UFC 308

UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway
The poster for UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	October 26, 2024 (2024-10-26)
Venue	Etihad Arena
City	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Attendance	Not announced [1]
Total gate	Not announced [1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Pereira UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Albazi

UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 26, 2024, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ^[2]

Background

The event marked the promotion's 20th visit to Abu Dhabi and first since UFC on ABC: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov in August 2024. ^[2]

A UFC Featherweight Championship bout between current champion Ilia Topuria and former champion Max Holloway headlined the event. ^{[3] [4]} Diego Lopes served as backup and potential replacement for this fight. ^[5]

A five-round middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Champion (also The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes welterweight winner) Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev took place at the event. ^[6] They were previously expected to headline UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov last June, but Chimaev withdrew due to illness. ^[7]

A heavyweight rematch between former interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane and former Bellator Heavyweight World Champion Alexander Volkov was expected to take place at the event. ^[8] The pairing previously headlined UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov in June 2021 which Gane won by unanimous decision. ^[9] However, the bout was moved to UFC 310 due to Volkov's knee injury. ^{[10] [11]}

A heavyweight bout between Marcos Rogério de Lima and Kennedy Nzechukwu was scheduled for this event. ^[12] However, Lima withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by Justin Tafa. ^[13] Subsequently, Tafa withdrew from the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Chris Barnett. ^[14]

A welterweight bout between Rinat Fakhretdinov and Nursulton Ruziboev was scheduled for this event. ^[15] However, Ruziboev withdrew from the fight due to an injury and was replaced by former LFA Welterweight Champion and promotional newcomer Carlos Leal. ^[16]

A bantamweight bout between Said Nurmagomedov and Daniel Santos was scheduled for this event. ^[17] However, one week before the event, Santos withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and the bout was subsequently cancelled. ^{[18] [19]}

At the weigh-ins, a lightweight bout between Mateusz Rębecki and Myktybek Orolbai was changed to a 160 pounds catchweight bout. ^[20] In addition, at the weigh-ins, the originally contracted bantamweight bout between Farid Basharat and Victor Hugo was changed to a featherweight bout after Hugo weighed in at 145.5 pounds, 9.5 pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit; although Basharat weighed in at 137 pounds, he agreed to allow the fight to take place at featherweight. ^[21]

Results

Main card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Featherweight	Ilia Topuria (c)	def.	Max Holloway	KO (punches)	3	1:34	[a]
Middleweight	Khamzat Chimaev	def.	Robert Whittaker	Submission (face crank)	1	3:34
Light Heavyweight	Magomed Ankalaev	def.	Aleksandar Rakić	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Lerone Murphy	def.	Dan Ige	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Sharabutdin Magomedov	def.	Armen Petrosyan	KO (spinning backfists)	2	4:52
Preliminary card (ESPN+)
Light Heavyweight	Ibo Aslan	def.	Raffael Cerqueira	TKO (punches)	1	0:51
Welterweight	Geoff Neal	def.	Rafael dos Anjos	TKO (knee injury)	1	1:30
Catchweight (160 lb)	Mateusz Rębecki	def.	Myktybek Orolbai	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Abusupiyan Magomedov	def.	Brunno Ferreira	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	3	3:14
Heavyweight	Kennedy Nzechukwu	def.	Chris Barnett	TKO (knee to the body and punches)	1	4:27
Featherweight	Farid Basharat	def.	Victor Hugo	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Ismail Naurdiev	def.	Bruno Silva	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Rinat Fakhretdinov	def.	Carlos Leal	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27)	3	5:00

1. For the UFC Featherweight Championship.

^[22]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. ^[23]

• Fight of the Night: Mateusz Rębecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai
• Performance of the Night: Ilia Topuria, Khamzat Chimaev and Sharabutdin Magomedov

See also

• Martial Arts portal

• 2024 in UFC
• List of current UFC fighters
• List of UFC events

References

1. Mike Bohn (2024-10-27). "UFC 308 post-event facts: Ilia Topuria brings Max Holloway's record run without being KO'd to screeching halt". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
2. Alexander K. Lee (2024-04-12). "UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi announced for Oct. 26". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
3. Irati Prat (2024-07-30). "Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway meet in Abu Dhabi on October 26". marca.com. Retrieved 2024-07-30.(in Spanish)
4. Josh Evanoff (2024-08-03). "Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway title fight headlines UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
5. Jed Meshew (2024-09-27). "Diego Lopes to serve as backup fighter for UFC 308 title fight between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
6. Mike Bohn (2024-08-03). "UFC books Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker again for UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
7. Mike Bohn (2024-06-13). "Khamzat Chimaev out; Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov set as new UFC on ABC 6 headliner". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
8. Diego Ribas (2024-07-12). "UFC books Ciryl Gane vs Alexander Volkov to Abu Dhabi card in October". agfight.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.(in Spanish)
9. Marc Raimondi (2024-06-13). "Ciryl Gane defeats Alexander Volkov via unanimous decision, says he's 'ready' for shot at heavyweight belt". espn.com. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
10. Staff (2024-09-22). "Report: Alexander Volkov injury pushes Ciryl Gane rematch from UFC 308 to UFC 310". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
11. Tristen Critchfield (2024-09-24). "Alexander Volkov Suffers Knee Injury, Withdraws from UFC 308 Rematch vs. Ciryl Gane". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
12. Sayan Nag (2024-08-03). "Marcos Rogerio de Lima to Face Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC 308 on Oct. 26". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
13. Christopher Reive (2024-09-12). "UFC 308: Justin Tafa books UFC return against Kennedy Nzechukwu in Abu Dhabi". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
14. Staff (2024-10-12). "Chris Barnett Gets New Booking, Faces Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC 308". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
15. Drake Riggs (2024-07-24). "Morning Report: Kamaru Usman targets winner of UFC 304 main event: 'I still got tread left in these tires' - Fight Announcements". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
16. Tristen Critchfield (2024-10-20). "PFL Veteran Carlos Leal Steps in to Face Rinat Fakhretdinov at UFC 308". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
17. Tristen Critchfield (2024-09-18). "UFC 308 Update: Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos Set for Abu Dhabi". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
18. Mathew Riddle (2024-10-21). "UFC 308 Report: Top Prospect Pulled from Undercard". si.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
19. Alexander K. Lee (2024-10-23). "Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos officially off UFC 308". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
20. Alexander K. Lee (2024-10-25). "UFC 308 weigh-in results: Ilia Topuria, Max Holloway on point, Khamzat Chimaev cuts it close". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
21. Jesse Holland (2024-10-25). "WTF?! UFC 308 fighter heavy by double digits, opponent forced to change weight classes to keep bout intact". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
22. "UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
23. Chris Taylor (2024-10-26). "UFC 308 Bonus Report: Ilia Topuria one of five fighters to take home an extra $50k". bjpenn.com. Retrieved 2024-10-26.