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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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 LLC

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, PFL

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.

Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 7 Cris Cyborg def. No. 6 Larissa Pacheco

Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 8 Erin Blanchfield vs. No. 10 Rose Namajunas (UFC Edmonton, Nov. 2), No. 11 Yan Xiaonan vs. Tabatha Ricci (UFC Macau, Nov. 23), No. 15 (tied) Taila Santos vs. Dakota Ditcheva (PFL 2024 Championships, Nov. 29)

Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Maycee Barber (2), Irene Aldana (1), Macy Chiasson (1), Dakota Ditcheva (1), Norma Dumont (1), Amanda Lemos (1), Marina Rodriguez (1), Mayra Bueno Silva (1), Ketlen Vieira (1)

Lastly, a refresher on some ground rules:

• 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.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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.”

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.

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A true legend
| BJPenn.com

UFC 308 went down this past weekend (Sat., Oct. 26, 2024) from inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Armen Petrosyan, who fell victim to a rare double spinning backfist knockout courtesy of his former training partner, Shara Magomedov (see it again here).

And Robert Whittaker, who was on the wrong end of a very violent and painful submission defeat at the hands of Khamzat Chimaev, who broke “The Reaper’s” jaw with a powerful face crank (relive it here). But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?

Max Holloway.

Coming into his headlining fight against Featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria, “Blessed” was riding high on confidence thanks to his last-second (literally) knockout win over Justin Gaethje to win the “BMF” title. Plus, he had championship experience on his side because this was his tenth title fight.

It wasn’t enough.

From the opening seconds of the fight, Topuria set the pace of how it was going to go, challenging “Blessed” to meet him in the center of the cage for a good old fire-fight. Surprisingly, Holloway didn’t engage and opted to play the calm, cool approach.

Once they began warming up, Topuria starting landing his shots, though Holloway wasn’t too far behind, using his volume attack to possibly steal round one. Undeterred, Topuria stuck to his strategy and started to find his range on the lanky fighter. In round three, he really started to get confident and rocked “Blessed” with a massive right hand that had him reeling. From there, he started to unload, calmly, one big shot after another until he landed a left hook that proved to be the kill shot.

It was the first time any fighter had ever stopped Holloway via strikes in the Hawaiian’s near 15-year professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career. And just like that, Topuria’s star got even brighter, while Holloway’s stock took a big hit.

After the fight, Holloway talked about the loss and what could be next for him, including a potential move to Lightweight.

“We’re all going to sit down with the team, relax,” he said during the post-fight presser. “There’s nothing needed to be rushing back to right now. But, I can try coming back in the summer, the big July card, right, in Vegas? Do something. We’ll see what happens. I mean, 155 looks really good right now.

“Like I said, I had the best 145 cut here,” he added. “But what else is there to do? I had a couple times to reclaim it. New guys coming up. Yeah, that’d be fun. But, I think 155 looks more fun, fighting more, the caliber, everyone there, and the names there, it looks really exciting to put my name in the mix.”

“Blessed” has already accomplished so much in his career at Featherweight that perhaps a permanent move up to 155 pounds is the best move. He won’t be getting another title shot at 145 pounds anytime soon, so perhaps he can make one last run at gold in a different division.

It won’t be easy because there are a lot of sharks in the division who would love nothing more than to add someone like Holloway to their hit list. As far as who could be realistic for him, a fight against the loser of the upcoming rematch between Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira — who are set to throw down at UFC 309 next month — could be in order. You can’t just pare Holloway with any old body, for someone with his resume it has to be a fighter with a big name and championship experience, and Chandler and Oliveira both fit the bill perfectly.

Unless, of course, you have a better idea?

For complete UFC 308 results, coverage and highlights, click HERE.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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.

Lee: Hey, it’s Chris Barnett!

Oh no, Chris Barnett!

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.

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UFC 308 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering, UFC 309 in New York City.

The promotion was in Abu Dhabi last week, where the Etihad Arena played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its latest major card in the Middle East. Of note were headline wins for Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev, as well as important victories for Magomed Ankalaev, Lerone Murphy, and Shara Magomedov.

While the aftermath of the October 26 card is currently the talk of the town, it won’t be long until focus sways to the next PPV, and from the featherweight title picture to the heavyweight championship conversation.

At UFC 309, set for the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 16, reigning kingpin Jon Jones will compete for the first time this year in defense of his gold. Following a submission of Ciryl Gane to capture the crown, “Bones” will finally face the challenge of returning legend Stipe Miocic 20 months later.

Stakes will also be high in the co-headliner, as former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira looks to bounce back from his UFC 300 loss. To insert himself back into the title picture at 155 pounds, “Do Bronx” must get the better of the always entertaining Michael Chandler for the second time.

Nickal, Weidman, Silva Set The Stage For High-Profile Headliners At UFC 309

Before Jones defends his belt and Oliveira runs it back with Chandler, a number of other notable names will take to the Octagon looking to make the most of their position on the major UFC 309 card.

That includes fast-rising flyweight Karine Silva, who gets her toughest assignment to date opposite longtime contender Viviane Araújo. Having won all four of her UFC fights and risen to #11 on the ladder following a submission of Maryna Moroz and decision victory over Ariane Lipski, “Killer” will look to break into title contention at the expense of Araújo, who lost to Natália Silva last time out.

Prior to that, the undefeated Bo Nickal gets his latest test. As he looks to build his skills up outside the rankings, the wrestling specialist will meet a submission artist who has previously held numbers next to his name at both 185 and 205 pounds in Scotland’s Paul Craig.

And opening the UFC 309 main card will be a former champion as veteran Chris Weidman looks to secure his first win streak since he moved to 13-0 with a successful title defense against Vitor Belfort back in 2015. Following on from a controversial victory over Bruno Silva, the 40-year-old will make the walk inside MSG to do battle with ex-American football linebacker Eryk Anders.

Those pairings have gotten the nod to feature on the main card over the light heavyweight clash between #6-ranked contender Nikita Krylov and the undefeated Azamat Murzakanov, which is currently slated to top the preliminary portion of the event.

See below for the full UFC 309 card, as it stands.

Main Card:

• Light Heavyweight Championship Main Event: Jon Jones (C) vs. Stipe Miocic
• Lightweight Co-Main Event: Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler
• Women’s Flyweight: Viviane Araújo vs. Karine Silva
• Middleweight: Bo Nickal vs. Paul Craig
• Middleweight: Eryk Anders vs. Chris Weidman

Preliminary Card:

• Nikita Krylov vs. Azamat Murzakanov
• Bantamweight: Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
• Lightweight: Jim Miller vs. Damon Jackson

Early Preliminary Card:

• Welterweight: Mickey Gall vs. Ramiz Brahimaj
• Welterweight: Bassil Hafez vs. Oban Elliott
• Women’s Flyweight: Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura

• Read More: UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: Ikram Aliskerov Returns In Saudi Arabia

Continue Reading What’s Next After UFC 308? Full Confirmed UFC 309 Main Card For MSG On Nov. 16 at MMA News.

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