UFC 308 is shaping up to be an excellent lineup of fights.
The UFC added three more fights to the card in Abu Dhabi on October 26, and each fight should give the local fans someone to root for at the Etihad Arena.
Rising middleweight prospect Shara “Bullet” Magomedov will potentially face Armen Petrosyan in a battle to move up the 185-pound ranks.
Light heavyweights Ibo Aslan and Raffael Cerqueira will also clash. The last of the three new fights is a great lightweight clash featuring Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki. The undefeated, 30-year-old Magomedov pushes to keep his professional MMA record spotless.
He has already fought and won twice this year, with a TKO win over Antonio Trocoli in June and a unanimous decision win over Michal Oleksiejczuk in August. If he finishes the year 3-0, Magomedov may be on the cusp of joining the middleweight rankings.
Petrosyan is 8-3 and coming off a submission loss in his last fight against Rodolfo Viera in February. Petrosyan is the kind of opponent who may elect to keep the fight standing with Magomedov, which could provide a showcase for the latter. Orolbai is one of the most promising up-and-comers in the lightweight division.
The 26-year-old from Kyrgyzstan is 2-0 since making his way to the UFC from LFA, and his matchup with Rebecki could also provide an opportunity for elevation.
Rebecki had been on a roll before Diego Ferreira smashed him in his last fight in May. Rebecki is looking to rebound, but Orolbai is one of the most challenging assignments at 155 pounds.
Islan is an explosive Turkish fighter who earned his UFC contract with a huge KO win over Paulo Renato Jr. on Dana White Contender Series in August 2023. Islan followed that up with another memorable KO win over Anton Turkajj in March. Both of those wins came as a light heavyweight.
Islan is now moving up to heavyweight, and his first UFC assignment in the division will come from Brazil’s Cerqueira. The Brazilian is undefeated and making his UFC debut.
We will see which heavyweight makes the bigger impression early in their UFC careers.
Here is a look at the UFC 308 card, which should be final.
Main Card
- (c) Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – Featherweight
- Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev – Middleweight
- Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov – Heavyweight
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic – Light Heavyweight
- Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige – Featherweight
Undercard
- Geoff Neal vs. Rafael dos Anjos – Welterweight
- Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki – Lightweight
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu – Heavyweight
- Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nursulton Ruziboev – Welterweight
- Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira – Light Heavyweight
- Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan – Middleweight
- Abus Magomedov vs. Brunno Ferreira – Middleweight
- Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo – Men’s Bantamweight
The UFC returns after a one-week absence on Saturday, September 7 with a pretty big Fight Night card by Apex standards. Gilbert Burns faces Sean Brady in a crucial welterweight scrap to headline.
Look for fight week coverage culminating with a recap after the event.
