Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic sneaks its way into jam-packed UFC 308 lineup

As if Saturday’s announcement of the UFC 308 top trio of fights wasn’t enough, the promotion added another big-ticket bout.

Magomed Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) will take on Aleksandar Rakic (14-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in a key light heavyweight bout on the main card at Etihad ARena in Abu Dhabi, UFC CEO Dana White announced.

UFC 308 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) is set for Oct. 26. with a featherweight title fight between champion Ilia Topuria and ex-champ Max Holloway in the main event. Plus, Khamzat Chimaev meets former middleweight titleholder Robert Whittaker and Ciryl Gane takes on Alexander Volkov.

Ankalaev lost his UFC debut in 2018 to Pau Craig with one second left in the third round. He hasn’t lost since. His only blemish since then was a split draw with Jan Blachowicz for the then-vacant 205-pound title in late 2022.

After a no contest with Johnny Walker in October 2023, he ran it back with the Brazilian in January and knocked him out in the second round for his first post-fight bonus in more than three years.

Rakic is badly in need of a rebound. After back-to-back wins over Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos, both former title challengers, he has consecutive TKO losses to former champs Jan Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka, the most recent of which came in April. It’s the first two-fight skid of his career.

With the addition, the latest UFC 308 lineup now includes:

• Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
• Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker
• Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
• Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
• Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy
• Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Marcos Rogerio

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.