UFC 308 was headlined by one of the most anticipated featherweight title fights since Conor McGregor vs. José Aldo, as Ilia Topuria made his first defense of the belt against Max Holloway. What we witnessed solidified how good Topuria is. His performance on Saturday afternoon will thrust him into stardom. But the rest of the card was loaded with fights that looked good on paper. Did they deliver in practice?
Spoiler alert: Yes.
After each pay-per-view, we break down and assess the quality of each fight and the fight card based on skill displayed, competitiveness and what is at stake. Andreas Hale looks at all 13 fights of UFC 308, including Ilia Topuria's violent finish of Max Holloway, Khamzat Chimaev smothering Robert Whittaker, Mateusz Rebecki and Myktybek Orolbai painting the canvas red with a fight of the year contender and a stunning double backfist knockout authored by Shara Magomedov.
Featherweight: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway
Result: Topuria def. Holloway by third-round KO
Grade: A
Topuria promised he would be the first to knock Holloway out, and he did so emphatically. This was a high-stakes battle between the self-proclaimed best boxer in the UFC and the rising star with devastating power. For two rounds, the battle of Holloway's volume against Topuria's power delivered an extremely close fight. Eventually, Topuria's blistering power broke through when he nailed Holloway with a left hand that had the BMF champion rocked. Rather than rumble in recklessly, Topuria picked his spots and clobbered Holloway with a left hand that sent the former champion to the canvas in a heap. A few follow up strikes followed to fulfill his promise. If there are any questions about how good Topuria is, they were answered with a violent finish of a sure shot UFC Hall of Famer.
Catchweight: Mateusz Rębecki vs. Myktybek Orolbai
Result: Rebecki def. Orolbai by split decision
Grade: A
Rebecki and Orolbai engaged in a spectacular battle that you should go out of your way to watch.
Rebecki bludgeoned Orolbai in the opening round and destroyed his opponent's right eye. Orolbai rallied in the second round and showed extraordinary resolve despite having his vision compromised. A clash of heads opened a cut on Rebecki later in the round, leaving both fighters a bloody mess heading into Round 3. With both damaged and fighting exhaustion, Rebecki appeared to be on the cusp of a finish, sending Orolbai to the canvas with a left hook. But Orolbai survived and rallied again as the two scrapped on a canvas painted in crimson. Rebecki earned the decision, but both names will be remembered for a phenomenal fight.
Middleweight: Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Result: Chimaev def. Whittaker by first-round submission
Grade: A
This grade has nothing to do with the competitive nature of the fight and everything to do with the suffocating performance by "Borz." After a blistering debut in 2020, where Chimaev ransacked four consecutive opponents, health issues cropped up and slowed down his pursuit of UFC gold. Booking a five-round fight with the former UFC middleweight champion would be Chimaev's biggest test to date. It turns out that Chimaev is as good as advertised and delivered a frightening performance that makes him impossible to deny for a title opportunity. It's worth watching the ground he covers on his initial shot for a takedown and the methodical way he worked Whittaker over before sinking in the neck crank finish. Remember, Whittaker defended takedowns from Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero. He had no answers for Chimaev. This was a downright scary performance.
Light Heavyweight: Ibo Aslan vs. Rafael Cerqueira
Result: Aslan def. Cerqueira by first-round TKO
Grade: A-
Another vicious striker is moving up the ranks at 205 pounds. His name is Ibo Aslan. What was expected to be a shootout with Cerqueira was an overwhelming destruction by Aslan. After blasting Cerqueira with a punch to counter a leg kick, Aslan landed 28 significant strikes in 51 seconds to pick up the win. He then warned the light heavyweight division: "I am coming for all of you!" The fight earns high marks for the extreme level of violence Aslan dished out in under a minute.
Middleweight: Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
Result: Magomedov def. Petrosyan by second-round TKO
Grade: A-
Come for the high-level kickboxing showdown, stay for a knockout-of-the-year contender. Petrosyan used his pressure and a steady diet of leg kicks to keep the offense of "Shara Bullet" in the chamber for much of the fight. Eventually, Magomedov slid into his comfort zone and scored with side kicks, overhand rights and jabs. It was a high-level chess match until Magomedov uncorked a spinning backfist and, without pause, rotated in the opposite direction and fired a second spinning backfist that caught Petrosyan square on the chin for the stoppage. The knockout will almost certainly require repeated viewings to understand how Magomedov managed to pull it off.
Featherweight: Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige
Result: Murphy def. Ige by unanimous decision
Grade: B
It was a close and competitive fight that nearly ended in the first round courtesy of Ige rocking Murphy with a hard left hand. Murphy survived the scare and came back strong in Round 2 as the more active and creative striker. After a largely standup affair through the first two rounds, the fight became a grappling battle in the final round. The pace may have slowed down, but the wrestling transitions were high-level. A final flurry from Murphy sealed the victory, keeping the British fighter undefeated.
Middleweight: Abus Magomedov vs. Brunno Ferreira
Result: Magomedov def. Ferreira by third-round submission
Grade: B-
Magomedov had to deal with some adversity to get the finish. Ferreria did nearly nothing in the first round but exploded in Round 2 by stunning Magomedov with his powerful strikes. Magomedov could have folded as he was badly hurt but collected himself and rallied in the final round, using his wrestling to ground Ferreira and submit "Hulk" with a slick arm triangle. Aside from a quiet first round, this was a solid watch.
Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Chris Barnett
Result: Nzechukwu def. Barnett by first-round TKO
Grade: C
Barnett and Nzechukwu had the potential to be an explosive heavyweight showdown, but a hamstring injury severely compromised "Beastboy." Nzechukwu looked exceptional in his debut at heavyweight, showcasing speed and technique. Barnett is always dangerous with his creative striking, but the injury prevented him from attacking as he normally would. It's difficult to grade this, considering Barnett was a wounded fighter.
Featherweight: Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
Result: Basharat def. Hugo by unanimous decision
Grade: C
A solid outing by Basharat, who had to deal with a significant size disadvantage due to Hugo missing weight by 10 pounds. Basharat was sharp and used accurate and efficient striking to stymie the larger Hugo.
Hugo had some success with a spinning back elbow and fished for leg locks, but Basharat neutralized the opposition and kept his unbeaten record intact. Basharat demonstrates some promise as he climbs the bantamweight ladder, but this was not a must-see fight.
Middleweight: Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Carlos Leal
Result: Fakhretdinov def. Leal by unanimous decision
Grade: C
Leal stepped in on short notice and appeared to end Fakhretdinov's streak of 22 fights without a loss by defending takedowns and leading in striking. However, the judges didn't care about that and somehow awarded Fakhretdinov the victory. The fight itself was fun. The striking wasn't technically sound, but it was effective for Leal. Unfortunately, Leal didn't get the nod from the judges.
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakić
Result: Ankalaev def. Rakic by unanimous decision
Grade: C
Ankalaev got the job done but if this performance was supposed to convince the MMA community that he has a shot against Alex Pereira, it likely wasn't enough. It was a standup affair devoid of any takedown attempts. It was also missing an element of drama. Ankalaev was stronger and more technically sound than Rakic, but you wouldn't miss anything if you skipped this fight.
Welterweight: Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
Result: Naurdiev def. Silva by unanimous decision
Grade: D+
This was easy work for Naurdiev, who dominated a listless Silva. If Naurdiev's opponent would have shown some life, this could have been a tremendous fight. Instead, Silva never woke up and sleepwalked his way to a loss.
Welterweight: Geoff Neal vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Result: Neal def. dos Anjos by first-round TKO
Grade: Incomplete
This wasn't the way that anybody wanted to see the fight end. Neal started strong, dropping Dos Anjos with a left hand. Dos Anjos didn't appear badly hurt and got to his feet. Seconds later, Dos Anjos fell to the canvas while avoiding a combination and grabbed his leg. A fight with a lot of promise had an unfortunate ending. The matchup earns an "Incomplete" due to it barely getting started.
UFC 308 fight card grade: A
With five fights receiving grades of A or A-, UFC 308 delivered on all accounts. After a sluggish start to the card, Rebecki and Orolbai's bloody war was infectious with five of the next seven fights ending inside the distance. The sheer variety of action should also be noted as we saw a violent knockout of a legend (Topuria-Holloway), a vicious steamrolling of a former champion (Chimaev-Whittaker), a knockout of the year contender (Magomedov-Petrosyan) and the rise of a vicious striker (Aslan-Cerqueira). Skip the first two fights, then buckle up for a ride.