Francis Ngannou’s emotional fight week was shown like never before.
The former UFC heavyweight champion, and now PFL superfights titleholder made his promotional debut at Battle of the Giants earlier this month in Saudi Arabia. Ngannou obliterated opponent Renan Ferreira in the first round with brutal ground and pound. The bout served as his first in MMA since defending the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January.
Ngannou also competed with a heavy heart after losing his 15-month-old son Kobe in April, which was an emotional motivator for the fight. That was shown in an exclusive behind-the-scenes video he posted on his YouTube channel. Check it out in the video above.
After choosing to leave the UFC and vacating the heavyweight championship, Ngannou signed with the PFL, but did not compete for the promotion until the recent pay-per-view event. In between, Ngannou took two boxing fights against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, losing both contests.
Bruno Silva plans to take a break from fighting after coming up short at UFC 308.
“Blindado” revealed on a long video posted on his social media, hours after the loss in Abu Dhabi, that he has dealt with severe anxiety for over four years. The Brazilian middleweight won his first three UFC fights before going on a 1-6 slump inside the octagon.
“I’m a man that always dedicates hard to his professional and personal life,” Silva said in Portuguese. “I’m very happy in my personal life and fulfilled as a man, but there’s been a few years that I have dealt with strong anxiety crisis inside the octagon. Those who don’t know, you feel like drowning. You’re tired and powerless, and all you want is not to be in that octagon. When the first round ended [at UFC 308], the crisis came, and I was very tired. It felt like my heart would come out of my mouth, and I feel bad. I lost my focus entirely. In my mind, I just want to get out of there, you know?”
Silva said he began experiencing these oppressive thoughts four years ago, and they became worse when he fought Gerald Meerschaert. Silva was coming off his first UFC defeat, a decision to future champion Alex Pereira, when he tapped in just 99 seconds against Meerschaert. He bounced back with a first-round knockout over Brad Tavares eight months later, but then lots his next four to Brendan Allen, Shara Magomedov, Chris Weidman and Naurdiev.
“I went to a psychiatrist and started taking medication, did heart exams and there was nothing,” Silva said. “And now, I was doing great. I did all the work, did yoga to calm down and everything, but there are fights that are hard. Some fights are harder than those in the octagon. Fights with our body, our mind, our heart.”
Silva said he will now focus on taking care of himself as a person, leave the fighter aside for a bit, and put his career on pause.
“I have a life ahead of me and won’t fight again like this,” Silva said. “I don’t know how my situation will be in the UFC, if I’m going to be released or not. In case I’m not, I’ll ask for a break. I need some time. I need to check on my body, I need time for myself. I had 10 fights [in three years], I’m one of the most active fighters in the UFC, so I need to take care of myself.”
“To those who like me, and those who are embarrassed, ask for help,” he continued. “Don’t be embarrassed. People will criticize no matter what, so get help. This is my message to you that is going through problems. Ask for help, talk about it. Thank God I don’t have depression, but this is affecting my career, my work, and I’ll only fight again, you’ll only see me in the octagon again, when I’m healed, when I’m well. Fighting like this is too much, it makes me feel bad as a man. I’m devastated to go back home like this. But this is part of life, right?
“I’ve had a victorious career, and now I’m going through a delicate moment. I think I need patience and faith to move forward because life isn’t only about fighting. I have a life as a person, I’m a family man and I need to be well to go back home and put food on the table for my family and people I love. You may think all you want, that I need to change teams and everything, it’s your right. The work was done, but I am the problem. I can go anywhere in the world, the problem is inside me, so I need to get help now. It’s God, myself and a professional to help me now.”
Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev both accomplished something that had never been done before at UFC 308 as the rising stars capped off a wild pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi. Now that the dust has settled, what comes next for both guys?
On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee discuss what could for Topuria after he became the first man ever to knock out Max Holloway in the main event to retain the UFC featherweight title. Additionally, future matchups are discussed for Holloway, Chimaev — after being the first UFC fighter to submit Robert Whittaker in the co-main event — Magomed Ankalaev following his decision win over Aleksandar Rakic, Lerone Murphy after earning a hard fought decision against Dan Ige, Shara Magomedov following his wild knockout win over Armen Petrosyan, and more.
Watch the UFC 308 edition of On To the Next One in the video above. Audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
Welcome to the latest update to the MMA Fighting pound-for-pound rankings, where every month our esteemed panel sort through the noise to answer one question: Who are the best overall male and female MMA fighters in the world?
Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev defeated a pair of legendary opponents in unexpected ways at UFC 308, plus Bellator champion Cris Cyborg shined in her PFL debut, so let’s take a look at how the charts were shaken up at the end of October.
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCKhamzat Chimaev
Ilia Topuria just turned the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world debate into a three-horse race.
For much of the past year, Islam Makhachev has been the man to beat with the ever-active Alex Pereira breathing down his neck. Few expected Topuria to put on such a commanding performance against Max Holloway that he would have to be mentioned alongside those names. When Topuria blew the doors off at UFC 308, becoming the first fighter ever to score a knockout of Holloway, it’s now inconceivable to have the discussion without him.
Topuria leaps over Pereira to claim the No. 2 spot on the list, with one panelist going as far as to mark him down at No. 1. The case for Topuria? How about an undefeated record with finishes of two of the greatest fighters of all time? He was the first to defeat Alexander Volkanovski in a 145-pound bout and, as mentioned, the only fighter to put Holloway away with strikes.
Keep in mind, Holloway has been in there with Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Yair Rodriguez, Jose Aldo, Anthony Pettis, and Jeremy Stephens, a list of opponents who have authored some of the most devastating knockouts in MMA history. None of them could do what Topuria did.
Add in featherweight being an absurdly deep division and you can see how Topuria’s resounding title defense has him leading Fighter of the Year talk—and possibly the Pound-for-Pound list next year.
Also of note, you may have noticed the return of one Mr. Khamzat Chimaev to our rankings. Not only does Chimaev have a number next to his name again, he flies in at No. 13 ahead of former UFC champions Sean Strickland, Sean O’Malley, and Charles Oliveira. Chimaev is still yet to even book a title shot, but when you force a frantic tap from Robert Whittaker—who had only been submitted once before—you’re going to get people’s attention again.
And let’s not forget Francis Ngannou is also back, though his knockout of PFL heavyweight tournament champion Renan Ferreira didn’t convince everyone he deserves to be back on the pound-for-pound list. We were all over the place here, with one panelist having “The Predator” as high as No. 6 and two others leaving him off completely. It might not be fair, but if he can’t work with PFL to bring in at least a couple of big-name opponents to face him, we might not see Ngannou get close to the top of the charts again.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 4 Ilia Topuria vs. No. 9 (tied) Max Holloway
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 4 Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura (UFC 310, Dec. 7), No. 5 Belal Muhammad vs. No. 18 Shavkat Rakhmonov (UFC 310, Dec. 7), No. 17 Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler (UFC, 309, Nov. 16), No. 19 (tied) Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev (UFC 310, Dec. 7)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Israel Adesanya (4), Anatoly Malykhin (3), Kyoji Horiguchi (2), Patricio Pitbull (2), Robert Whittaker (2), Magomed Ankalaev (1), Johnny Eblen (1), Usman Nurmagomedov (1), Kamaru Usman (1)
Falling out of the rankings (previous ranking shown): No. 19 Israel Adesanya, No. 20 Patricio Pitbull (20)
WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
Jose Peñuela, PFLCris Cyborg
Cris Cyborg has nothing left to prove to anyone. That didn’t stop her from reminding everyone she’s still as good as any woman alive when it comes to cagefighting.
In her PFL debut, Cyborg went five hard rounds with league darling Larissa Pacheco and came out on top with a convincing decision win, putting to rest the notion it was time for her to pass the torch. There may come a day when Cyborg and Pacheco square off again with Pacheco getting the upper hand next time, but that day is yet to arrive.
Cyborg snapped Pacheco’s three-year, 10-fight win streak, and improved her own ridiculous record to 28-2 (1 NC). One of her losses was to Amanda Nunes, and even if Cyborg never surpasses Nunes on the all-time list, the fact she’s still racking up wins and claiming a top-5 Pound-for-Pound spot well after Nunes’ retirement is a unique accomplishment on its own.
When people talk about an athlete being one of one, they’re talking about Cyborg.
The six-person voting panel consists of MMA Fighting staffers Alexander K. Lee, Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, E. Casey Leydon, Damon Martin and Jed Meshew.
Updates to the rankings will be completed following every UFC pay-per-view. Fighters will be removed from the rankings if they do not compete within 18 months of their most recent bout.
Should a fighter announce their retirement, our panel will decide whether that fighter should immediately be removed from the rankings or maintain their position until further notice (let’s put it this way: we’d have taken Khabib Nurmagomedov out of our rankings a lot quicker than the UFC did).
As a reminder, the notion of pound-for-pound supremacy is always going to inherently be subjective. When you’re debating whether someone like Sean Strickland should be ranked above someone like Charles Oliveira, there is no true right answer. In other words: It’s not serious business, folks.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Make your voice heard in the comments below.
Conor McGregor | Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Conor McGregor continues to play games with the fans in regards to comeback talk.
Replying to a comment on social media suggesting that his wealth and success have made it unnecessary for him to fight again, the former two-division UFC champion replied, “Ya know what, you’re right, good bye.”
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The brief response shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to anyone that has followed McGregor’s career as he has teased retirement in the past on multiple occasions, only to walk back his statement (and sometimes delete the comment). As it stands, the 36-year-old has not fought since UFC 264 in July 2021, when he broke his leg in a loss to longtime rival Dustin Poirier.
After taking time off to deal with the injury, McGregor coached a season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler and was supposed to fight Chandler at UFC 303 this past June. However, McGregor withdrew from the bout due to injury and Chandler has since moved on to a rematch with Charles Oliveira set for UFC 309.
McGregor has also expressed an interest in competing for BKFC, the bare-knuckle boxing organization of which he is currently a part owner.
No firm timetable has been given for McGregor’s next fight, with UFC CEO Dana White most recently stating he expects “The Notorious” to return sometime in 2025.
UFC 308 is in the books, and Ilia Topuria remains the featherweight champion after doing the unthinkable: knocking out Max Holloway.
This past Saturday in Abu Dhabi, Topuria scored the first title defense of his featherweight reign with a third-round stoppage of Holloway, and may have done enough to cement himself as the Fighter of the Year. On top of that, Khamzat Chimaev thrashed Robert Whittaker with a brutal first-round submission win to put himself in title contention.
So with so much to talk about plus more, let’s gather the MMA Fighting brain trust to discuss everything that happened at UFC 308.
1. What is your blurb review of UFC 308?
Heck: Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev are those guys.
Topuria knocking out Max Holloway in the way that he did was stunning. Did I see Topuria winning? I did, but certainly not in the way he confidently predicted during the entire build to the fight.
Chimaev obliterating the facial area and teeth of Robert Whittaker is just plain scary. Don’t make this too complicated, UFC: Give Chimaev the title shot, and fast.
Lee: The fighters with the most pressure on them delivered, helping not only themselves, but the UFC.
Ilia Topuria is a future legend, Khamzat Chimaev looked like the best middleweight in the world, Magomed Ankalaev held serve, and even Lerone Murphy and Shara Magomedov made an impact in their respective contenders’ lines. Now it’s on the UFC to not get cute and give these big winners the opportunities they’re entitled to.
Meshew: None of your heroes are safe from the inexorable march of this sport.
Max Holloway and Robert Whittaker are two of the most beloved fighters in the UFC. Both are former champions, both are still relatively young, and both looked incredible leading into Saturday night. Because of that, many thought — or hoped — they might fend off Father Time. Instead, Saturday gave us a harsh reminder of the reality of this sport for all our heroes.
Martin: As advertised.
Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev were both heavily favored to win at UFC 308 but actually delivering with such impressive finishes can’t be emphasized enough. Max Holloway had never been knocked out and Topuria knocked him out. Whittaker had never been submitted in the UFC and Chimaev tapped him inside five minutes. Living up to expectations is tough but Topuria and Chimaev did that and more on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
2. What’s next for Max Holloway?
Heck: So, so many options for Holloway now, it’s an embarrassment of riches for fight fans now that he’ll be a full-time lightweight. But the answer is Charles Oliveira, no matter what happens at UFC 309.
They were matched up before in a main event in 2015, and we only got a little over 90 seconds of action until Oliveira got injured. I’ve wanted to see this fight rebooked since, and now we have the best opportunity to do it. Oliveira faces Michael Chandler in a few weeks at MSG. Win or lose, give us Holloway vs. Oliveira the way it was supposed to be.
Martin: It’s rematch season and there’s no bigger fight available to him then finally running it back with Conor McGregor.
Because he’s still the “BMF” champion, Holloway has plenty of options available to him for exciting fights and a rematch with Dustin Poirier isn’t the worst idea either. But Dana White insists that McGregor is actually going to fight in 2025 and his previously scheduled opponent Michael Chandler is now tied up in a rematch with Charles Oliveira. Yes, Dan Hooker keeps pushing for that fight, but like it or not, he just doesn’t move the needle enough to warrant McGregor’s attention. Let’s not overcomplicate things here — McGregor vs. Holloway 2 would be the biggest fight the UFC could promote next year, and it’s a chance for the Irish superstar to get a belt without pissing off every contender waiting in line at lightweight or welterweight.
Lee: It’s truly a blessing – no pun intended – that one of the three best featherweights ever is now poised to close his career with a run at 155 pounds, the deepest division in MMA. There are plenty of rematches for him to pursue (or in the case of Poirier, a trilogy), but there’s also fresh blood that I’d love to see Holloway put to the test.
If I have to pick his very next fight, I’m going with neither a past Holloway for nor an up-and-comer, but rather a name I’ve already mentioned for Holloway on On to the Next One, Renato Moicano. In the past couple of years, “Money” has done as good a job as anyone of building their brand and making sure that he’s not just regarded as an also-ran in the lightweight division. He’s earned the right to fight a legend and his style matches up perfectly with Holloway. Frankly, I’ll be sad if this one never happens.
Meshew: I don’t want to poop anyone’s party, but it might not be good.
Holloway has one of the greatest chins in the history of MMA, but it just got cracked and once that happens, you can’t unring the bell. From this point forward, Holloway’s chin will never be invulnerable again, and historically, this is usually the beginning of a slow decline. Now, given how great his chin was, Holloway could still have a late career Mark Hunt “good but not impervious” chin for a few more years, but he’s also moving up to lightweight. Bigger dudes hit harder and there’s a real possibility we’ve seen the last of All-Time Great Max, which is a bummer.
But setting that aside, just about every fight at lightweight is fun as hell. No wrong way to eat that Reese’s.
3. What was the best part of UFC 308?
Meshew: Ilia Topuria! Of course it’s Ilia Topuria!
By becoming the first person to knock out Holloway, Topuria, in my mind, locked up Fighter of the Year. I know there are Alex Pereira truthers out there, and I can understand a very specific kind of argument, but the gulf between what Topuria accomplished this year and Pereira has is VAST. We’re talking about knocking out two fighters — who have never been knocked out at featherweight — that are among the 15 best fighters ever. That’s a historic achievement.
Plus, did you see that little wink Topuria threw to the camera before the fight? This man might be the sauciest fighter in the world. Long may he reign.
Heck: As you all know, I tend to be hipster-like with some of these questions, so I’ll take a road less traveled: Max Holloway.
What???
Yes, Max Holloway. I know, he lost and got knocked out, but the 32-year-old went out there, fought his ass off, looked darn good in the fight until he didn’t, and then — the biggest reason he’s my choice — he showed up to the post-fight press conference and took the loss like an absolute class act. As fans, we are truly “Blessed” that a fighter like Holloway competes in this sport. He offered no excuses, and while he didn’t want to be there to answer for the loss, he freaking did it. I respect the hell out of it, and now, lightweight Max Holloway is going to be incredibly fun.
Lee: Khamzat Chimaev! He fought! For real!
Anyone who jumped off the “Borz” bandwagon, now is the perfect time to hop back on. Chimaev supporters have had their faith sorely tested over the past few years as a variety of calamities (some self-inflicted) and a few muddy results (I still say there’s no shame in going the distance with Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns) dulled the once-blinding aura that first emanated from Fight Island. But when you massacre a former champion in Robert Whittaker, who is still one of the five best middleweights in the world, well, that’s not a bad way to remind the doubters how special of a talent you are.
Let’s just hope it’s not another 12 months before we see Chimaev fight again.
Martin: There are a few options, but it has to be Ilia Topuria.
There’s no denying his greatness now after he became the first person to knock out Max Holloway. Yes, taking out Alexander Volkanovski in similar fashion was ultra-impressive, but it’s impossible to forget that Volk took that fight just four months after he got flattened by Islam Makhachev. An argument could be made that Volkanovski came back too soon, and Topuria was the recipient of getting a win over a compromised champion.
That’s not the case with the Holloway fight. He was six months removed from arguably the greatest finish in UFC history with his jaw-dropping, last-second knockout over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. Holloway looked better than ever in that fight and he started out in similar fashion at UFC 308. But what Topuria did on Saturday hasn’t been done by anybody else. Not Conor McGregor. Not Dustin Poirier. Not Gaethje or Volkanovski. There’s no more doubting Topuria. He’s the best featherweight on the planet by a wide margin, and it’s tough to see anybody beating him.
4. What was the worst part of UFC 308?
Martin: Injuries are part of the sport but watching an OG of the game like Rafael dos Anjos potentially blow his knee out on his 40th birthday is particularly rough.
This sport is cruel at times and rarely do we see legends of the game go out on top. It’s not like anybody was expecting dos Anjos to beat Geoff Neal, and then ride off into the sunset, but shredding his knee on the UFC 308 prelims was not enjoyable whatsoever. Perhaps the harder pill to swallow is that dos Anjos insists he’s coming back for more and maybe that’s not a terrible idea if the knee injury isn’t as bad as suspected. But if he’s got to undergo major knee reconstruction, and the Brazilian is out for another year. It’s tough to imagine things are going to get much better for a 41-year-old dos Anjos.
Heck: Robert Whittaker, one of the sport’s truly good guys and talented fighters, saw his championship door close and probably lock behind him. The fact that “The Reaper” was able to build his way back into that position on multiple occasions is incredible. Unfortunately, the middleweight division is only getting better — especially with guys like Caio Borralho, Anthony Hernandez, Bo Nickel, Shara ‘“Bullet,” and others on the way up. He’s been stopped by both du Plessis and Chimaev, two losses to Adesanya, and I suspect he’ll be taking a long break after Saturday.
We’ll still be able to watch Whittaker compete, and that’s great, but to feel like that championship chapter is over is kind of a bummer.
Meshew: Man, I thought Heck was going to say Shara Magomedov’s callout of Israel Adesanya! But instead he chose the only correct answer. I could get cheeky and say something like judging (not great but not as bad as many thought) or the sad reminder of our own mortality (see Question 1) but the answer is the horror movie that was Robert Whittaker’s Saturday. That photo will haunt my nightmares for years.
Chris Barnett needed assistance leaving the cage after suffering an apparent leg injury. #UFC308 pic.twitter.com/hVJ4Umlilx
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 26, 2024
As wonderful as it was to see “Beastboy” back in action after a series of missed bookings, his return couldn’t have gone much worse. First, it looked like he busted his leg up with a characteristically overly enthusiastic entrance, then he proceeded to fight with a visible limp, and then he was battered against the fence while essentially standing on one leg.
Hey corner guys, you know you can tell the ref to stop the fight, right?
5. Did anything surprise you?
Lee: You know what’s surprising?
ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.
This is something that we all assumed just couldn’t be done. This was like someone flat-lining a prime B.J. Penn. Or someone submitting Khabib Nurmagomedov. Or a Diaz brother not complaining about a decision loss. Not going to happen, never going to happen.
But this happened. Topuria didn’t just catch Holloway, he emphatically took control of the fight in Round 3 and rocked Holloway before putting him down for good with that fateful combination. Max Holloway. Loss. Via KO.
I still don’t believe it.
Martin: Khamzat Chimaev finally reminding us all why there is so much hype around him.
Let’s be honest, Chimaev’s run over the past couple of years has been disappointing to say the least. Many of us (myself included) crowned him a future champion but tangling with COVID-19, continued struggles with his immune system and injuries not to mention indecision around his weight class brought this once promising career to a staggering halt. Even his return to middleweight ended with an emphatic thud after Kamaru Usman — a career welterweight taking the fight on very short notice — nearly beat Chimaev. There were so many doubts about Chimaev that Robert Whittaker became the sexy upset pick of the week.
Well it’s safe to say Chimaev silenced all doubts with his performance on Saturday and now we can only hope he remains healthy enough to book a middleweight title fight against Dricus du Plessis sooner rather than later.
Meshew: To quote one of the smartest men I know:
ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.
ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.
ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.
GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY I DIDN’T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE BUT ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.
Heck: Mateusz Rebecki: You, sir, are an absolute savage.
Hand up, I was very wrong about this fight with Myktybek Oralbai, and while I still believe Oralbai has a very good chance to be a top-10 guy at lightweight, Rebecki showed that if you can’t be destroyed and just hit people as hard as you possibly can at all times in a fight, it can take you far. Those two guys beat the soul out of each other, and may never be the same. But despite being a massive underdog, and coming off of a humbling defeat to Diego Ferreira, Rebecki’s superpowers only got stronger. That was wild.
6. How are we going to remember UFC 308?
Heck: It’s obviously Topuria and Chimaev, but to cast a broader net, UFC 308 was a fantastic card that delivered some of the most memorable moments of the year. While the top-to-bottom lineup got a bit of a facelift throughout the road to Etihad Arena, what we got was tremendous. The fighters brought it. Sure, there were a couple of sad moments, but when Shara Magomedov’s insane knockout is almost forgotten about, you’ve done the thing.
Lee: The night where pretty much everything went right for the UFC.
Aside from some depressing injuries and a travesty of a scorecard in the opening prelim bout (Hadi Mohamed Ali, we see you and we won’t forget), Dana White and co. couldn’t have asked for a better set of results. Not only does this show continue an excellent 2024 campaign for the promotion, they’re set for even bigger things in 2025 with Topuria and Chimaev’s eye-catching performances.
We often say that the UFC is such a well-oiled machine these days that it can only fall upwards, but in this case it deserves to reap the rewards of a crowd-pleasing show.
Martin: The torch has been passed.
Ilia Topuria promised over and over again ahead of his fight against Max Holloway that it was time to crown a new generation of fighters and he was prepared to lead that charge. Becoming the first person to knock out a legend like Holloway pretty much proved his point. The same could be said for Chimaev dispatching Whittaker, who was a former champion and perennial contender at middleweight. By all accounts, Whittaker’s championship window closed on Saturday while the door burst wide open for Chimaev. Holloway is in a better position thanks to his “BMF” title and plans to move to lightweight but it looks like his days as one of the most ferocious featherweights in the sport may be done.
A new generation indeed.
Meshew: *Takes a deep breathe*
ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.
ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.
ILIA TOPURIA KNOCKED OUT MAX HOLLOWAY.
But seriously, in the short term, the thing we’ll remember from UFC 308 is the main event, but in future years, this is the event we’ll look back on when Ilia Topuria staked his claim to being the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. Islam Makhachev still has claim to that title for now, but this is a 1A 1B situation.
No division in MMA history has produced more historically great champions than featherweight: Jose Aldo, Alexander Volkanovski, and Max Holloway are all top-15 fighters all-time. And at only 27 years old, there’s a very real possibility that Topuria joins them by the end of his career.
Robert Whittaker’s nasty submission loss at UFC 308 was just as devastating as it looked.
Khamzat Chimaev became the first UFC fighter to defeat Whittaker by submission on Saturday, locking in a terrifying face crank that had Whittaker quickly tapping out in the middleweight co-main event. It was immediately clear that something was wrong and later a photo was shown of Whittaker’s injuries, which appeared be to his jaw and teeth.
Dr. Brian Sutterer, a popular YouTuber who regularly discusses sports injuries on his channel, uploaded a video commenting on the grisly finish and speculated on the extent of the injuries.
“What you’re looking at is his lower row of tooth and these three teeth in the front are displaced into his mouth because his jaw is fractured,” Sutterer said of the photo. “So that’s not just that the teeth fell out. The teeth are actually still attached to that lower portion where they’re anchored into the jaw, but the jaw is broke in a way that’s caused his teeth to completely displace backwards into his mouth. It’s not like these teeth just fell out or were knocked out, no, the whole anchor site for those three teeth broke causing that teeth to displace posterior.”
As most would guess, Whittaker is likely to undergo a procedure to address the injury and should be out of action for the foreseeable future.
“Treatment of this is going to be some type of surgery to put those teeth, that bone back in place,” Sutterer said. “Plate potentially braces across the teeth. Real possibility here that Whittaker might end up having his jaw wired shut for some time, so this is a serious, serious injury.”
It was only the second time in Whittaker’s fighting career that he’d ever lost by submission, the first happening in his pre-UFC days in an October 2011 bout against Kim Hoon. Whittaker later won The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes tournament as a welterweight and eventually moved to 185 pounds where he became UFC champion in 2017.
Now, it’s Chimaev who seems destined to wear gold around his waist after making short work of Whittaker. Sutterer broke down the undefeated fighter’s incredible finish and why Whittaker had no choice but to signal his submission.
“Initially, it kind of looked like a choke, but actually Khamzat’s left arm is located on a part of Whittaker’s jaw called the mandible,” Sutterer said. “The lower portion of your jaw that moves up and down, that’s called the mandible. Your jaw joint then comes up from the mandible going up to insert at the temporomandibular joint and so the part that moves up and down, that’s the mandible, and your teeth on the lower portion of your mouth are fixed into that mandible.”
“Essentially, he just grabs on to Whittaker’s lower chin and cranks backward so severely that it doesn’t choke him out, it results in a break of his jaw. This wasn’t a jaw dislocation, there was some speculation about that after the fight. Based on a picture that we’re going to show here, this was just so powerful that Khamzat broke his jaw.”
Whittaker gave his own update on the injury in an interview with Red Corner MMA, saying it was only his teeth that were injured as a result of Khamzat’s face crank.
“It wasn’t the jaw, it was the teeth,” Whittaker said. “The teeth got pushed in. I’ve kind of always had loose teeth and they got looser. It was the face crank. His forearm went straight on the bottom tooth. I didn’t even have a moment to turn the head or anything. It was on. It is what it is. I had them pushed in before when I fought Dricus [du Plessis] as well and they’ve never really recovered. It was from an injury when I was young.”
TOP STORIES
Click. Khamzat Chimaev knew the moment he did something bad to Robert Whittaker’s face.
155. Is it time for Max Holloway to permanently move to lightweight?
Rematch? Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski appear to be on a collision course, one more time.
Reaper. Robert Whittaker releases a statement following his devastating loss.
Persevere. Rafael dos Anjos vows to come back after injuring his leg at UFC 308.
Personal. Dana White is still distinctly not a fan of Francis Ngannou.
VIDEO STEW
UFC 308 post-fight show.
On to the Next One.
Relive the magic.
Aftermath.
Pros react.
FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR
On to the Next One. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee pick future matchups for Ilia Topuria, Khamzat Chimaev, Max Holloway, and the big winners of UFC 308.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Nothing but respect.
Sometimes you get an highlight then sometimes you’re the highlight. This is why mma is the craziest sport in the world. Congrats to the El Matador. As to my family, friends and supporters, we good! The Blessed Express ain’t stopping here. We on our way to a new destination. Make… pic.twitter.com/R0HpYdxSCI
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) October 27, 2024
Lots of love for the featherweight king.
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A post shared by MMA Fighting (@mmafighting)
Excuse me?
It took 2,227 strikes over the course of 34 fights spanning 14 years to knockout Max Holloway for the first time.
— Tommy Toe Hold (@TommyToeHold) October 26, 2024
Practice makes perfect.
Shara Bullet was drilling his double spinning back fist KO on Open workouts, and no one gave it a lot of attention. pic.twitter.com/9ZmZUNJ0gh
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) October 27, 2024
Always ready.
Thanks to all the fans for their support. I arrived, I made weight, I was ready for anything. See you soon, maybe in ? Or ? We’ll see what happens in the next few days. thanks abu dhabi
— Diego Lopes (@Diegolopesmma) October 27, 2024
Sinister.
pic.twitter.com/yWkyGXLH3S
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) October 27, 2024
FINAL THOUGHTS
What can you say after a show like that?
Ilia Topuria doing the impossible and knocking out Max Holloway to prove that he’s maybe the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Khamzat Chimaev looking like he was in a different league from Robert Whittaker. “Shara Bullet” giving us the first double backfist KO in UFC history.
UFC 308 delivered in spades and there are still plenty of massive fights ahead to close out 2024.
Enjoy, MMA fans.
EXIT POLL
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.
Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Robert Whittaker wants fans to know you haven’t seen the last of him.
The former UFC middleweight champion came out on the wrong end of a nasty submission Saturday at UFC 308 as he had his jaw crushed by undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev. It was just the second time in Whittaker’s legendary career that he lost via tap-out and the first time since 2011, well before his UFC stardom.
Afterwards, Whittaker released a statement on the result via Instagram.
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A post shared by Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma)
“It’s a tough gig sometimes but that’s the business,” Whittaker wrote. “Big congratulations to Khamzat, he was the better man tonight and that’s all there is to it. I felt great, everything was on point and I was ready.
“My jaw is good, but my teeth were moved in. It’s a good excuse to fix them properly now. I’m disappointed, but I come back better from every setback and every challenge so this is no different.”
Whittaker had been working to earn another shot at the UFC middleweight title and entered Saturday on a two-fight win streak with convincing performances against Ikram Aliskerov and Paulo Costa. Now, the 33-year-old finds himself going back to the drawing board and needing some serious rest time after the loss to Chimaev.
See Whittaker’s unedited comments below:
Thank you everyone for all the love and support. It’s a tough gig sometimes but that’s the business. Big congratulations to Khamzat, he was the better man tonight and that’s all there is to it. I felt great, everything was on point and I was ready. My jaw is good, but my teeth were moved in. It’s a good excuse to fix them properly now haha. I’m disappointed, but I come back better from every setback and every challenge so this is no different. I want to thank my team and everyone who supported me to get here. Time to go spend time with the family for a bit. Be back soon
In a separate interview with Red Corner MMA, Whittaker revealed that the submission from Chimaev actually exposed an issue he’s had with his teeth in the past. It turns out that was what really caused him to tap out so quickly rather than Chimaev potentially dislocating his jaw with the face crank.
“It wasn’t the jaw. It was the teeth,” Whittaker said. “The teeth got pushed in. I’ve kind of always had loose teeth and they got looser. It was the face crank. His forearm went straight on the bottom tooth. I didn’t even have a moment to turn the head or anything. It was on. It is what it is.
“I had them pushed in before when I fought Dricus [du Plessis] as well and they’ve never really recovered. It was from an injury when I was young.”
Max Holloway might have fought his last fight at 145 pounds.
The former featherweight champion had a chance to regain that title Saturday in the UFC 308 main event, but he instead suffered the first knockout loss of his storied career as he was defeated in the third round by Ilia Topuria.
Only two featherweights have scored wins over Holloway in the past decade, Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski, and Volkanovski was unable to finish Holloway despite the two battling for 75 minutes across three title fights. “Blessed” gave his take on the surprising finish at the evening’s post-fight press conference.
“I felt great,” Holloway said. “I was finding my groove. Saw it on the scoreboards after, I was kind of surprised, I thought I had at least one of them. The first round I know he took me down and at the end he had that takedown so, it is what it is, I felt good. Showing off my hands, I was landing, I was being fast, I think I had him surprised in there. Like I said, I was doing good until I wasn’t.”
“The first couple of rounds he landed a couple of left hooks,” Holloway added. “He took me down, he didn’t feel too strong, and you know, game of inches. Game of inches. He landed something that I found myself looking up from the ground.”
One thing Holloway wouldn’t do is blame the loss on a cut down to featherweight after competing at 155 pounds in his most recent bout. Holloway fought at lightweight in his most recent fight at UFC 300 this past April, when he won the “BMF” title in highlight-reel fashion after capping off a dominant performance against Justin Gaethje with a last-second knockout.
Even with the 145-pound weight cut still being manageable, Holloway thinks a return to lightweight could make sense going forward.
“I had the best ‘45 cut here, but what else is there to do?” Holloway said. “I had a couple of times to reclaim [the featherweight title], new guys coming up, that would be fun, but I think ‘55 looks more fun as fighting just more the caliber, everyone there and the names there, it would look really exciting to put my name in the mix.”
Holloway didn’t say who he’d like to fight at lightweight (when a third fight with Dustin Poirier was suggested, Holloway joked that he’d like to get one back but hasn’t had much luck against opponents who have already beaten him twice), but there are plenty of fan-friendly matchups that make sense for the 32-year-old veteran.
Whatever weight Holloway shows up at next, he doesn’t expect to fight again until mid-2025.
“We’ll sit down with the team, relax, there’s nothing needed to be rushing back right now,” Holloway said. “Probably try to come back summer, big July card in Vegas, do something, see what happens. [The 155-pound division] looks really good right now.”
Dustin Poirier was watching UFC 308 and the thrilling event gave him some ideas for his next fight.
First and foremost, Poirier is interested in a fight with either featherweight champion Ilia Topuria or Max Holloway, a declaration he made on social media following the conclusion of Saturday’s UFC event in Abu Dhabi.
Topuria defended his title in stunning fashion with a third-round knockout of Holloway—a feat that made him the first fighter ever to finish Holloway via strikes—and afterwards suggested he would rematch Alexander Volkanovski, who was present to step into the cage and congratulate the featherweight king.
However, Topuria has made it clear he intends to move to lightweight in the future and Poirier wants to be on the list of potential opponents.
I want Max or topuria
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) October 27, 2024
“I want Max or Topuria,” Poirier wrote on social media, later adding, “He’s a great boxer, let’s throw them things” presumably still talking about Topuria.
He’s a great boxer let’s throw them things
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) October 27, 2024
Poirier also mentioned the possibility of fighting Holloway, an opponent he holds two wins over in a pair of memorable contests. The fan favorites first fought at UFC 143 in 2012, when Holloway was just five fights into his pro career, and it was Poirier who walked out with a first-round submission win.
They rematched seven years later at UFC 236, that time for an interim lightweight title. Poirier again emerged victorious, winning a unanimous decision over Holloway in one of the best fights of 2019.
Poirier is coming off of a fifth-round submission loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, a result that left him with plenty of options but no clear path back to a title shot. It appears that “The Diamond” has a few ideas to ensure that he remains near the top of the marquee.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Jose Peñuela, PFL
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