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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Magomed Ankalaev continued his unbeaten streak with a decision win over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 and now he’s hoping he finally got Alex Pereira’s attention.

Over three rounds, Ankalaev showed he was the superior striker as he continued chipping away at Rakic and looking to set up a potential fight finishing sequence. The knockout never came but Ankalaev kept Rakic on his backfoot for the entire fight as he cruised to victory with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor.

“I kept running after him but it was really hard to catch him,” Ankalaev said about his performance. “I don’t want to say anything bad about him but I didn’t understand his striking at all. Very uncomfortable opponent for me.”

The massive light heavyweights exchanged some huge, heavy kicks early with both trying to find an opening to do maximum damage. Ankalaev was marching forward and closing the distance on the taller fighter but Rakic was doing a good job keeping him honest with some well-timed straight punches and mixing in more of those long, rangy kicks.

While Rakic kept tossing out a head kick, Ankalaev displayed good hand speed and power with his boxing as he continued leading the dance. Ankaleav continued stabbing at Rakic with a variety of punches including a stiff shot to the body that definitely got his opponent’s attention.

Ankalaev was really starting to mix up his punches, tossing out a straight right and the following with a slick left uppercut behind it. As time passed, Rakic was stuck playing defense with Ankalaev really finding his rhythm on the feet.

With less than a minute remaining in the second round, Ankalaev mashed Rakic’s face with a nasty straight left down the middle. Rakic kept thrown back at him but Ankalaev was really beginning to control the action with his superior striking.

Ankalaev stayed on the gas moving forward and unleashing more and more of those straight left hands that just kept finding a home on Rakic’s chin. As time ticked away to the final horn, Ankalaev continued to punish Rakic on the inside with heavy punches and knees as he did more than enough to ensure that he would leave Abu Dhabi with the win.

Following his latest performance to stay unbeaten for 13 consecutive fights, Ankalaev wasted no time turning his attention to the UFC light heavyweight champion with hopes that a title shot is next in 2025.

“I think I’ve done everything to deserve the next title shot,” Ankalaev said. “I’d like to tell Alex, stop running away from me. Alex, stop running away from me.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Ibo Aslan preached patience heading into his fight at UFC 308 but sometimes strategy goes out the window and it results in a stunning 51-second standing knockout.

The Turkish powerhouse wasted no time coming after undefeated prospect Raffael Cerqueira as soon as the fight got started. Aslan connected with a huge left hook early in the opening round and replays showed Cerqueira’s eyes just rolling back in his head as he shifted into survival mode against the cage.

Aslan continued to unload rapid-fire punches with Cerqueira doing very little to defend himself outside of covering up and hoping he didn’t get flattened on the canvas. As the barrage continued, Cerqueira just kept eating punches and referee Marc Goddard had no choice but to stop the fight.

The 51-second finish moved Aslan to 2-0 in his UFC career with a pair of knockouts already on his resume.

“After this left hook, I watch him in the eyes,” Aslan said about his knockout win. “This is just the beginning of the end. I just crashed. I have Turkish power in my hands. If I touch somebody, he’s already done.”

Since arriving from The Contender Series, Aslan appeared to be a name to watch but he’s looked very impressive in his short time spent in the octagon thus far.

He’s now riding a five-fight win streak overall and his UFC debut already allowed him to avenge the only loss of his career when he put away Anton Turkalj back in March.

“I am coming for all of you,” Aslan shouted when he was asked who he wanted next.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Israel Adesanya will be paying close attention to the UFC 308 co-main event between fellow middleweights Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev.

Whittaker and Chimaev will battle for a scheduled five rounds this Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Having faced Whittaker twice, Adesanya is quite familiar with what “The Reaper” brings to the table. But Chimaev’s wrestling is a big point of contention for the former champion, especially early.

“I don’t think Rob’s going to run through Khamzat,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “Finally, we get to see [Chimaev] fight a legit middleweight, one of the top middleweights, one of the greatest middleweights of all time.

“I think Khamzat’s going to attack him with the wrestling so Rob’s going to have to scramble for his life initially, weather the storm, and I think it’s going to be a wrestling-based attack. I think he’s going to try and submit Rob. I don’t think he’s going to stand with Rob. Yeah, [Chimaev has a chance striking], but I don’t think it’s a great chance on the feet with Rob because Rob will just snipe him. Rob will just move in and out, in and out, and then blitz.

“I think while Rob is blitzing, Khamzat will take him down. … I think Khamzat, if he’s going to win, he’s going to have to do it in the first or second round and catch Rob early with a submission. I don’t see him dropping Rob. He’s got good standup, also, he’s tough on the feet like the fight with Gilbert Burns and Kamaru [Usman]. You can tell, he’s down to throw.”

With Dana White saying Sean Strickland is likely next for 185-pound champ Dricus du Plessis, the stakes are still extremely high for both Whittaker and Chimaev, with the winner likely in the on-deck circle for a chance to capture the middleweight crown.

Regardless of who comes out victorious, Adesanya is confident the judges will not be needed. In the end, it comes down to if Whittaker can get the fight extended towards the championship rounds — which “The Last Stylebender” predicts will happen.

“Rob, just weather the storm in rounds one and two, and then three, four, five, that’s all Rob,” Adesanya said. “But again, Rob has fought a guy like Romero, twice. Romero was hitting him with these f*cking crazy takedowns, trying to get him, and Rob was like, ‘Nah, I’m standing up.’ So Rob knows his shit on the ground.

“How long will he be able to keep Khamzat off of him, and will he be able to stop Khamzat’s onslaught of takedowns and grappling exchanges in the first two rounds? I’d say, early on, Khamzat will submit him if he’s going to win, and then later on, Rob will just TKO him in round three, four, or five. I don’t know which round, but one of them.

“But which one do I want to go with? I think Rob is just a guy not to be f*cked with. I mean, look at his last fight so hopefully people remember who he is now. So I think Rob will do it again — maybe not as early, definitely not as early. … I think he’ll catch him later on, but he’s got to weather the storm. He has to survive until he can’t. I’m going to go Rob on this one with a late finish.”

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Rematch Official
| BJPenn.com

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight champions Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway will clash TONIGHT (Sat., Oct. 26, 2024) at UFC 308 from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Topuria enters his first title defense with an outright annoying amount of self-confidence, but can anyone blame the 27-year-old “Matador” for feeling atop the world? His UFC career couldn’t be going any more smoothly. The undefeated champion is handing out knockouts with regularity and has utterly dominated all of his opponents — he’s earned a bit of swagger.

On the flip side, Holloway has been the young champion, seen rises and falls, and still emerged as one of the best in the world. Really, who has suffered more painful title defeats and blown away expectations at the highest level more than Holloway? His career is one-of-a-kind, and the Hawaiian can build on his legacy further by dethroning the first standout champion of the next generation.

Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:

Photo by Francois Nel/Zuffa LLC

Topuria vs. Holloway Betting Odds

• Ilia Topuria victory: -230
• Ilia Topuria via TKO/KO/DQ: +175
• Ilia Topuria via submission: +500
• Ilia Topuria via decision: +250
• Max Holloway victory: +190
• Max Holloway via TKO/KO/DQ: +550
• Max Holloway via submission: +2500
• Max Holloway via decision: +400
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Topuria Wins

Topuria is much more of a bull than matador. He’s not sloppy — with the exception of the Bryce Mitchell fight, in which it was clear Topuria had ZERO regard for his opponent — but Topuria excels at inching towards his opponents, backing them to the fence, then unleashing heinously powerful combinations.

Despite Topuria’s wrestling and grappling expertise, this feels like a striking match, because nobody has ever been able to ground Holloway consistently. It would probably be a waste of energy to really try, though a takedown feint or two is never a bad idea to keep the Hawaiian honest.

For Topuria, this bout is all about closing through Holloway’s varied range offense of jabs, teeps, and side kicks. Holloway is very, very good at stranding opponents on the edge of his feints and distance strikes. Topuria just had to deal with a similar challenge in Volkanovski, but Holloway has a lot more tools at his disposal.

Getting inside means taking away Holloway’s weapons. Topuria’s calf kick should return with a vengeance, both as a counter to the jab and return off Holloway’s kicks. The Spanish athlete has to be mindful in identifying the real jabs from the fakes — jabbing with Holloway could help here — and then fire when he gets his timing.

Ultimately, Topuria has to make the most of his moments when Holloway’s back is to the fence. Knocking out Holloway may be functionally impossible, but hurting him can still win the fight.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Holloway Wins

Holloway is the greatest volume striker in UFC history, and he pairs that legendary cardio with a versatile approach to kickboxing. We’ve seen Holloway pressure and fight at distance, work from both stances, and even adjust his positioning entirely based on the opponent.

Despite being one of the most fearsome punchers Holloway has ever faced, this fight may call for an increase in pressure and aggression. Topuria has grown very accustomed to fighters feeling less-than-confident in exchanges, meaning he gets to dictate the pace and explode forward into punches.

We really haven’t seen Topuria forced onto his back foot. Josh Emmett had the power to try, but he’s never been a pressure boxer and was content to work from the outside. Holloway, conversely, has the skill, durability, and experience to try to force Topuria onto his back foot. That’s not to say he should be reckless, but there’s every chance Topuria’s counters aren’t nearly as powerful as his charges.

Otherwise, I’d really like to see Holloway pull out all of his kicking tools here. Topuria fights mostly as a boxer, and Holloway can best take advantage of that with a variety of kicks. He should be side kicking the thigh, blasting power rounds kicks from both stances, spinning, and following punches with high kicks to both sides, trying to catch Topuria slipping into his shin.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Topuria vs. Holloway Prediction

It’s really hard to go against the fighter who looks the part of a future pound-for-pound king.

Holloway is great and still has plenty left in the tank. He has more tools on the feet and could win the fight in a variety of ways. The head kick KO shouldn’t be discounted. Unfortunately, it’s just too hard to overlook the fact that Holloway has never been impossible to hit, and Topuria has nuclear bombs in his fists. If any combination is going to put Holloway cold, I would bet on that Topuria 2-3-2.

Bottom line: Holloway gives a good account of himself, but the speed and power of the younger champion generally lets him dictate exchanges and win the fight.

Prediction: Topuria via decision (+250)

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts