UFC 307 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering.
The promotion was in Salt Lake City last week, where the Delta Center played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its latest major card in the "Beehive State." Of note were title fight wins for Alex Pereira and Julianna Peña, as well as important victories for Kayla Harrison and Joaquin Buckley.
While the aftermath of the October 5 card is currently the talk of the town, it won’t be long until focus sways to the next PPV, and from the light heavyweight title picture to the 145-pound championship conversation.
At UFC 308, set for the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on October 26, reigning featherweight kingpin Ilia Topuria will compete for the second time this year, this time in defense of gold. Following a knockout of Alexander Volkanovski to capture the crown, "El Matador" will next face the challenge of BMF titleholder Max Holloway.
Stakes will also be high in the co-headliner, as former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker looks to continue his fine winning form in 2024. "The Reaper" is set for a second attempt at sharing the cage with Khamzat Chimaev following their canceled headliner in Saudi Arabia this past June.
Ankalaev, Murphy, Magomedov Set The Stage For Title Headliners At UFC 308
Before Topuria defends his belt and Whittaker looks to secure a shot at regaining champ status in the Middle East, a number of other high-profile names will take to the Octagon looking to make the most of their position on the major card.
That includes surging featherweight Lerone Murphy. Despite an impressive main event win over Edson Barboza earlier this year, "The Miracle" will be defending his #12 spot in the rankings against Dan Ige, who is returning for the first time since his same-day assignment opposite Diego Lopes this past June.
Prior to that, Pereira's next challenger at light heavyweight could be decided as #2-ranked contender Magomed Ankalaev shares the cage with the highly regarded Aleksandar Rakić
And opening the main card will be a familiar face in the Middle East, Sharabutdin Magomedov. Two of "Bullet's" Octagon wins have come in Abu Dhabi, with the other going down in Saudi Arabia. The Russian will make the walk inside Etihad Arena again on Oct. 26, this time to throw down with Armen Petrosyan.
Those pairings have gotten the nod to feature on the main card over the welterweight clash between ex-lightweight titleholder Rafael dos Anjos and Geoff Neal, which is currently slated to top the preliminary portion of the event.
See below for the full UFC 308 card, as it stands.
Main Card:
- Featherweight Championship Main Event: Ilia Topuria (C) vs. Max Holloway
- Middleweight Co-Main Event: Robert Whittaker vs. Max Holloway
- Featherweight: Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige
- Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakić
- Middleweight: Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
Preliminary Card:
- Welterweight: Geoff Neal vs. Rafael dos Anjos
- Lightweight: Mateusz Rębecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai
- Bantamweight: Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos
- Middleweight: Abus Magomedov vs. Brunno Ferreira
- Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Justin Tafa
- Bantamweight: Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
- Welterweight: Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
- Middleweight: Bruno Silva vs. Ismail Naurdiev
- Light Heavyweight: Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira
