Winners And Losers From Topuria Vs. Holloway Card

Ilia Topuria defended his UFC featherweight title in the same way he won the belt, by knocking out one of the best to ever compete in the UFC’s 145-pound division. At UFC 308, Topuria became the first man to score a knockdown and knockout over former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway.

The win came eight months after Topuria wrested the 145-pound belt from Alexander Volkanovski via knockout. Topuria, who moved to 16-0 with the win, might not be in the conversation for the best fighter to compete at 145 pounds in UFC history. However, with knockouts over two fighters in that discussion, Volkanovski and Holloway, it seems as if it’s only a matter of time before the 28-year-old starts to hear his name in that debate.

Meanwhile, in the co-main event of UFC 308, Khamzat Chimaev secured a statement-making submission win over Robert Whittaker that could get him a title fight against current UFC 185-pound titleholder Dricus du Plessis.

Speaking of title fights, Magomed Ankalaev might be next up for Alex Pereira after he secured a decision victory over Aleksandar Rakic on the UFC 308 pay-per-view card.

Also impressing on Saturday was Shara “Bullet” Magomedov, who remained undefeated with a double backfist knockout win over Armen Petrosyan at middleweight.

UFC 308 took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main card for UFC 308 streamed on ESPN+ PPV, following prelims on the same network.

Below, we look at the results, winners, losers, video highlights, reactions, bonus winners and more from UFC 308.

UFC 308 Winners

Ilia Topuria: Ilia Topuria’s pre-fight confidence can come off as cockiness, but Topuria has delivered on his promises. He did that again on Saturday when he knocked out former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway in the third round.

Topuria has the type of power that most UFC featherweights do not have. He came into UFC 308 with four knockouts in seven trips to the Octagon. He made it five knockouts in eight UFC bouts when he knocked out Holloway.

Topuria never got frustrated or flustered with Holloway’s volume while he fought behind an active jab. That patience paid off when Topuria found his opening to land a right that staggered Holloway, after that, he forced the ex-champ to the fence where he dropped Holloway beforee finsihing him with ground strikes.

Topuria looked excellent in keeping his undefeated record intact.

Khamzat Chimaev: Khamzat Chimaev returned from a long absence at UFC 308 and forced a tap from former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Chimaev got an early takedown and then mauled Whittaker on the mat, never giving Whittaker a chance to establish any offense by applying a terrifying amount of pressure before forcing Whittaker to tap inside the first round.

Impressive doesn’t do Chimaev’s performance at UFC 308 justice.

It would not be a shock to see the UFC book Chimaev against UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis instead of having Du Plessis rematch Sean Strickland.

Magomed Ankalaev: UFC CEO Dana White tasked Magomed Ankalaev with impressing him at UFC 308. The talk was that if Ankalaev could do that, he might be next up to face UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. I think Ankalaev did enough to earn that opportunity. He moved forward, didn’t shoot a single takedown, mixed up his striking targets and techniques, and, most importantly, earned a decision win.

Lerone Murphy: Lerone Murphy looked close to losing to Dan Ige via stoppage in the first round of their featherweight scrap at UFC 308. However, he got things sorted in the second and third rounds and stayed undefeated with his decision win.

Murphy struggled with the pace and pressure of Ige in the early going, but once he established his range, Murphy took control of the bout. The deciding third round saw Murphy dig a little deeper to get the nod from the judges.

After the victory, the 33-year-old Murphy said he’s still learning and developing, and fans have yet to see everything he can do inside the Octagon. Murphy needs to work on two things: his takedown defense and how he deals with opponents who will pressure him and take away his time and space.

Shara Magomedov: One thing is clear, if fighters give Shara Magomedov time and space, he can show out. Magomedov struggled a bit early against Armen Petrosyan, but once he picked up the timing and distance of his opponent, he looked outstanding.

Magomedov’s finish of Petrosyan via double backfist was wildly impressive.

There are still some questions to be answered about how Magomedov will perform against top-level UFC middleweights, but he might be ready to face a top-15 ranked foe in his next outing.

Ibo Aslan: Ibo Aslan overwhelmed Raffael Cerqueira in the final prelim of UFC 308. Aslan absorbed one significant strike while landing 28 of the 36 strikes he attempted to get a 51-second finish over Cerqueira. Aslan uncorked a flurry of strikes that forced referee Marc Goddard to wave off the fight. Aslan looked very good in getting the finish.

Geoff Neal: Geoff Neal’s welterweight matchup against former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos didn’t last long, but Neal’s striking looked good in the early going as the 34-year-old scored an early knockdown before a knee injury prevented Dos Anjos from continuing. The win ended a two-fight losing skid for Neal.

Mateusz Rebecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai: In a violent and bloody 160-pound catchweight scrap, these two left everything they had in the Octagon on Saturday. Both men showed toughness and grit, while also looking to finish their opponent in a back-and-forth scrap.

Mateusz Rebecki picked up the split decision win, but Myktybek Orolbai deserves a lot of praise for not giving up when things looked terrible for him. This was a great fight.

Abus Magomedov: Abus Magomedov had a massive height and reach advantage over Brunno Ferreira in their middleweight prelim. He used those attributes well in the first round, pressuring his opponent to the fence while mixing up his striking targets and techniques. That approach allowed Magomedov to get a little too comfortable, which allowed Ferreira to find his mark with his striking.

Once Magomedov tasted Ferreira’s power, he focused on his grappling skills. That was a smart adjustment, as it led to Magomedov getting the submission win in the third stanza.

Kennedy Nzechukwu: UFC 308 was the first UFC bout at heavyweight for Kennedy Nzechukwu since signing with the promotion in 2018. He had a massive height and reach advantage and used his length well, employing straight kicks to stay at a distance and mixing up his targets. Nzechukwu also looked to use his punches when the opportunity arose. The heavyweight competitor looked good before finishing the fight inside the first round.

Farid Basharat: Farid Basharat moved to 13-0 with a decision victory over Victor Hugo in a featherweight fight that was initially booked at 135 pounds. Basharat weighed in at 137, but his foe came in at 145.5. Basharat, looking to compete, and get paid, accepted the change in weight divisions.

Basharat looked good in staying unbeaten. He was faster, had better movement, footwork, and speed, and had Hugo biting on feints throughout the contest. He added some wrestling to the mix in the third stanza.

Basharat deserves a step up in competition.

Ismail Naurdiev: Ismail Naurdiev fought like a man who wanted to make a statement at UFC 308. The 28-year-old had a stint in the UFC from 2019 to 2020, where he went 2-2. The UFC allowed him to walk after that. Naurdiev went 4-3 outside the UFC, mostly with Brave CF before getting the call to return to the promotion to face Bruno Silva.

Naurdiev was aggressive in his return, throwing powerful strikes, especially his kicks, and landing takedowns while looking for finishes when the opportunity was there. Naurdiev showed the UFC they did not make a mistake in giving him a second chance.

Rinat Fakhretdinov: Rinat Fakhretdinov has been with the UFC since 2022. He brought a lengthy unbeaten streak with him, last dropping a fight in 2013. That run continued on Saturday when he earned a controversial decision over Carlos Leal, who made his UFC debut at UFC 308.

The UFC commentary team was incredulous after the scorecards were read for the opening fight on the card, and they were correct to be upset.

UFC 308 Losers

Max Holloway: Max Holloway did an excellent job of fighting behind his jab for two rounds against Ilia Topuria. However, as is often the case with Holloway, he threw with volume more than power. While Holloway was effective it seemed like the time would come when Topuria would land with power. That moment came in the third round when the champ staggered the ex-champ with a right. From there Topuria forced Holloway to the fence where he dropped the former titleholder and finished him via ground strikes.

Robert Whittaker: Robert Whittaker needed to survive the first round if he hoped to get the win over Khamzat Chimaev. He could not do that as the pressure and squeeze of Chimaev proved to be too much for the former UFC middleweight champion.

Whittaker tapped to what looked like a neck crank and then reportedly told his corner that Chimaev had dislocated his jaw.

Aleksandar Rakic: Aleksandar Rakic fell to 0-3 in his past three outings with a decision loss to Magomed Ankalaev. Rakic could not establish his offense on Saturday, spending most of his 15-minute bout opposite Ankalaev on his back foot.

Dan Ige: Dan Ige had a fantastic first round against Lerone Murphy. He used a lot of pressure, reducing the time and space Lerone Murphy needed to implement his striking. Ige dropped Murphy in the first stanza and looked close to finishing the fight, but Murphy survived the round.

Ige couldn’t sustain his pace or pressure during the second and third rounds, which cost him the fight.

Armen Petrosyan: Armen Petrosyan did a decent job of pressuring Shara Magomedov in the early moments of their middleweight contest, but he got away from that approach rather quickly, which allowed Magomedov to pick up the timing of his opponent.

Rafael dos Anjos: Rafael dos Anjos celebrated his 40th birthday on Saturday, but things did not go his way, as a knee injury stopped his fight against Geoff Neal early in the first round. With the TKO setback, Dos Anjos is on a three-fight losing skid and 1-4 in his past five dating back to July 2022.

Brunno Ferreira : Brunno Ferreira had a rough first round against Abus Magomedov, but he found an opening around the middle of the second round, rocking Magomedov with a straight right followed by a head kick and then threatening a choke. Ferreira was more aggressive once he hurt Magomedov, but he could not keep the fight standing, which led to his downfall, a third-round choke.

Chris Barnett: At UFC 308, Chris Barnett competed in his first fight since knocking out Jake Collier in September 2022. Barnett struggled with the length of his opponent throughout the fight. He also looked to injure his leg during the fight, which left him unable to stave off the striking of Kennedy Nzechukwu.

Victor Hugo: Victor Hugo weighed 145.5 pounds for a fight initially booked at bantamweight. Despite having a size advantage over Farid Basharat, Hugo dropped a decision at UFC 308.

Bruno Silva: Was 1-5 in the UFC entering his matchup against Ismail Naurdiev. He fell to 1-6 with a lackluster effort at UFC 308. Silva looked flat throughout the entire 15-minute matchup. It would not be surprising to see Silva outside the UFC following this loss.

Carlos Leal: Carlos Leal made his UFC debut Saturday against Rinat Fakhretdinov in a welterweight scrap. The Brazilian spent time with PFL, LFA, and Bellator before getting the call to compete on UFC 308.

Leal looked good in the early going, shutting down multiple takedown attempts against Fakhretdinov. He then showed superior striking, throwing powerful head strikes while adding effective calf kicks. Leal faded a bit down the stretch, but his takedown defense, stopping 17 of 19 attempts, and striking were on point and should have been enough to lead him to victory, but he was on the wrong side of a decision.

UFC 308 Fight Card Results

UFC 308 Pay-Per-View card Results

Ilia Topuria defeats Max Holloway via knockout at 1:34 of Round 3 (Punch to head at distance)

Khamzat Chimaev defeats Robert Whittaker via submission at 3:34 of Round 1 (Rear-naked choke)

Magomed Ankalaev defeats Aleksandar Rakic via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

Lerone Murphy defeats Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)

Shara “Bullet” Magomedov defeats Armen Petrosyan via TKO at 4:52 of Round 2 (Spinning back fist to head)

UFC 308 Preliminary Card Results

Ibo Aslan defeats Raffael Cerqueira via TKO at 0:51 of Round 1 (Punches to head at distance)

Geoff Neal defeats Rafael dos Anjos via TKO at 1:30 of Round 1 (Leg injury)

Mateusz Rebecki defeats Myktybek Orolbai via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Abus Magomedov defeats Brunno Ferreira via submission at 3:14 of Round 3 (Arm triangle from side control)

Kennedy Nzechukwu defeats Chris Barnett via TKO at 4:27 of Round 1 (Knee to body at distance)

Farid Basharat defeeats Victor Hugo via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Ismail Naurdiev defeats Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Rinat Fakhretdinov defeats Carlos Leal via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

UFC 308 Video Highlights

UFC 308 Scorecards

UFC 308 Fight Night Bonuses

The following fighters took home bonuses at UFC 308:

Fight of the Night: Mateusz Rebecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai

Performance of the Night: Ilia Topuria

Performance of the Night: Khamzat Chimaev

Performance of the Night: Shara Magomedov