UFC fans get a treat tomorrow with UFC 308 prelims starting at 10am ET and the main card kicking off at 2pm. The prelims will feature the enigmatic Chris Barnett, who will be fighting Kennedy Nzechukwu, along with a matchup between veterans Geoff Neal vs Rafael Dos Anjos. On the main card, there will be 5 fights featured and all of them have the potential to end in fireworks.
UFC 308 Main Card
Shara Magomedov vs Armen Petrosyan
Shara Magomedov is 3-0 in the UFC since making his debut in October of 2023 and is a -170 favorite going into this fight against Armen Petrosyan. Magomedov has been a favorite going into every fight so far in the UFC and rightfully so given striking advantage in almost every fight.
If there is a vulnerability for Magomedov it would be his takedown defense. In his last fight against Michal Oleksiejczuk, Magomedov was taken down 3 times and was controlled on the ground for a total of 2:39. In his first fight in the UFC against Bruno Silva, Magomedov was taken down 3 times and was controlled on the ground for a total of 6:44 seconds.
However, Armen Petrosyan is not known for his wrestling so this threat should be of little worry to Magomedov. Petrosyan fought on Dana White’s Contender Series and was able to finish his opponent in the first round via TKO. Since graduating to the UFC, not only has Petrosyan not finished any of his opponents but they have all gone the entire 3 rounds except his last fight which Petrosyan lost in round 1 via submission.
This fight is set up for Magomedov to get the finish by TKO.
Lerone Murphy vs Dan Ige
Dan Ige is a UFC veteren who has had his ups and downs, starting his UFC career 6-1 with 5 straight wins. Calvin Kattar put his 5 fight win streak to an end in 2020 when they matched up in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Katter vs Ige. Soon after, Ige would go on a 3 fight losing streak, being defeated by the Korean Zombie, Josh Emmett, and Movsar Evleov. Ige currently stands with a record of 18-8 with 6 TKO victories and 5 wins via submission.
Ige will be fighting against Lerone Murphy who holds a 14-0-1 record and is currently on a 6 fight win streak. Murphy’s last win came against Edson Barbosa, a legend in the UFC and known as one of the best strikers to ever grace the octagon. Even though Barbosa is 38 years old and most likely out of his prime, Murphy not only beat Barbosa but it was seen as a clinic as Murphy defeated him in all areas of the fight.
Unfortunately for Dan Ige, I believe now is the time for Lerone Murphy to shine yet again. I have Murphy winning by unanimous decision or KO.
Murphy moneyline against Ige currently stands at -300 on Fan Duel.
Magomed Ankalaev vs Aleksander Rakic
Rakic suffered a knee injury in 2022 keeping him away from the UFC for 2 years before coming back against Jiri Prochazka. Rakic would go on to lose his return fight in the second round via TKO, but he did put up good fight against one of the most dynamic strikers the UFC has to offer in Jiri. Rakic was once seen as a force to be reckoned with, but with the injury he sustained and the recent loss, his aura is not what it used to be. He will be fighting against a man who can not only strike but also wrestle with the best of them in Magomed Ankalaev.
Ankalaev has a record of 19-1 and his only loss occurred on his first ever fight in the UFC against Paul Craig in 2018. Ankalaev has beaten big names such as Tiagos Santos, Anthony Smith, and Johnny Walker. Ankalaev has proven throughout his career that he can not only finish opponents with his striking but also dominate on the ground with wrestling if need be. I believe Ankalaev is a champion in waiting and has all the skills to win a UFC title.
Anakalaev will get the victory.
Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev
Robert Whittaker, one of the most beloved fighters in the UFC, will have his hands full with Khamzat Chimaev. That is not to say that Whittaker can not beat Chimaev as it has been proven that Chimaev can be touched and is most certainly human regardless of his dominant victories in his early UFC career. We not only saw Khamzat go the distance with Gilbert Burns but more recently we saw him go toe to toe with one of the best pound for pound fighters to ever live in Kamaru Usman. The fight against Usman went the distance and may think that if the fight was 5 rounds instead of 3, that Usman would have left that night the victor. Nonetheless, the fight was only 3 rounds and Khamzat won the fight against Usman by decision.
Whittaker has had countless wars against Israel Adeysana, Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa and many more. He is also a former champion and has competed against the very best in the Middleweight division for years now. This fight is unpredictable in the sense that even though Khamzat has been dominant with a record of 13-0, his last couple of fights have made him look beatable. Also, Khamzat has a history of suffering from illness which kept him out of the Octagon for quite some time. Whittaker is a proven champion and this fight should be nothing short of spectacular.
Khamzat will be victorious by Decision.
Main Event: Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway
The main event we have all been waiting for.
Max Holloway’s last fight against Justin Gaethje will no doubt go into the UFC Hall of Fame for being one of the most exciting finishes to a fight imaginable. With 10 seconds to go in the fight against Gaethje, Holloway did his patented point to the center of the octagon and challenged Gaethje to stand with him and brawl it out to close the fight. This altercation would end in Holloway knocking out Gaethje in dramatic fashion. Most fighters would not dare challenge Holloway to do this again after seeing what happened to Gaethje but Ilia Topuria is not afraid. Topuria has thrown the challenge back at Holloway to do the same but this time in the first 10 seconds of the fight instead of the last 10 seconds.
Topuria, the current UFC featherweight champion, is coming off a KO victory over Alexander Volkanovski. “Volk”, as he is called, was a -140 favorite going into the fight against Topuria but that didn’t matter much has Topuria would go on to finish Volk in the second round via KO. It is not a secret that Topuria and Holloway both have incredible boxing backgrounds. Given the strengths of both of these fighters are in the standup game, this fight should be a back and forth brawl for the entirety of the fight. Never being knocked out, Max has proven to be incredibly durable throughout his career while Topuria is a man who steamrolls his opponents.
The UFC gave us an amazing main event that has fans all over the world ready to tune in.
Holloway will be victorious by Decision.
