As I mentioned in my predictions for UFC 308, if you were an old school fan, things were likely going to get a little depressing for you on Saturday …

On Saturday morning, at Etihad Arena in the UAE, UFC 308 brought two massive fights to the UFC fans with heavy implications for the future of the sport. It was the old guard vs the new blood, the heroes vs the villains … Things did not disappoint, but they left a bad taste in the mouth of fans who grew up loving certain fighters.

Ilia Topuria retained his Featherweight title, and became the first person in history to knock out Max Holloway. The 145 pound title bout between the Featherweight Champion and BMF Champion was always going to have its moments of fireworks, and the narrative painted a classic “irresistible force vs immovable object.” As mentioned before, Holloway had never been so much as knocked down in the UFC, and on the other hand Topuria, seems to possess some form of otherworldly power in his fists … A power that has led him to KO just about everyone he’s faced, including consensus greatest Featherweight of all time Alexander Volkanovski.

Unfortunately for Holloway, something had to give, and that thing was his own granite chin. Through two rounds of the fight, Holloway executed the game plan he would need to in order to survive an encounter with Topuria, he stayed away from punching with him in the pocket, managed range with his jab well, and utilized an oblique kick to Topuria’s thighs to stop his advances. Unfortunately for Holloway, and what looks like the rest of the division, fighting a perfect fight is damn near impossible, and in the 3rd round, Topuria’s big shot hit its mark, followed by another, and another, and another, until the once immortal Holloway looked human … and unconscious.

In Max’s own words “I felt great until he did it.”, referencing his good pace in the fight before getting rocked hard in the 3rd round. Max, forever the good sport, took his loss with grace, and Topuria took his place atop the mountain of UFC Featherweights. For him, the future seems to be a rematch with former champion Volkanovski, but surging challenger Diego Lopes also stands idly by.

Another longtime stalwart of the UFC, Robert Whittaker, found himself a victim of another undefeated contender. Khamzat Chimaev, the undefeated Chechen fighter who’s offensive grappling is second to none, absolutely ran through the fan favorite former champion in Whittaker. This fight was another that had its outcome resting on a narrative. What was going to break first? Robert Whittaker? Or Chimaev’s own susceptible cardio? The answer was apparently Robert Whittaker, and his jaw, as Chimaev only needed about a minute and a half to take down the Australian and lock in a rear naked choke so tight, that it popped his lower alveolar bone (the bone in your jaw that holds your teeth in), causing one of the more horrific injuries in UFC history.

Whittaker, could obviously not continue the fight, and Chimaev hushed any naysayers who doubted him. Whether or not his cardio remains a problem seems like a mut point, as he clearly doesn’t need it to finish the top competition in the division. What is next for him, is up to the UFC. He can only fight outside the US due to some spooky legal situations with Chechnya’s dictatorial governor, so he may have to wait to get his very deserved title shot against Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. Also in the title picture is the USA’s Sean Strickland, who lost the belt to Du Plessis earlier this year.

Like I mentioned on Friday, even the fan favorites on the lower cards were in for a rough go …

It’s almost as if the UFC knew that Halloween was around the corner, because not only did we have to watch Whittaker’s gruesome injury and Holloway’s shocking demise, but horror seems to have been in store for most of the other so called “heroes” on the card.

• Rafael Dos Anjos, on his 40th birthday, blew out his knee about a minute into his Welterweight clash with Geoff Neal
• Chris Barnett, beloved by all for his flashy style and personality, also blew his knee out in round one in a Heavyweight fight with Kennedy Nzechukwu
• Dan Ige, who gained respect earlier this year for his super short notice fight with Diego Lopes, saw himself on the wrong end of a fight with Lerone Murphy
• Magomed Ankalaev, whom people love to hate, dispatched of Aleksandar Rakic to lay claim to a future Light Heavyweight title shot, something very few people will be looking forward to.
• Rinat Fakhretdinov found himself winning the robbery of the century, as questionable judging led him to earn a win over the debuting Carlos Leal.

There were, however, two lone bright spots on the night, as Mateusz Rębecki and Myktybek Orolbai put on one of the greatest preliminary fights of all time, and Shara Magomedov opened the main card with a double backfist knockout of Armen Petrosyan that was simply one of a kind.

Jacob Smith

10/23/2024

Thank you to the 5K fight fans hanging with us for an amazing #UFC308

We will be back on Monday for our podcast and we hope you join us next Saturday for #UFCEdmonton @FansFirstSN https://t.co/FPJO2pfYbY

— The Combat Zone Network (@CombatZoneFFSN) October 26, 2024