UFC 308 predictions — Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway: Fight card, odds, expert picks, start time, preview

Fast-rising superstar Ilia Topuria is looking to build on his resume on Saturday when he defends his featherweight championship against former champion and fan-favorite Max Holloway. The bout headlines UFC 308 from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Topuria won the title in February with a crushing knockout of Alexander Volkanovski. That win ran Topuria’s career record to 15-0 with only two opponents making it to the final scorecards. A win over Holloway, once the most dominant featherweight on the planet and who is now riding a three-fight winning streak, would bolster Topuria’s standing as a star as well as his place on pound-for-pound lists.

In the co-main event, another former champion faces a rising star when former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker takes on the dominant Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev saw a very fast start to his UFC career slowed in recent years due to injury, illness and other issues. Whittaker, meanwhile, is looking to battle his way back into title contention and a win over Chimaev would go a long way toward putting him in that position.

Plus, another future title challenger could be crown in the light heavyweight division when Magomed Ankalaev takes on Aleksandar Rakic. Ankalaev has been at the top of the rankings at 205 pounds for a while now, but UFC CEO Dana White has not given him a second chance at fighting for the belt after an unsavory performance against Jan Blachowicz resulted in a draw in 2022. Now, Ankalaev needs to impress on Saturday against a tough opponent with massive power to possibly secure a shot against Alex Pereira in 2025.

With so much happening on Saturday night, let’s take a closer look at the full fight card with the latest odds before we get to our staff predictions and picks for the PPV portion of the festivities.

UFC 308 fight card, odds

• Ilia Topuria (c) -265 vs. Max Holloway +205, featherweight title
• Khamzat Chimaev -265 vs. Robert Whittaker +210, middleweights
• Lerone Murphy -250 vs. Dan Ige +195, featherweights
• Magomed Ankalaev -400 vs. Aleksandar Rakic +300, light heavyweights
• Shara Magomedov -165 vs. Armen Petrosyan +140, middleweights
• Geoff Neal -335 vs. Rafael dos Anjos +250, welterweights
• Myktybek Orolbai -305 vs. Mateusz Rebecki +240, lightweights
• Said Nurmagomedov -220 vs. Daniel Santos +180, bantamweights
• Abus Magomedov -150 vs. Brunno Ferreira +125, middleweights
• Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Chris Barnett, heavyweights
• Farid Basharat -670 vs. Victor Hugo +480, bantamweights
• Ismail Naurdiev -155 vs. Bruno Silva +125, middleweights
• Rinat Fakhretdinov -355 vs. Nursulton Ruziboev +280, welterweights
• Rafael Cerqueira -120 vs. Ibo Aslan +100, light heavyweights

With such a massive main event on tap, the crew at CBS Sports went ahead with predictions and picks for the main card. Here are your pick makers: Brent Brookhouse (Combat sports writer), Brian Campbell (Combat sports writer), Shakiel Mahjouri (writer), Michael Mormile (producer) and Brandon Wise (senior editor).

UFC 308 picks, predictions

Topuria vs. Holloway

Campbell: Topuria talks such a big game as it relates to his skills. The reality, however, is that all he has done since making his 2020 debut with UFC is completely back it up through seven fights. For as great as Holloway is as a volume striker with battle-tested experience and stingy takedown defense, Topuria is much more well-rounded and even a more dangerous finisher. No one has been able to drop, let alone stop Holloway throughout his own future Hall-of-Fame run in the UFC and it’s hard to imagine anyone doing so. But even if this fight goes the distance, Topuria’s rare combination of punching power, speed and sublime accuracy should be enough to discipline Holloway out of being the kind of dominant self he was against everyone from Justin Gaetje and Arnold Allen to Yair Rodriguez and Calvin Kattar in recent fights. Topuria has too many weapons and the kind of mindset that will be difficult to break. 

Brookhouse: It’s an overused phrase in combat sports but styles do, ultimately, make fights. Topuria is a tremendous fighter with speed and power and what he did to Alexander Volkanovski to win the title was brilliant. Volkanovski was a bad style match for Holloway, Topuria was a bad style match for Volkanovski and something tells me Holloway is that same type of bad style match for Topuria. Holloway has ultra-crisp boxing, great takedown defense, tricky length and an iron chin. Topuria is the favorite and should be, but this is a fight that just feels like an incoming upset.

Mahjouri: Holloway revitalized himself against top contenders, but it’s hard to overlook his three losses to former champion Alexander Volkanovski. Holloway has been the 1A or 1B at featherweight for nearly a decade, but I truly believe Topuria is the future. Topuria is equipped with fight-ending power and submissions, fantastic boxing technique, great striking defense and strong takedown offense and defense. Holloway’s clearest advantages are his volume and stamina, particularly the latter. Topuria put more distance between himself and Josh Emmett in Topuria’s only five-round fight, but noticeably slowed in Round 5. There is plenty of heart to go around here. Topuria is undefeated in 15 professional fights, notably recovering from a highlight-reel head kick to beat Jai Herbert at lightweight, and Holloway’s chin has served him well in 33 bouts. Ultimately, Topuria has more tools than Holloway. I suspect he’ll find the finish, or take three rounds from the challenger.

Chimaev vs. Whittaker

Campbell: Does “The Reaper” have one more run to the title at the age of 33? Recent fights seem to suggest that the former champion certainly does as he has controlled and/or dominated everyone not named Dricus du Plessis or Israel Adesanya since first losing his belt in 2019. Even the Adesanya rematch was disputed enough that a decision could have easily gone either way. The new challenge, however, is a stiff one in the form of Chimaev. But to act as if Chimaev has been a singular dominant force since entering the UFC in 2020 would be disingenuous. Some of his victories certainly have but so many other setbacks (from injuries and illnesses to a bad weight miss which canceled his pay-per-view main event against Nate Diaz) continue to leave questions as to whether Chimaev can actually climb the ladder to secure a middleweight title shot. While one can expect a competitive fight over five rounds in this non-title co-main event, which will likely produce the next title challenger, Whittaker has the better boxing and enough of a well-rounded game to prevent Chimaev from taking full control. Keeping his back off of the canvas will undoubtedly be key for Whittaker but a close victory on the scorecards is certainly in play for the veteran as he openly covets a second shot at du Plessis, who previously ran through Whittaker in a fight he self-admitted was an aberration as the worst performance of his career. 

Mahjouri: There is a common belief among MMA fans that Robert Whittaker is the perfect test for Chimaev. I share that assessment. Whittaker is one of the most well-rounded fighters on the UFC roster. The former middleweight champion excels at racking up points, avoiding cleaning shots, mixing in grappling and threatening the occasional knockout. Wrestling isn’t Whittaker’s primary weapon but he’s very good at it. Whittaker took first place in the Australia Cup, Australia National Wrestling Championship and Commonwealth Games tournaments during his UFC run. It’s paramount his takedown defense — which failed him against marauder Dricus du Plessis — holds up against Chimaev. If Whittaker, who twice defeated Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero, can fend off Chimaev’s early grappling fit, he likely beats Chimav in the latter’s first five-round fight. 

Ankalaev vs. Rakic

Campbell: If Ankalaev didn’t have enough motivation as it was to get past Rakic and secure a long-awaited shot at light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, it was revealed this week that UFC brass told him his performance needs to be exciting enough to deserve it. This, of course, dates back to the less-than-exciting performance put on by Anakalev in his 2022 split draw against Jan Blachowicz for the vacant title, which likely went a long way in UFC passing him over in favor of No. 8-ranked Khalil Rountree Jr. for Pereira’s most recent title defense. Rakic, who is coming off of two stoppage defeats and an injury, is talented enough to foil Ankalaev’s best-laid plans. But, at 32, and riding a 12-fight unbeaten streak dating back to his UFC debut loss to Paul Craig in 2018, the time is now for Anakalaev to use the threat of his grappling to open up striking opportunities in one of the most important bouts of his career to date.

Brookhouse: Ankalaev has grappling chops, yes, but he has not been particularly effective utilizing those skills in the UFC. Part of that comes down to not having a high rate of success with his takedowns (10 successful takedowns on 32 attempts in the UFC). In addition, Ankalaev generally prefers to stand and trade rather than trying to take the fight to the floor and utilize his sambo background. He has heavy hands and plenty of stopping power but I don’t know that he can win a decision against Rakic in a pure striking battle — though he could win by stoppage. Wrestling between the two should cancel each other out. If Rakic can look like he did in the first round against Jiri Prochazka without the collapse in the second, he can pull off the upset.

Murphy vs. Ige

Mahjouri: Ige knocks out lesser competition and generally fights to competitive decisions against more elite opponents. I don’t suspect he’ll KO undefeated striker Murphy. Ige’s offensive wrestling is arguably his weakest skill. If Ige hasn’t revolutionized his wrestling, Murphy will take the lead with striking technique. Neither man has been stopped in 51 combined fights, a streak that will likely continue through Saturday. I think Murphy wins two rounds for a unanimous or split decision ruling.

Who wins UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway, and how exactly does the fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks and analysis from the incomparable expert who is up over $1,500 on his UFC main-card picks, and find out.