No matter what happens to Max Holloway and Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, these former champions are proof that you can’t keep a good fighter down.

First, let’s talk about Holloway, the current “BMF” champion and former featherweight world champion, who is looking to regain the latter title when he takes on the undefeated Ilia Topuria in Saturday’s main event in Abu Dhabi. Holloway had a brilliant run as champion from 2017 to 2019 before facing rival Alexander Volkanovski, a fellow future Hall of Famer who happens to be his perfect match. Holloway’s inability to overtake Volkanovski seemed to signal the end of his career as the 145 top contender, but he continued to win tough fights, put on spectacular performances and create viral moments, to the point that he forced his way back into the title Conversation.

Now we’ll see if Holloway can complete one of the most feel-good stories we’ve ever seen.

Whittaker doesn’t have quite as much at stake in the co-main event, but he faces a similar challenge as he faces a talented opponent who has never suffered defeat. Whittaker faced his own version of Volkanovski in the form of then-champion Israel Adesanya and future champion Dricus du Plessis, two opponents who relegated Whittaker to contender status. But like Holloway, he fought his way back within spitting distance of a title, and an upset against Chimaev will have fans blowing up Dana White’s social media channels to justify “The Reaper.”

Everyone should appreciate what Holloway and Whittaker are trying to achieve here, because no one would have blamed them if they had given up on their championship dreams when they were at their lowest point.

In other major card action, the No. 1 light heavyweight contender looks set to become, er, even more of the No. 1 contender (?) as he fights Aleksandar Rakic, Lerone Murphy in a fight with underhanded featherweight title contenders Dan Ige scores, and the popular Shara Bullet opens the main card against Armen Petrosyan.

What: UFC 308

Where: Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi

When: Saturday, October 26th. The eight-fight preliminary card begins at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by the five-fight main card at 2 p.m. ET exclusively on ESPN+ pay-per-view

(The numbers in brackets indicate the representation MMA Fighting Global Rankings And Pound-for-pound rankingIngs)

Ilia Topuria (1, P4P-4) vs. Max Holloway (3, P4P-T9)

Whether you support Max Holloway or not, there are plenty of reasons to believe he can beat Ilia Topuria in addition to the good vibes.

Yes, Topuria beat Alexander Volkanovski and Volkanovski beat Holloway three times, but if you put the MMA math aside, you can see that this is a classic case of style fighting. Topuria’s mindset of finishing quickly against Volkanovski won’t serve him as well against Holloway with the titanium chin. If Topuria goes too hard in the opening rounds, he could swim upstream in the championship rounds.

However, it’s up to Holloway to make it work. Holloway’s mix of high volume and precision will give Topuria a headache, but Topuria’s technical skills are so sharp that he could catch Holloway with some of the same shots that took Volkanovski down. I don’t expect Holloway to go down and stay down, but could Topuria become just the second fighter to knock him down? I see it.

I’ll look past all the weird side quests that Topuria seems desperate to talk about and trust him to do his best on fight night, because when he’s there, he’s legitimately one of the top five fighters in the world. Topuria can make a big statement with a convincing win over Holloway, and while I don’t expect him to dominate blow-for-blow, he should come away with a controversial decision win.

Choose: Topuria

Robert Whittaker (4) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (12)

Look, I can’t tell you for sure that I didn’t write all those nice things about Robert Whittaker and Max Holloway to soften the blow of me going against them both. But I’m against both.

Dricus du Plessis wrote the plan to bully Whittaker, and as much as Whittaker learned from that loss, I don’t think he has an answer to the sheer physicality of Khamzat Chimaev. I’ve never jumped off the Chimaev bandwagon because I believe he can beat anyone as long as he makes it to the cage.

As I write this, there is still plenty of time left for Saturday’s co-main event, but assuming Chimaev manages to pass, I expect his unreal combination of strength, speed, wrestling skills and raw power to be on full display . We’ll know early if Whittaker is willing to play spoilsport if he can fend off a few Chimaev takedowns and avoid early upsets. Remember, this is a five-round fight, and if Whittaker makes it past round 3, Chimaev’s chances of winning decrease exponentially with each passing minute.

So this is a leap of faith in a way, because I’m going with Chimaev to keep his thing together and finish Whittaker in the first or second round.

Choose: Chimaev

Magomed Ankalaev (3) vs Aleksandar Rakic ​​​​(7)

This is simply the ultimate banana peel for Magomed Ankalaev.

Ankalaev, undefeated for 12 fights in a row, is somehow in danger of losing what should have been a surefire shot at the light heavyweight title to Aleksandar Rakic, despite Rakic ​​suffering two straight defeats separated by a two-year injury layoff . MMA.

Rakic ​​​​is also a threat! He looked good in his comeback fight before being defeated by Prochazka, and if he sticks to the game plan of leg kicks and counter combinations, that could be a serious problem for Ankalaev. When Ankalaev fought to a draw with Jan Blachowicz, most of his problems stemmed from Blachowicz injuring his leg in the first three rounds. Ankalaev then moved on to his grappling to turn the fight on its head.

Should he consider focusing on his wrestling to quell Rakic’s offense? It can’t hurt, although the defensive Rakic ​​has shown good takedown defense when he’s had to use it. With only three rounds left to complete – and, more importantly, to impress Dana White – Ankalaev may have to throw caution to the wind and limit himself to a stand-up duel.

That won’t be a problem for Ankalaev, a great striker who is strangely labeled as an unattractive challenger to Pereira despite half of his UFC victories coming by knockout. He’ll mix up the martial arts to break Rakic’s rhythm when it matters most, but when it’s time to finish, Ankalaev will let loose with his limbs and take Rakic ​​out.

Choose: Ankarayev

Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige (15)

After several years of struggling to string together fights, Lerone Murphy has finally hit his stride and now it’s all about making the brutal promotion to featherweight. Dan Ige is the next logical step, a veteran who has gone the distance with the best, even if he hasn’t been able to prove himself a top-10 fighter.

Murphy showed off an incredible pressure game in his recent win over Edson Barboza, but don’t expect Ige to back down against the same tactics. “50K” is always in top form and a tough 15 minutes doesn’t bother him in the slightest. I suspect we’ll see Murphy mix up his tactics even more, stabbing Ige on the feet when he finds an opening and taking him out when the standup exchanges get too hot.

Overall, though, I like Murphy to get out of a tight striking battle and manage just enough to beat Ige and prevent him from getting his own offense going. It won’t be easy, but Murphy’s undefeated streak continues.

Choose: Murphy

Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan

Don’t ask me why, I expect so much strange in this match.

“Shara Bullet” was supposed to win because of his finishing ability and unpredictable movement, but they didn’t give him a layup in Armen Petrosyan. The Russian-Armenian kickboxer specializes in lengthy, methodical stand-up fights that could leave Magomedov (and those of us watching at home) frustrated. Neither fighter showed any inclination to increase the pace. So expect long stretches of half-hearted moves and feints to trick the other man into making a mistake.

Still, I can’t shake the thought that this fight will feature strange fouls, a restless crowd clamoring for more action, and if we’re lucky, even a controversy over the score. Magomedov brings a huge fan base with him every time he steps into the octagon and there is star potential there, but I’m not convinced he can impose his will on a fight. I’m glad to be proven wrong.

Magomedov by decision?

Choose: Magomedov

Ibo Aslan defeated. Raphael Cerqueira

Rafael dos Anjos defeated. Geoff Neal (13)

Myktybek Orolbai defeated. Mateusz Rebecki

Bruno Ferreira defeated. Abus Magomedov

Chris Barnett defeated. Kennedy Nzechukwu

Farid Basharat defeated. Victor Hugo

Ismail Naurdiev defeated. Bruno Silva

Rinat Fakhretdinov defeated. Carlos Leal