Australian Robert Whittaker can get one step closer to another world title fight when he faces undefeated Russian Khamzat Chimaev while the featherweight crown is on the line as Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway face off in the main event of UFC 308.
Whittaker looked to have fallen out of the middleweight title picture after a second-round TKO loss to current champion Dricus du Plessis, only to storm back into contention with two-straight wins this year.
UFC 308: TOPURIA VS HOLLOWAY plus Australia’s Rob Whittaker taking on undefeated Khamzat Chimaev | SUN 27 OCT 5AM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.
Whittaker-Chimaev tense staredown | 02:26
First, Whittaker took a unanimous decision win over Paulo Costa in a three-round war before dismantling Ikram Aliskerov in a first-round statement in June.
It has positioned the Australian, who has only lost to du Plessis and former champion Israel Adesanya, for a shot against the South African should he defeat Chimaev on Sunday.
Speaking with Main Event’s Niko Pajarillo this week, UFC boss Dana White left the door open for a Whittaker vs du Plessis rematch in Sydney next February.
“I don’t know about that,” White said when asked if the winner would pass Sean Strickland in the queue for the next shot.
“To talk about jumping guys in the line right now, let’s see how the fight plays out.
“We gotta see how it plays out before we start talking about jumping lines, who would get the next title shot.
“But in this division, this is the baddest fight you could possibly make right now. So whoever wins, it’s a good thing for them.”
‘It will be a bad morning for you guys’ | 01:07
Elsewhere, Topuria will look to secure his first successful title defence in the main event against Holloway who, like Whittaker, looked to be a long way away from contending for another championship a few years ago.
Nearly five years since losing the featherweight title, Holloway is back after three-straight wins, including a statement knockout win in the final second of his fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
Topuria, who is defending the belt for the first time since upsetting Australian Alexander Volkanovski, said at media day earlier in the week that he will challenge Holloway to a scrap in the middle of the octagon.
Ilia & Max erupt over ‘opening offer’ | 01:22
Of course, that is a strategy that would work in Holloway’s favour and the former champion is sceptical Topuria will actually follow through with that challenge, accusing him of being a Conor McGregor “copycat”.
“It just makes no sense,” Holloway said.
“To me, I don’t think he deserves – you’ve got to earn that right. I don’t think he deserves that right. I mean, you guys know the guy he’s copycatting.
“This guy is a copycat down to his tattoos, to his aura, to the way he’s approaching fights. The guy is a copycat.”
The UFC 308 main card starts at 5am, with the prelims getting underway at 1am.
UFC 308 RESULTS
Main card
Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway — for the UFC featherweight title
Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige
Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
Prelims
Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira
Geoff Neal vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki
Abus Magomedov vs. Brunno Ferreira
Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Chris Barnett
Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Carlos Leal
LIVE BLOG
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