UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway: Full Results

UFC 308 is in the books. The highly anticipated event took place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Oct. 26 and featured 13 fights in six weight classes, including a title fight. Six fighters put their undefeated records on the line at the event, which added another layer of anticipation. This article recaps the event and explores the full results.

In the main event, featherweight champion Ilia Topuria attempted his first title defense against former champion and BMF title holder Max Holloway. It has been hailed as one of the greatest title fight matchups in recent UFC history and both men stood to gain a significant mile on their legacy with a potential win.

Predictably, Topuria tried to lure Holloway into standing and banging in the first 10 seconds, but the former champion ignored the call.

Holloway invested heavily in kicks to keep the champion out of punching range while Topuria charged in with explosive combinations. ‘El Matador’ secured a takedown early but Holloway got back to his feet with relative ease. While he seemingly absorbed Topuria's headshots effortlessly, the calf kicks appeared to be bothering the Hawaiian.

Topuria swung heavy shots and a few landed clean but most appeared to have missed. Meanwhile, Holloway mixed high-volume attacks to the head, body, and legs.

As Holloway appeared to be gaining momentum, Topuria cracked him with a thunderous right hand in Round 3. He followed the Hawaiian with winging shots and dropped him with a clobbering left hook. Referee Marc Goddard stepped in to stop the action after a few follow-up shots. The end came at 1:34 of Round 3 and Topuria successfully secured the first defense of his title, becoming the first fighter to knock Holloway out.

In the co-main event, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker fought undefeated rising contender Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round non-title fight. The classic striker vs. grappler battle was crucial for both men's careers as the outcome would significantly impact their title aspirations and subsequent career trajectories.

Many felt that Chimaev’s newfound calm and collected demeanor would negatively affect his game. However, that did not seem to be the case as the 30-year-old started with predictable aggression and took Whittaker down with a quick level change, a few seconds into the fight.

Whittaker blocked most of the damaging blows and maintained composure in the bottom position. He even succeeded in getting a separation momentarily but Chimaev was onto him in no time. ‘Borz’ continued to work relentlessly and caught ‘The Reaper’ in a tight face crank, presumably injuring his jaw and forcing a furious tap out of the former champion. With the win, Chimaev extended his unblemished record to 14-0.

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UFC 308 main card results: Magomed Ankalaev outpoints Aleksandar Rakic

No.1-ranked light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev put his 12-fight unbeaten streak on the line against No.5-ranked Aleksandar Rakic, to determine the potential next challenger to Alex Pereira's title reign.

Rakic employed his trademark kick-heavy game in the first round and forced Ankalaev to stay out of range. However, the Dagestani fighter figured out the patterns by the mid-way point and tagged Rakic with several stinging shots to the body and head. He continued to build on the momentum in Round 3 as Rakic's punches failed to meet the target.

As the fight neared its end, it became clear that Rakic would need a finish. However, he went for an ill-advised takedown attempt and found himself stuck in a clinch battle against the cage until the end of Round 3. All three judges scored the bout in Ankalaev's favor.

Veteran fighter and No.14-ranked featherweight contender Dan Ige fought No.12-ranked Lerone Murphy on the main card. What started as a relatively inactive contest turned in Ige's favor as he knocked Murphy down with a counter left hook and aggressively pursued a finish. Murphy's resilience helped him get out of the round. He made adjustments in Round 2, taking the space away from Ige by crowding him with constant activity and lateral movement.

Both men resorted to wrestling, especially in the third round, to establish a lead and had some entertaining grappling exchanges. After three rounds of action, the three judges scored the contest in Ige's favor.

Dagestan's Sharaputdin Magomedov kicked off the main card alongside Russian-Armenian fighter Armen Petrosyan. The pair engaged in what appeared to be a chess match between two elite strikers. Petrosyan was statistically leading in the fight marked by several accidental low blows from both fighters.

As Petrosyan appeared to be settling into a rhythm, Magomedov pulled off an unexpected trick as he spun around for a spinning back fist. Petrosyan blocked the shot and tried to move in with one of his own. However, 'Shara Bullets' saw the opening and spun around in the opposite direction, catching his opponent with a spinning back fist from the other side.

The punch landed flush on Petrosyan's chin, knocking him out on impact with less than 10 seconds left in Round 2. No follow-up punches were required and with the win, Magomedov extended his professional MMA record to a perfect 15-0.

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UFC 308 preliminary card results: Myktybek Orolbai and Mateusz Rebecki produce an instant classic

A relative newcomer in the UFC light heavyweight division, Ibo Aslan scored his second straight win as he knocked out Raffael Cerqueira inside one minute in the preliminary card headlining bout.

A left hook from Aslan initiated the finishing sequence as Cerqueira wobbled backward toward the cage. The Turkish fighter swarmed him with a barrage of punches, prompting referee Marc Goddard to step in. This was Cerqueira's first professional MMA loss.

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos returned to competition against No.10-ranked welterweight contender Geoff Neal at UFC 308, on his 40th birthday. Neal looked on point and dropped dos Anjos with a straight left early in Round 1.

'Handz of Steel' also secured a takedown with relative ease but allowed the former champion to stand back up. Unfortunately for dos Anjos, he hurt his knee at some point in the fight and went down in pain, prompting the referee to stop the fight.

Myktybek Orolbai and Mateusz Rebecki put together a bloody war on the prelims. Rebecki countered Orolbai's pressure-heavy style with devastating intercepting strikes and stuffed most of the takedown attempts. Orolbai, who had his eye swollen shut heading into the second round, responded strongly and made the fight a lot more competitive.

However, a perfectly placed overhand left from Rebecki sent him crashing down to the mat in Round 3. Rebecki never let him off the hook and clobbered him with punishing shots. To his credit, Orolbai survived the onslaught and started landing ground-and-pound shots of his own.

A visibly fatigued Rebecki stood back up and made it to the final bell as Orolbai chased him. Two of the three judges scored the contest in Rebecki's favor, declaring him the winner by split decision.

Germany's Abus Magomedov competed against Bruno Ferreira in an attempt to score his second straight win. Meanwhile, Ferreira was hoping to extend his win streak to three.

Magomedov, who was criticized for running out of steam against Sean Strickland, took a measured approach. Ferreira struggled to land his strikes being the smaller fighter with a considerable reach disadvantage. However, he figured out the range in Round 2 and hurt the Russian-born fighter with a head kick, subsequently winning most of the striking exchanges.

Magomedov relied on wrestling to relieve the pressure. Ferreira's defensive grappling and submission attempts helped him survive the aggressive wrestling but Magomedov eventually caught him in an arm triangle and forced the Brazilian to tap.

Former light heavyweight contender Kennedy Nzechukwu returned to the heavyweight division against Chris Barnett on the UFC 308 prelims. Barnett, who was coming off a long layoff due to personal loss and injury, appeared to have hurt his leg during the pre-fight introduction.

He struggled to keep up with Nzechukwu's pressure after a failed spinning back-kick attempt seemingly worsened his leg injury. Nzechukwu's tip kicks drew noticeable reactions from Barnett and 'African Savage' went in for the kill with punches to the body and head.

Referee Jason Herzog stopped the action as Barnett could not defend himself against the strikes and went crashing down to the canvas.

In another bout, rising featherweight Farid Basharat defeated Victor Hugo by unanimous decision with an overall effective game. Meanwhile, the middleweight contest between Ismail Naurdiev and Bruno Silva had little to offer in terms of back-and-forth action. Naurdiev outclassed Silva in distance striking, clinch, and on the ground, comfortably cruising to a unanimous decision win.

Rinat Fakhretdinov kicked off the event along with veteran fighter and UFC newcomer Carlos Leal. The Brazilian stepped up to fight after Fakhretdinov's original opponent, Nursultan Ruziboev, pulled out.

Fakhretdinov's wrestling threat, the biggest concern for Leal, was considerably diminished as the Brazilian thwarted nine of 11 takedown attempts and kept the fight standing up.

Leal also appeared to have landed the more impactful strikes consistently. While Fakhretdinov continued to press the action without getting frustrated, Leal took his shots well and secured his own takedown in the final round.

The Brazilian seemed to have done enough to get a 'W' but Fakhretdinov emerged victorious by unanimous decision.

Check out the full UFC 308 results below:

Main card

Featherweight - Ilia Topuria def. Max Holloway by T/KO (R3, 1:34) (Title fight)

Middleweight - Khamzat Chimaev def. Robert Whittaker by submission (Face crank) (R1, 3:34)

Light heavyweight - Magomed Ankalaev def. Aleksandar Rakic by unanimous decision (29-28 X 3)

Featherweight - Lerone Murphy def. Dan Ige by unanimous decision (29-28 X 3)

Middleweight - Sharaputdin Magomedov def. Armen Petrosyan by T/KO (R2, 4:52)

Preliminary card

Light heavyweight - Ibo Aslan def. Raffael Cerqueira by T/KO (R1, 0:51)

Welterweight - Geoff Neal def. Rafael Dos Anjos by T/KO (Knee injury) (R1, 1:30)

Lightweight - Mateusz Rebecki def. Myktybek Orolbai by split decision (29-28 X 2, 28-29) (Orolbai missed weight)

Middleweight - Abus Magomedov def. Bruno Ferreira by submission (Arm-triangle choke) (R3, 3:14)

Heavyweight - Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Chris Barnett by T/KO (R1, 4:27)

Featherweight - Farid Basharat def. Victor Hugo by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 X 2)

Middleweight - Ismail Naurdiev def. Bruno Silva by unanimous decision (30-27 X 3)

Welterweight - Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Carlos Leal by unanimous decision (29-28 X 2, 30-27)