The eyes of the mixed martial arts (MMA) world will be on the Middle East in Saturday, October 26, when UFC 308 is staged at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The featherweight title clash between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway is the main event and is expected to spark a massive surge of activity on sportsbooks.
A wide range of markets will be offered by most sports betting sites in the UK, giving punters the chance to capitalize on their MMA knowledge.
With that in mind, read on as we look at the UFC 308 card before offering our thoughts on what promises to be a memorable night of action.
UFC 308 card
Main card
· Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway
· Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev
· Lerone Murphy vs Dan Ige
· Magomed Ankalaev vs Aleksandar Rakic
· Shara Magomedov vs Armen Petrosyan
Preliminary card
· Geoff Neal vs Rafael Dos Anjos
· Mateusz Rebecki vs Myktybek Orolbai
· Said Nurmagomedov vs Daniel Santos
· Abus Magomedov vs Brunno Ferreira
· Kennedy Nzechukwu vs Justin Tafa
· Farid Basharat vs Victor Hugo
· Ismail Naurdiev vs Bruno Silva
· Rinat Fakhretdinov vs Nursulton Ruziboev
· Ibo Aslan vs Rafael Cerqueira
UFC 308 preview
Topuria will bid to extend his unbeaten professional record to 16-0 when he goes head-to-head with Holloway for the UFC featherweight title.
He won the title after producing a superb performance to dethrone Alexander Volkanovski in the second round of their bout at UFC 298.
Holloway has never been knocked out during his career, but Topuria is confident he will end the contest inside the distance.
“I don’t have any doubts that I will be the first one to knock you out,” Topuria told Holloway in a recent interview with the UFC.
“I don’t even want you to trust in that because if you’re starting to trust in what I’m saying, you’re not going to show up, and I need you to show up in the fight.
“The only thing I’m going to do is take your lights out and party with all my people, all my team. That’s what I’m going to do – ‘And still’. This is what’s going to happen.”
While the 27-year-old is the bookmakers’ favourite to defeat Holloway, he would be well advised not to underestimate the threat posed by his opponent.
Holloway has won 26 out of 33 fights in the professional ranks – a record which includes three defeats against Volkanovski in title fights.
However, he is eager to regain the title he last held in 2019 and will fancy his chances of upsetting the odds against the champion.
Topuria should have enough quality to retain the title and keep himself on track for a career-defining clash with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
An intriguing middleweight clash between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev will precede the main event in Abu Dhabi.
The two fighters were scheduled to headline UFC Saudi Arabia in June, but health issues for Chimaev caused the fight to be cancelled.
Chimaev was replaced by Ikram Aliskerov for that contest, but Whittaker took less than two minutes to demolish his opponent with a brutal knockout.
He will likely find things much trickier against the unbeaten Chimaev, who has been touted as a future middleweight champion by UFC boss Dana White.
Lerone Murphy is also yet to taste defeat in the professional ranks, building up a 14-0-1 record since making his MMA debut in 2016.
He continued his rise up the featherweight ranks by securing a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian veteran Edson Barboza in May.
The 33-year-old now faces another stern examination against Dan Ige, who almost pulled off a mind-boggling upset against Diego Lopes in his last fight.
Ige stepped in to replace Brian Ortega just three hours before the contest, and almost grabbed an unlikely victory after dominating the final round.
However, Lopes had done enough during the early part of the bout to be handed a 29-28 win by all three judges in Las Vegas.
Another enthralling contest on the main card is the fight between Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakic, who both boast serious firepower in the light-heavyweight division.
Ankalaev is eager to earn another title shot after his last attempt against Jan Błachowicz in December 2022 ended in a frustrating split draw.
A subsequent fight against Johnny Walker was ruled a no contest, but he set the record straight by knocking out the same opponent in the second round in January.
A stoppage victory over Rakic would probably be enough to secure another title fight, and the bookmakers make him a big favourite to get the job done.
Rakic has lost his last two fights against Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka, and will be keen to regain the winning thread when he faces Ankalaev.
He has the ability to cause problems for his opponent, but looks set to suffer his third consecutive defeat in the UFC.
