The UFC 308 pay-per-view fight card is just days away. The event will take place on Saturday, October 26th at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. In the main event, UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria puts his title on the line against former champion Max Holloway. In the co-main event, former UFC middleweight titleholder Robert Whittaker faces Khamzat Chimaev. Before those fights happen, a possible light heavyweight title eliminator between Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakic ​​​​is eliminated.

At UFC 308, Holloway (26-7), who held the UFC featherweight title between June 3, 2017 and December 2019, looks to get that title back around his waist. Holloway has fought for the UFC's 145-pound crown twice since his loss to Alexander Volkanovski in 2019. Holloway fell short in both matches, losing by split decision to Volkanovski in July 2020 and dropping a unanimous decision to Volkanovski in July 2022.

Holloway bounced back from his last loss to Volkanovski with three straight wins. His most recent victory was his UFC 300 knockout of Justin Gaethje for the ceremonial BMF title in a lightweight bout. Holloway's stoppage came literally in the final second of the fifth round. For this win, he received Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night awards, earning him an additional $600,000 for his efforts that evening in April of that year.

Topuria (15-0) will attempt to defend his UFC featherweight title for the first time on Saturday. He won the belt in February with a spectacular second-round knockout of Volkanovski. The win earned Topuria a Performance of the Night bonus.

UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – Career

Topuria is a former Cage Warriors champion. He joined the UFC in 2020 with a record of 9-0. It didn't take long for him to make a name for himself. After three UFC fights at 145 pounds and one contest in the 155-pound class, he was ranked No. 14 in the featherweight division. Three of these duels ended with Topuria winning by knockout.

In his first fight as a ranked featherweight, Topuria defeated Bryce Mitchell via second-round submission, earning his first Performance of the Night bonus and moving up to No. 9 in the rankings.

The Mitchell win was followed by a matchup with Josh Emmett at No. 5. Topuria earned a decision in a Fight of the Night bout. In Topuria's next fight, he faced Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 298. Topuria entered this fight as the No. 3 ranked featherweight. He exited victorious after knocking out Volkanovski in the second stanza.

Holloway has been with the UFC since 2012. If there's one statistic the UFC tracks, chances are Holloway is among the top contenders. He holds the UFC featherweight record for wins (20), finishes (11), knockouts (nine), win streak (13 consecutive), fight night bonuses (10), total fight time (6:47:23) and significant strikes (2,892). and total strikes landed (3,096).

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

Holloway's championship run ended in December 2019 when Alexander Volkanovski defeated him by decision. Volkanovski retained the title in an immediate rematch.

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

Since that setback, Holloway has picked up wins over Arnold Allen, the Korean Zombie, and Justin Gaethje. The Gaethje victory, a fight in the running for Fight of the Year and Knockout of the Year, gave Holloway the BMF title. This fight took place at 155 pounds.

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

UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway betting odds

When the UFC announced this match as the headliner for UFC 308, Topuria was the -188 betting favorite. It has since risen to -270. Meanwhile, Holloway, who opened as a +146 betting underdog, now has a +190 betting line for Saturday's fight card.

UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway Prediction and Picks

Topuria has precision and power on his side, while Holloway relies on volume and a strong chin.

Topuria will try to force Holloway to the fence with his forward pressure. Once he captures the former champion, Topuria will attempt to end the fight with force. The problem is that Holloway isn't retiring and hasn't been beaten down as a member of the UFC.

The longer this fight lasts, the greater the chances of Holloway winning thanks to his performance. The question, however, is whether at 32 years old, after many wars behind him, he will be able to cope with Topuria's power.

The bet is that Topuria will win the UFC 308 main event via decision, with a chance for a Topuria knockout.

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