Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway is going down in October.
On Saturday, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Topuria is set put his UFC featherweight championship on the line against “BMF” champion Holloway in the main event of UFC 308 on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi.
Watch White make the fight official via social media below.
#UFC308 October 26th from Fight Island, Abu Dhabi!@VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/v7FdlGXQzl
— danawhite (@danawhite) August 3, 2024
Topuria (15-0), the No. 1-ranked featherweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, claimed his title with a violent knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February. The win not only kept the 27-year-old’s perfect record intact, it pushed his UFC win streak to seven straight.
Prior to his championship triumph, fans saw Topuria pick up stoppage wins over Bryce Mitchell, Jai Herbert, Ryan Hall, and Damon Jackson, while also earning decision wins over Josh Emmett and Youssef Zalal.
Holloway (26-7), No. 3 at both featherweight and lightweight, won the BMF championship with a highlight-reel knockout of former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje in the co-main event UFC 300. This performance marked his first jump to 155 pounds since a decision loss to Dustin Poirier in 2019.
To date, “Blessed” owns several UFC records including the most significant strikes, total strikes, and most bouts without being knocked down in promotional history.
Also announced is a re-booking of former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev for the Oct. 26 co-main event. The two were originally slated to fight in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia in June before Chimaev was forced out with an illness.
Instead, Whittaker ran through Chimaev’s replacement, Ikram Aliskerov, with a first-round knockout. It was the second straight win for “The Reaper” following a hard-fought decision over Paulo Costa at UFC 298.
On the flip side, fans have not seen Chimaev compete inside the octagon since his majority decision win over former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in October 2023. Since then, a series of medical issues have kept “Borz” on the sideline.
A heavyweight rematch between Alexander Volkov and Ciryl Gane, and a light heavyweight scrap between Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic were also announced for the card.
