UFC 308 takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and we’ve got our UFC predictions for all the fights below and you can place your bets with the best betting sites Australia has to offer!
UFC 308 Predictions
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Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway Prediction
Undefeated star Ilia Topuria KO’d long-time featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in February to win the belt and will now look to make his first title defense against former titleholder Max Holloway, who is coming in off a knockout victory against Justin Gaethje that earned him the symbolic ‘BMF’ title.
The 27-year-old Topuria has been in formidable form in the UFC so far, going 7-0, while finishing four opponents by KO and one via submission. An extremely well-rounded fighter, Topuria’s striking has been his stand-out attribute in the octagon, but it’s worth emphasizing that he’s also a good wrestler and highly skilled grappler too who actually won the first seven fights of his career via submission, finishing all but one inside the opening round. Meanwhile, on the feet he exudes confidence and rightly so given that he’s able to blend technically sound striking with genuine knockout power and good durability. And like the best strikers he doesn’t just hit and hope, instead reading his opponents well as he stalks them, and he has the speed and accuracy to punish them for any openings they leave for him to exploit.
The 32-year-old Holloway has been one of the sport’s leading-men in the striking department for many years now, and at 145lbs only former champ Alexander Volkanovski has got the better of him in the past decade (albeit on three separate occasions). Holloway is a slick, very high-volume boxing technician who does a great job of mixing up his accurate strikes to the head and body. He also has excellent footwork and range-management, smart fight IQ and a strong chin, having never been finished via strikes. He’s not as naturally heavy-handed as Topuria and is more likely to either finish opponents via cumulative damage or on the scorecards, but that being said he has KO’d his last two opponents. Holloway also has great takedown defense to help ensure the fight takes place where he wants it.
In many respects this is a dream match-up and could well be a thriller. It’s always tough to pick against Holloway as he’s such a craftsman with the way he can pick opponents apart with the kind of volume and accuracy that’s almost unparalleled, while also being as tough as they come. That being said, Topuria is a very good striker in his own right, wield the power advantage and is capable of being a ruthless sniper with the way he utilizes that. Meanwhile, he also has an ace up his sleeve in the grappling department if he can land a takedown. In the end I think that though it might be easier said than done to take Holloway down, at some stage Topuria will time a punch that drops Holloway and enables him to unleash a ground-and-pound assault to seize an impressive TKO win.
Prediction: Ilia Topuria to win by TKO in Rd3.
Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev Prediction
Back-to-back victories so far in 2024 have left ex-middleweight champ Robert Whittaker at No.3 in the rankings as he now heads into a re-scheduled showdown with the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev, who is 7-0 in the UFC and coming off a majority decision win against Kamaru Usman last year.
The 33-year-old Whittaker has been put to the test against the best-of-the-best at 185lbs for a decade and has only lost to former champ Israel Adesanya (x2) and current titleholder Dricus du Plessis in the process. The foundation of Whittaker’s game is his skilled boxing ability, putting his accurate jab to good use, piecing together combinations well with a good balance of speed and respectable power, while he’ll also work in a sneakily effective head kick too at times. He move well and does a good job of dictating range, while he also has solid wrestling that he’ll tend to use defensively to stay on his feet.
30-year-old Chimaev fought three times in just two months at the start of his UFC run, but hasn’t been able to keep that going since, and in fact it’s been a full year since last appearance. Ill-health has often been at the root of Chimaev’s problems, with a protracted battle against long-Covid in late 2020 keeping him out of action for an extended period, while a mystery illness hospitalized him multiple times this year, eventually leading to a fight with Whittaker back in June being cancelled. So we don’t know what kind of shape he’ll be in heading into this bout, but skill-wise he still remains an imposing figure, thanks in particular to his extremely dominant wrestling that sees him rag-doll opponents to the mat, while his grappling is also a strong point. Chimaev’s striking game isn’t quite as good, yet he’s still comfortable on the feet, strikes with confidence and has very good power. Cardio is a potential issue for chimaev these days, perhaps even more-so given his health issues, and that could be a big factor given that this non-title fight is a five-rounder.
We’ve seen Chimaev run through a lot of opponents remarkably easily, but he’s also had a tough fight against Gilbert Burns at 170lbs a couple of years ago and only narrowly emerged with a victory against Usman last year. If Whittaker can keep the fight at his distance and shut down takedowns where necessary he certainly has the ability to win an extended striking battle and should be the fresher fighter in the later rounds. I think even ‘The Reaper’ might have trouble stopping Chimaev’s takedowns though, and if so I believe his mauling ground-and-pound and submission threat will eventually catch Whittaker out. I’ll take Chimaev to win by submission in the third round.
Prediction: Khamzat Chimaev to win by submission in Rd3.
Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige Prediction
Lerone Murphy holds a 14-0-1 career record and is on a seven-fight winning streak in the UFC as he now takes on Dan Ige, who has gone 1-2 in his last few Octagon appearances.
The 33-year-old Murphy is a physical specimen and a talented striker who further bolstered his credentials by getting the better of a past-his-prime, but still dangerous Edson Barboza last time out. Murphy is a smart fighter with fast, clean and technical boxing, while he can also mix in kicks and has nicely timed knees at close range. Murphy also does a good job of blending in the occasional takedown and will look for ground-and-pound on the mat, but on the other hand he doesn’t yet have a submission win on his record.
Also 33-years-old, Ige is a veteran of the 145lb division who earned kudos last time out when he agreed to fight Diego Lopes at 165lbs on just a few hours notice at UFC 303 and gave a solid account of himself before losing on the scorecards. A tough, compact boxer, Ige works well pressuring at close quarters with combinations to the head and body, while he can look for kicks too and is durable, having never been stopped in his career. Like Murphy he can make use of takedown attempts and has a few submission wins on his record.
Even though they are both the same age, Murphy feels like the one who is still squarely in his prime years and I think he’ll show it here, particularly in the striking department as he edges out the exchanges with faster, cleaner strikes from range to emerge with a decision victory.
Prediction: Lerone Murphy to win by decision.
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksander Rakic Prediction
Magomedov Ankalaev has gone 12 fights in a row without tasting defeat in the Octagon, but rather than a 205lb title shot next, the No.2 ranked fighter goes up against the 5th placed Aleksander Rakic, who is coming off back-to-back TKO losses.
The 32-year-old Ankalaev did fight for the title against Jan Blachowicz in late 2022, but that ended in a dull split-draw verdict and the UFC brass were so unhappy with it that they’ve not given him another chance at the belt since. The fact that his next fight ended in a no-contest due to an accidental illegal knee against Johnny Walker didn’t help his cause, but he has since KO’d Walker in a rematch in January. Ankalaev is a well-rounded fighter who is an assured, composed kickboxer who takes his time and prefers to fight from range, has sharp counter-striking ability, good power in both his punches and kicks and solid defense. Ankalaev can also wrestle effectively when he wants to with well-timed takedowns and good control on top, but he’s not a submission threat.
In many respects the 32-year-old Rakic has a similar style to Ankalaev as he is also a patient kickboxer who prefers to work from distance. He is capable of dynamic striking that can end fights via either punches or kicks, but is more likely to outland opponents enough to win by decision and has become more willing to use his wrestling over the years too in order to eek out a win. However, while Ankalaev has kept his form going consistently over a long time, Rakic has faltered a few times, and his durability is now becoming a concern.
While these two are similar I do feel that Ankalaev is the slightly better fighter overall. He’s more confident and calculated in the way he operates and has the better counter-striking, while I believe more in his wrestling ability too. So while I’m not sure it’s the kind of stylistic match-up that will lead to an attention-grabbing highlight-reel win, I do think he will emerge with his hand-raised when the scorecards are read out.
Prediction: Magomed Ankalev to win by decision.
Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan Prediction
Three wins since joining the UFC have taken Shara Magomedov’s career record to a perfect 14-0. Now he goes up against Armen Petrosyan, who has put together a 3-2 run in the Octagon so far.
The 30-year-old Magomedov is known for his dangerous dynamic striking, adopting an aggressive and relentless approach as he fires off a variety of fast, powerful kicks, hard-hitting punches and big knees. His knees in particular have proven to be deadly, whether delivered to the body or head, accounting for five of his 11 career finishes. Aside from Magomedov’s shock of red hair and permanently disfigured right eye, something else that stands out about him is that despite hailing from Dagestan his wrestling game is surprisingly underdeveloped. He does appear to be working to improve his takedown defense though, which will be very important if he wants to continue to be competitive as his level of opponent increases.
The 33-year-old Petrosyan is also a striker who doesn’t have much of a ground game and so will be happy to keep the fight standing though. He comes from a pro-kickboxing background, though it should be stressed he’s not the star of that sport who shares his name. He’s skilled in his own right though with a solid kicking game to all levels, good output and respectable finishing record.
I’d expect this to be a fairly competitive striking battle that may well go to the judges scorecards. There’s a real chance here that Petrosyan wins by just sticking to more tried and tested kickboxing fundamentals, but I’ll say Magomedov’s quicker, more eye-catching and constantly active offense catches the judges eye to earn him a win on the scorecards.
Prediction: Shara Magomedov to win by decision.
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UFC 308 Prelims
(Predicted winners in bold)
Geoff Neal vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Mateusz Rębecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos
Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Brunno Ferreira
Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira
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