Khamzat Chimaev might not have the experience of Robert Whittaker, but in this case, he thinks a lack of knowledge could be power.

In 13 pro bouts, including his seven UFC appearances, Chimaev is yet to lose. He faces arguably the biggest test of his career this Saturday when he fights former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the five-round co-main event of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.

While Chimaev hasn’t faced the level of opponents Whittaker has, there’s a reason he feels he has the edge in their matchup.

“He knows how to lose, we don’t know, so I’m ready for victory,” Chimaev said at UFC 308 media day on Wednesday.

Whittaker won an interim title in 2017 that was later elevated to undisputed status, eventually losing it to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243. He is 6-2 since that defeat with losses to Adesanya in their rematch at UFC 271 and then a one-sided TKO loss to future champion Dricus du Plessis. Outside of those setbacks, “The Reaper” has continued to prove he’s a step above the contenders at 185 pounds.

Whatever Whittaker brings to the table on Saturday, Chimaev is confident that he’ll impose his will on the fight and that fans shouldn’t expect Whittaker to force him into a standup fight.

“Who did stop my takedowns?” Chimaev said. “Nobody. I don’t think this guy will be different. If Kamaru Usman, he’s a great champion, and he took down everyone, but I took him down, I dominated him in the rounds, easy. What’s going to be different with Taekwondo or karate guy?”

Chimaev fielded several questions about his conditioning, having never gone 25 minutes in a fight, something Whittaker has done on multiple occasions. He answered that he and his team have tweaked his preparation, but there was no need for a complete overhaul of their training strategy.

Should Chimaev win a decision over Whittaker or become the first UFC fighter to submit him, it would undoubtedly answer a lot of questions. Questions that Chimaev himself has little interest in.

“Just win, that’s it,” Chimaev said. “I don’t think about five rounds, I don’t think about submission. Just go to the cage, win the fight, smash that guy, and take my money. That’s it. Never when I go to the cage, thinking about how, just win the fight. How doesn’t matter.”

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Dana White knows just how special Conor McGregor is, but believes another could be coming soon.

McGregor is the biggest star in the history of MMA, crossing over into the mainstream and broader public consciousness in a way that few other athletes have. But over the past several years — even before his catastrophic leg injury that’s kept him sidelined since 2021 — McGregor has increasingly moved away from fighting, pursuing his other business ventures and being very selective about his forays into the cage. As such, there are frequent conversations about who will be “the next Conor McGregor” to breakthrough to superstardom. But for Dana White, that’s easier said than done.

“The great thing about Conor, everybody thinks they’re Irish,” White told Outta Pocket with RGIII. “When you think about St. Paddy’s Day, all over the world, everybody thinks they’re Irish. The Irish thing is actually really powerful. And obviously his personality, his charisma, and he beat the guys he needed to beat to become successful.

“He’s like a unicorn. You’ll find a Conor McGregor every 10 or 15 years.”

There have been a number of big stars in the history of MMA, but none really compare to McGregor, who was part of seven of the 10 top grossing UFC Pay-Per-View events of all time, including the No. 1 — his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, which sold an estimated 2.4 million PPVs. McGregor also was one half of the second most lucrative PPV event of all time, his boxing match against Floyd Mayweather JR. in 2017 which sold an estimated 5.3 million buys.

But while McGregor set the stardom for MMA quite high, there’s also someone new to come along and challenge that. And White believes that person could be coming along in the near future as the UFC continues to build its base in Mexico.

“Mexico,” White said when asked where the next McGregor will come from. “I opened a Performance Institute down in Mexico and we’re already starting to crank talent out of there. Some of the baddest humans who have ever walked the face of the Earth have been Mexican. Very big fighting culture down there. So I think our next big star is going to come out of Mexico, like that level of star.”

The UFC has heavily invested in Mexico the past few years, both in building the Performance Institute and in repeated events in the country or celebrating it. Most notable of these events was UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas. Dubbed Noche UFC, the event was “a love letter to Mexico” and showed the history of the nation and its role in fight sport over the years.

As for McGregor, it’s still an open question whether he will ever return to the UFC. “Notorious” was scheduled to make his long-awaited return at UFC 303 this summer but withdrew due to injury. He’s now targeting a return in 2025 but nothing official has been announced.

TOP STORIES

Settlement. Judge approves $ 375 million settlement in UFC antitrust lawsuit.

Champ-champ-champ. Ilia Topuria hopes to become first UFC triple champion.

BMF. Jorge Masvidal wants an eventual ‘BMF vs. BMF’ fight with Max Holloway.

Beef. Brendan Schaub and Nate Diaz ratchet up their unexpected feud.

Prospects. Ranking the top prospects from the most recent season of Contender Series.

VIDEO STEW

UFC Embedded, episode 2.

Campfire chats with Max Holloway.

Chael Sonnen being a pundit.

Alexander Volkanovski breaks down Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway.

FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Settlement.

Respect.

Book it.

He’s sees it slipping away.

But Sal D’Amato isn’t a referee.

Fight poster.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Muhammad Mokaev vs. Rogerio Bontarin (grappling match); ADXC 6, Oct. 25.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m not some big McGregor fan but there will never be another Conor McGregor in MMA. He was a perfect storm of events that simply cannot happen again in the same way. He’s once in a lifetime.

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.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Surprised
| BJPenn.com

UFC

LIVE: Check out the UFC 308 media day video stream TODAY (Weds., Oct. 23, 2024) at 4:15 a.m. ET in the embedded video above to watch the Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway-led media extravaganza in “Pirate Coast” held in advance of the upcoming UFC 308 pay-per-view (PPV) on Sat. night (Oct. 26) inside Etihad Arena on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Today’s UFC 308 media day is also expected to feature a bevy of main card attractions, including Robert Whittaker, Khamzat Chimaev, Magomed Ankalaev, Aleksandar Rakic, and Shara Magomedov, among others.

Check out the complete UFC 308 media day lineup below:

Ilia Topuria – UFC featherweight champion

Max Holloway – No. 2 UFC featherweight

Robert Whittaker – No. 3 UFC middleweight

Khamzat Chimaev – No. 12 UFC middleweight

Lerone Murphy – No. 12 UFC featherweight

Dan Ige – No. 14 UFC featherweight

Magomed Ankalaev – No. 2 UFC light heavyweight

Aleksandar Rakic – No. 5 UFC light heavyweight

Shara Magomedov – UFC middleweight

Armen Petrosyan – UFC middleweight

UFC 308 media day lineup subject to change.

“Look, I don’t want to take credit from Max Holloway because he demonstrates that he is a very good fighter with a lot of experience,” Topuria told Kevin Iole. “But, at the same time, he’s never faced anyone like me — never, ever. The moment that I take him down — if that happens — if I don’t knock him out before, I don’t think he’ll be able to stop my submissions.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 308 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 10 a.m. ET, followed by the UFC 308 PPV main card start time at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

To checkout the complete UFC 308 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

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The UFC 308 media day will feature the entire main card from Saturday’s UFC event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

In the main event, UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will put his belt on the line against former UFC champion Max Holloway. Khamzat Chimaev will make his long-awaited return against Robert Whittaker in the co-main event.

Check out the tentative schedule below for UFC 308 media day:

4:15 a.m. ET: Armen Petrosyan

4:30 a.m.: Khamzat Chimaev

4:45 a.m.: Max Holloway

5:30 a.m.: Magomed Ankalaev

5:45 a.m.: Aleksandar Rakic

6 a.m.: Dan Ige

6:15 a.m.: Robert Whittaker

6:30 a.m.: Ilia Topuria

7 a.m.: Lerone Murphy

7:30 a.m.: Shara Magomedov

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