UFC 308 Report: Ilia Topuria, Khamzat Chimaev silenced all the doubters

UFC 308 is in the books, and Ilia Topuria remains the featherweight champion after doing the unthinkable: knocking out Max Holloway.

This past Saturday in Abu Dhabi, Topuria scored the first title defense of his featherweight reign with a third-round stoppage of Holloway, and may have done enough to cement himself as the Fighter of the Year. On top of that, Khamzat Chimaev thrashed Robert Whittaker with a brutal first-round submission win to put himself in title contention.

So with so much to talk about plus more, let’s gather the MMA Fighting brain trust to discuss everything that happened at UFC 308.

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1. What is your blurb review of UFC 308?

Heck: Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev are those guys.

Topuria knocking out Max Holloway in the way that he did was stunning. Did I see Topuria winning? I did, but certainly not in the way he confidently predicted during the entire build to the fight.

Chimaev obliterating the facial area and teeth of Robert Whittaker is just plain scary. Don’t make this too complicated, UFC: Give Chimaev the title shot, and fast.

Lee: The fighters with the most pressure on them delivered, helping not only themselves, but the UFC.

Ilia Topuria is a future legend, Khamzat Chimaev looked like the best middleweight in the world, Magomed Ankalaev held serve, and even Lerone Murphy and Shara Magomedov made an impact in their respective contenders’ lines. Now it’s on the UFC to not get cute and give these big winners the opportunities they’re entitled to.

Meshew: None of your heroes are safe from the inexorable march of this sport.

Max Holloway and Robert Whittaker are two of the most beloved fighters in the UFC. Both are former champions, both are still relatively young, and both looked incredible leading into Saturday night. Because of that, many thought — or hoped — they might fend off Father Time. Instead, Saturday gave us a harsh reminder of the reality of this sport for all our heroes.

Martin: As advertised.

Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev were both heavily favored to win at UFC 308 but actually delivering with such impressive finishes can’t be emphasized enough. Max Holloway had never been knocked out and Topuria knocked him out. Whittaker had never been submitted in the UFC and Chimaev tapped him inside five minutes. Living up to expectations is tough but Topuria and Chimaev did that and more on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

2. What’s next for Max Holloway?

Heck: So, so many options for Holloway now, it’s an embarrassment of riches for fight fans now that he’ll be a full-time lightweight. But the answer is Charles Oliveira, no matter what happens at UFC 309.

They were matched up before in a main event in 2015, and we only got a little over 90 seconds of action until Oliveira got injured. I’ve wanted to see this fight rebooked since, and now we have the best opportunity to do it. Oliveira faces Michael Chandler in a few weeks at MSG. Win or lose, give us Holloway vs. Oliveira the way it was supposed to be.

Martin: It’s rematch season and there’s no bigger fight available to him then finally running it back with Conor McGregor.

Because he’s still the “BMF” champion, Holloway has plenty of options available to him for exciting fights and a rematch with Dustin Poirier isn’t the worst idea either. But Dana White insists that McGregor is actually going to fight in 2025 and his previously scheduled opponent Michael Chandler is now tied up in a rematch with Charles Oliveira. Yes, Dan Hooker keeps pushing for that fight, but like it or not, he just doesn’t move the needle enough to warrant McGregor’s attention. Let’s not overcomplicate things here — McGregor vs. Holloway 2 would be the biggest fight the UFC could promote next year, and it’s a chance for the Irish superstar to get a belt without pissing off every contender waiting in line at lightweight or welterweight.

Lee: It’s truly a blessing - no pun intended - that one of the three best featherweights ever is now poised to close his career with a run at 155 pounds, the deepest division in MMA. There are plenty of rematches for him to pursue (or in the case of Poirier, a trilogy), but there’s also fresh blood that I’d love to see Holloway put to the test.

If I have to pick his very next fight, I’m going with neither a past Holloway for nor an up-and-comer, but rather a name I’ve already mentioned for Holloway on On to the Next One, Renato Moicano. In the past couple of years, “Money” has done as good a job as anyone of building their brand and making sure that he’s not just regarded as an also-ran in the lightweight division. He’s earned the right to fight a legend and his style matches up perfectly with Holloway. Frankly, I’ll be sad if this one never happens.

Meshew: I don’t want to poop anyone’s party, but it might not be good.

Holloway has one of the greatest chins in the history of MMA, but it just got cracked and once that happens, you can’t unring the bell. From this point forward, Holloway’s chin will never be invulnerable again, and historically, this is usually the beginning of a slow decline. Now, given how great his chin was, Holloway could still have a late career Mark Hunt “good but not impervious” chin for a few more years, but he’s also moving up to lightweight. Bigger dudes hit harder and there’s a real possibility we’ve seen the last of All-Time Great Max, which is a bummer.

But setting that aside, just about every fight at lightweight is fun as hell. No wrong way to eat that Reese’s.

3. What was the best part of UFC 308?

Meshew: Ilia Topuria! Of course it’s Ilia Topuria!

By becoming the first person to knock out Holloway, Topuria, in my mind, locked up Fighter of the Year. I know there are Alex Pereira truthers out there, and I can understand a very specific kind of argument, but the gulf between what Topuria accomplished this year and Pereira has is VAST. We’re talking about knocking out two fighters — who have never been knocked out at featherweight — that are among the 15 best fighters ever. That’s a historic achievement.

Plus, did you see that little wink Topuria threw to the camera before the fight? This man might be the sauciest fighter in the world. Long may he reign.

Heck: As you all know, I tend to be hipster-like with some of these questions, so I’ll take a road less traveled: Max Holloway.

What???

Yes, Max Holloway. I know, he lost and got knocked out, but the 32-year-old went out there, fought his ass off, looked darn good in the fight until he didn’t, and then — the biggest reason he’s my choice — he showed up to the post-fight press conference and took the loss like an absolute class act. As fans, we are truly “Blessed” that a fighter like Holloway competes in this sport. He offered no excuses, and while he didn’t want to be there to answer for the loss, he freaking did it. I respect the hell out of it, and now, lightweight Max Holloway is going to be incredibly fun.

Lee: Khamzat Chimaev! He fought! For real!

Anyone who jumped off the “Borz” bandwagon, now is the perfect time to hop back on. Chimaev supporters have had their faith sorely tested over the past few years as a variety of calamities (some self-inflicted) and a few muddy results (I still say there’s no shame in going the distance with Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns) dulled the once-blinding aura that first emanated from Fight Island. But when you massacre a former champion in Robert Whittaker, who is still one of the five best middleweights in the world, well, that’s not a bad way to remind the doubters how special of a talent you are.

Let’s just hope it’s not another 12 months before we see Chimaev fight again.

Martin: There are a few options, but it has to be Ilia Topuria.

There’s no denying his greatness now after he became the first person to knock out Max Holloway. Yes, taking out Alexander Volkanovski in similar fashion was ultra-impressive, but it’s impossible to forget that Volk took that fight just four months after he got flattened by Islam Makhachev. An argument could be made that Volkanovski came back too soon, and Topuria was the recipient of getting a win over a compromised champion.

That’s not the case with the Holloway fight. He was six months removed from arguably the greatest finish in UFC history with his jaw-dropping, last-second knockout over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. Holloway looked better than ever in that fight and he started out in similar fashion at UFC 308. But what Topuria did on Saturday hasn’t been done by anybody else. Not Conor McGregor. Not Dustin Poirier. Not Gaethje or Volkanovski. There’s no more doubting Topuria. He’s the best featherweight on the planet by a wide margin, and it’s tough to see anybody beating him.

4. What was the worst part of UFC 308?

Martin: Injuries are part of the sport but watching an OG of the game like Rafael dos Anjos potentially blow his knee out on his 40th birthday is particularly rough.

This sport is cruel at times and rarely do we see legends of the game go out on top. It’s not like anybody was expecting dos Anjos to beat Geoff Neal, and then ride off into the sunset, but shredding his knee on the UFC 308 prelims was not enjoyable whatsoever. Perhaps the harder pill to swallow is that dos Anjos insists he’s coming back for more and maybe that’s not a terrible idea if the knee injury isn’t as bad as suspected. But if he’s got to undergo major knee reconstruction, and the Brazilian is out for another year. It’s tough to imagine things are going to get much better for a 41-year-old dos Anjos.

Heck: Robert Whittaker, one of the sport’s truly good guys and talented fighters, saw his championship door close and probably lock behind him. The fact that “The Reaper” was able to build his way back into that position on multiple occasions is incredible. Unfortunately, the middleweight division is only getting better — especially with guys like Caio Borralho, Anthony Hernandez, Bo Nickel, Shara ‘“Bullet,” and others on the way up. He’s been stopped by both du Plessis and Chimaev, two losses to Adesanya, and I suspect he’ll be taking a long break after Saturday.

We’ll still be able to watch Whittaker compete, and that’s great, but to feel like that championship chapter is over is kind of a bummer.

Meshew: Man, I thought Heck was going to say Shara Magomedov’s callout of Israel Adesanya! But instead he chose the only correct answer. I could get cheeky and say something like judging (not great but not as bad as many thought) or the sad reminder of our own mortality (see Question 1) but the answer is the horror movie that was Robert Whittaker’s Saturday. That photo will haunt my nightmares for years.

Lee: Hey, it’s Chris Barnett!

Oh no, Chris Barnett!

As wonderful as it was to see “Beastboy” back in action after a series of missed bookings, his return couldn’t have gone much worse. First, it looked like he busted his leg up with a characteristically overly enthusiastic entrance, then he proceeded to fight with a visible limp, and then he was battered against the fence while essentially standing on one leg.

Hey corner guys, you know you can tell the ref to stop the fight, right?

5. Did anything surprise you?

Lee: You know what’s surprising?

ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.

This is something that we all assumed just couldn’t be done. This was like someone flat-lining a prime B.J. Penn. Or someone submitting Khabib Nurmagomedov. Or a Diaz brother not complaining about a decision loss. Not going to happen, never going to happen.

But this happened. Topuria didn’t just catch Holloway, he emphatically took control of the fight in Round 3 and rocked Holloway before putting him down for good with that fateful combination. Max Holloway. Loss. Via KO.

I still don’t believe it.

Martin: Khamzat Chimaev finally reminding us all why there is so much hype around him.

Let’s be honest, Chimaev’s run over the past couple of years has been disappointing to say the least. Many of us (myself included) crowned him a future champion but tangling with COVID-19, continued struggles with his immune system and injuries not to mention indecision around his weight class brought this once promising career to a staggering halt. Even his return to middleweight ended with an emphatic thud after Kamaru Usman — a career welterweight taking the fight on very short notice — nearly beat Chimaev. There were so many doubts about Chimaev that Robert Whittaker became the sexy upset pick of the week.

Well it’s safe to say Chimaev silenced all doubts with his performance on Saturday and now we can only hope he remains healthy enough to book a middleweight title fight against Dricus du Plessis sooner rather than later.

Meshew: To quote one of the smartest men I know:

ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.

ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.

ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY I DIDN’T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE BUT ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.

Heck: Mateusz Rebecki: You, sir, are an absolute savage.

Hand up, I was very wrong about this fight with Myktybek Oralbai, and while I still believe Oralbai has a very good chance to be a top-10 guy at lightweight, Rebecki showed that if you can’t be destroyed and just hit people as hard as you possibly can at all times in a fight, it can take you far. Those two guys beat the soul out of each other, and may never be the same. But despite being a massive underdog, and coming off of a humbling defeat to Diego Ferreira, Rebecki’s superpowers only got stronger. That was wild.

6. How are we going to remember UFC 308?

Heck: It’s obviously Topuria and Chimaev, but to cast a broader net, UFC 308 was a fantastic card that delivered some of the most memorable moments of the year. While the top-to-bottom lineup got a bit of a facelift throughout the road to Etihad Arena, what we got was tremendous. The fighters brought it. Sure, there were a couple of sad moments, but when Shara Magomedov’s insane knockout is almost forgotten about, you’ve done the thing.

Lee: The night where pretty much everything went right for the UFC.

Aside from some depressing injuries and a travesty of a scorecard in the opening prelim bout (Hadi Mohamed Ali, we see you and we won’t forget), Dana White and co. couldn’t have asked for a better set of results. Not only does this show continue an excellent 2024 campaign for the promotion, they’re set for even bigger things in 2025 with Topuria and Chimaev’s eye-catching performances.

We often say that the UFC is such a well-oiled machine these days that it can only fall upwards, but in this case it deserves to reap the rewards of a crowd-pleasing show.

Martin: The torch has been passed.

Ilia Topuria promised over and over again ahead of his fight against Max Holloway that it was time to crown a new generation of fighters and he was prepared to lead that charge. Becoming the first person to knock out a legend like Holloway pretty much proved his point. The same could be said for Chimaev dispatching Whittaker, who was a former champion and perennial contender at middleweight. By all accounts, Whittaker’s championship window closed on Saturday while the door burst wide open for Chimaev. Holloway is in a better position thanks to his “BMF” title and plans to move to lightweight but it looks like his days as one of the most ferocious featherweights in the sport may be done.

A new generation indeed.

Meshew: *Takes a deep breathe*

ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.

ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.

ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.

But seriously, in the short term, the thing we’ll remember from UFC 308 is the main event, but in future years, this is the event we’ll look back on when Ilia Topuria staked his claim to being the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. Islam Makhachev still has claim to that title for now, but this is a 1A 1B situation.

No division in MMA history has produced more historically great champions than featherweight: Jose Aldo, Alexander Volkanovski, and Max Holloway are all top-15 fighters all-time. And at only 27 years old, there’s a very real possibility that Topuria joins them by the end of his career.