov may not get an immediate title shot and could potentially have to win another fight before getting an opportunity. In any case, it’s a battle of the two elite big men in the sport. I’m surprised Ankalaev isn’t getting a title shot.
He has seemingly proved himself worthy of challenging Alex Pereira, but apparently, he also needs to take down Aleksandar Rakic. Ankalaev should be favored to win, and he may deliver the undeniable performance required to secure his title shot.
We could see another fight added to the main card. Shara Magomedov called out Nick Diaz for UFC 308. Stay tuned.
