UFC 308 fight card: Topuria vs. Holloway, Whittaker vs. Chimaev headline the event in Abu Dhabi

The UFC featherweight title is on the line in Abu Dhabi when Ilia Topuria defends his belt against former champion and current BMF champion Max Holloway. The fight featuring two dangerous strikers is the main event of a packed UFC 308.

In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will face Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round bout. The fight was originally scheduled for Saudi Arabia in June, but Chimaev pulled out due to illness. Since contracting COVID-19 in 2020, Chimaev has fought four times since 2021. He has six wins by knockout and five by submission.

Whittaker won the UFC middleweight title in 2017 but lost it to Israel Adesanya in 2019. Since then, he has gone 6-2 in his last eight fights and won two fights in a row. “The Reaper” defeated Ikram Aliskerov, Chimaev's replacement, by first-round knockout. Whittaker requested a rescheduling of the Chimaev fight so he could earn another shot at gold the hard way.

“So, he (Chimaev) is a draw, and I think the UFC, story-wise, wants Chimaev to get a shot at the champion. They want to see Chimaev at the top of the rankings. They want to see him in that picture. But I love to derail their plans. I love to derail their stories, and that's why I took the fight. I asked for the fight. It wasn't offered to me,” Whittaker said on the MMArcade Podcast via MMA Junkie.

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Former UFC heavyweight title contender and interim champion Ciryl Gane returns after a year off. The French fighter, who is 2-2 in his last four fights, will face former Bellator and M-1 Global heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov, who has won four fights in a row.

Meanwhile, top-ranked light heavyweight Magomed Anakalev faces Aleksandar Rakic, undefeated Lerone Murphy faces a strong Dan Ige and more.

Below you can find the full fight card for UFC 308.

UFC 308 fight card

• Ilia Topuria (c) vs. Max Holloway for the UFC featherweight title
• Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev; Middleweights
• Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov; Heavyweights
• Magomed Anakalev meets Aleksandar Rakic; Light Heavyweights
• Lerone Murphy vs Dan Ige; Featherweights
• Geoff Neal vs Rafael dos Anjos; Welterweights
• Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs Kennedy Nzechukwu; Heavyweights
• Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Brunno Ferreira; Middleweights
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs Nursulton Ruziboev; Welterweights

Ilia Topuria defends the UFC featherweight title in the main event against Max Holloway. Topuria made his UFC debut in Abu Dhabi in 2020.

The event will also feature Marcos Rogerio de Lima, who has won his last four fights 3-1, against Kennedy Nzechukwu, who has lost two fights in a row.

Meanwhile, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (1-2 in his last three fights) returns to face Geoff Neal, who finished 2-2 in his last four fights, while Rinat Fakhretdinov (4-0-1 in the UFC) faces Nursulton Ruziboev, whose 10-fight winning streak just ended in May.

UFC 308 – Tune-in info

• Date: Saturday, October 26
• Location: Etihad Arena – Abu Dhabi
• Time: 2:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. ET for preliminaries)
• Here's how you can watch:
  • US: ESPN+ ($79.99 PPV fee plus $10.99/month membership)
  • UNITED KINGDOM: TNT Sports (£3.99/month or £39.99/year via Discovery+)
  • Canada: DAZN ($69.99)

UFC 308 takes place on October 26th at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Prelims begin at 8 a.m. ET, preliminary bouts at 10 a.m. ET. Main events begin at 2 p.m. ET, and Topuria and Holloway should arrive in the Octagon around 6 p.m. ET, depending on how long the prelims last.

WATCH: UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway, exclusively on ESPN+

Combat sports fans can watch UFC 308 on ESPN+ PPV in the US

Upcoming UFC TV Schedule