UFC 308 is in the books and it was a memorable one. Ilia Topuria is still the featherweight champion after an astonishing knockout of former titleholder Max Holloway — the first time that Holloway had ever even been knocked down in his 34-pro fight career.
The bout was as expected from the jump with both men unloading incredible power shots through two rounds. After the second intermission, it seemed like Holloway was gaining momentum with his volume striking and head movement, which were frustrating Topuria as he marched forward. Instead, Topuria flipped the script in the third round by forcing Holloway against the fence and stunning him with a straight right hand before uncorking a perfect left hook to put him down for good.
Elsewhere on the card, Khamzat Chimaev roared back onto the scene with a dominant performance against former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Chimaev took Whittaker down in the opening moments and never relented. He continued to hunt for submission attempts with his incredible ground control before finally forcing his forearm across Whittaker’s face and causing a submission. Whittaker said that he thought he dislocated his jaw in the hold. The win ostensibly puts Chimaev on the fast track to a middleweight title showdown with Dricus du Plessis after years of waiting due to illness and injury.
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UFC 308 fight card, odds
- Ilia Topuria (c) def. Max Holloway via third-round knockout (punches)
- Khamzat Chimaev def. Robert Whittaker via first-round submission (face crank)
- Magomed Ankalaev def. Aleksandar Rakic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Lerone Murphy def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Shara Magomedov def. Armen Petrosyan via second-round knockout (punch)
- Ibo Aslan def. Rafael Cerqueira via first-round TKO (punches)
- Geoff Neal def. Rafael dos Anjos via first round TKO (injury)
- Mateusz Rebecki def. Myktybek Orolbai via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Abus Magomedov def. Brunno Ferreira via third-round submission (arm triangle choke)
- Kennedy Nzechukwu def. Chris Barnett via first-round TKO (punches)
- Farid Basharat def Victor Hugo via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ismail Naurdiev def. Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Carlos Leal by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
