Saturday’s stacked UFC 308 pay-per-view is a big one. It features two of the most anticipated fights of the year, as the legendary Max Holloway tries to win back the featherweight title against the Spain’s Ilia Topuria, and Robert Whittaker attempts to become the first to solve Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event. Plus, there’s a No. 1 contender bout in the light heavyweight division and a pirate-like middleweight making his return.
Here are the four biggest questions heading into Saturday night’s card in Abu Dhabi.
1. Does Max Holloway solidify himself as the greatest featherweight of all time with a win over Ilia Topuria?
PETESY: After two wins over Jose Aldo in 2017, I was ready to hear arguments about Max Holloway being the greatest 145er of all time. Along came Alexander Volkanovski in 2019, who not only took Holloway’s title, but preceded to defeat him three times. For a long time, I felt as though the three defeats completely derailed any arguments for “Blessed” being the division’s consensus best ever.
Honestly, it’s a testament to Holloway’s determination that we’re even debating this. It would be incredible if he could dethrone another champion seven years after overthrowing Aldo. If he does it, the featherweight GOAT conversation will be the talk of the town, and many will be adamant that it is in fact Holloway. As much as he will strengthen his argument by toppling a second titleholder in Topuria, I still think it would be difficult to put him head and shoulders above Aldo and Volkanovski at that point.
And if the criteria is simply beating two featherweight champions, then we’ve got to put my countryman Conor McGregor in the mix too, right?
Relax, Chuck, I’m only joshing.
CHUCK: It’s a drinking game at this point, Petesy. Slip Conor McGregor into any GOAT conversation, and we split the G. Deal?
The featherweight division is a tough one to create GOAT hierarchies, because if Max beats Ilia it becomes like an ouroboros — Max beats Aldo, Volk beats Max, Ilia defeats Volk, Max beats Ilia. The truth is there probably isn’t a clear-cut GOAT in that division, because it’s been “Blessed” with so many dominant champions. So if it boils down to who can be argued most strongly at a cocktail party, I guess I’d go with Volkanovski.
I mean, he is 13-1 in the featherweight division with five title defenses, with his other two losses going up against the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC at lightweight (Islam Makhachev). The three wins over Holloway are legacy definers, plus Volk beat Aldo in Rio de Janeiro, which gives him some cushion in this convo. I think Max is the greatest gangster the division has ever know, though. I’ll give him that.
The real question is: If Ilia beats Max on Saturday, are we looking at the twilight of the GOAT idols at 145 pounds?
2. Are Whittaker-Chimaev fighting for the next title shot? And can UFC trust Chimaev with that kind of responsibility?
CHUCK: Chimaev is the UFC’s greatest enigma, it is true. He came into the league trailing flames yet a couple of workmanlike wins in two of his last three outings have largely extinguished those flames. We’re still not sure if he can fight in the United States or not. Or Brazil. Or Australia. Or anywhere outside of the Middle East, really. You can see how that might be problematic when you’re a champion.
Also, I mean, the dude feels 50/50 to make his appointments even under the most tailor-made circumstances. Can the UFC rely on him showing up on fight night when it comes time to fight for the belt, wherever on Earth that might be?
Now, having got all the caveats out of the way, just look at the man. That beard with the split lip has come to symbolize a kind of ruthless sadism that is hard to dismiss. I still think about him rag-dolling poor Kevin Holland, who was only trying to do the UFC a solid by stepping in there against him on next to no notice. It was like watching a python go after a mouse that had been dropped into the tank. His pupils just went pitch black.
If Whittaker beats Chimaev, I don’t think you can deny him. He beat Paulo Costa, didn’t hesitate to save that Saudi Arabia card by accepting the switch from Chimaev to Ikram Aliskerov, then sent Aliskerov into oblivion in less than two minutes. Should he beat the most feared man in the division, he has earned his shot.
If Chimaev wins? The matchmakers are going to be creating a pros-and-cons board on whether to give him a shot, and I’ll say this — the cons are going to be tough bastards to ignore.
PETESY: Due to the empathetic nature of his loss to Dricus du Plessis, I can see why some wouldn’t be in love with the idea of Whittaker getting the shot, but if he has another “y’all must’ve forgot” performance like he had in his last outing Aliskerov, his stock will be at an all-time high.
Chimaev may have been the greatest prospect we’ve ever seen on arrival in the UFC. There was a darkness to him that was utterly compelling and his style was so ferocious and impregnable that it felt like we were watching a Bond villain go about his business. For me, despite two wins over great opponents in Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman, the last quintessential moment we’ve seen from “Borz” was him sitting astride the Octagon fence waiting for his prey, Burns in that case, to enter his feeding pen.
Of course, Burns went on to give him a great test, as did Usman. Due to the competitive nature of those fights, some of the gloss has been chipped away on the undefeated prospect.
With that said, I’m very hopeful for Chimaev this week after he gave a rare insight into his mentality, confiding to Red Corner MMA that he had to overcome depression after his Covid woes. I think it will be very difficult to overlook either of these guys in the aftermath of this clash, especially if Chimaev treats Whittaker in the same manner as he did Kevin Holland. It would be hard to deny him then, and let’s be honest, we’ve been counting down to this guy fighting for a title since his arrival in the promotion in 2020.
Let’s just hope du Plessis likes fighting in the Middle East, I guess.
3. Magomed Ankalaev can’t be denied next for Alex Pereira with a win, right?
PETESY: Call me crazy, but I don’t think Anklaev is the boogeyman everyone thinks he is when it comes to being the perfect foil for Pereira.
I still think Anklaev’s draw with Jan Blachowicz for the vacant title resulting in two completely different contenders fighting for the same belt is one of the greatest examples of meritocracy being dead in the UFC. Yet, I believe it was Anklaev’s reaction to that situation, his pseudo-retirement and criticism of the result, that have put him behind the eight ball when it comes to challenging for the belt again.
Anklaev is not a light heavyweight version of Khabib Nurmagomedov, as some seem to portray him when it comes to fighting “Poatan.” He has a real test on his hands Saturday against Aleksander Rakic, who was outdone by Jiri Prochazka’s Viking spirit in his last outing. I see Rakic as a live dog here, and sure, if Ankalaev wins he’ll have proven again that he is the top contender for Pereira’s waist jewels.
But in the spirit of Khalil Rountree Jr., would I be shocked if Nikita Krylov is suddenly pushed into the mix seemingly out of nowhere when Pereira is ready to return in 2025?
Absolutely not.
CHUCK: Waist jewels. It feels so much naughtier than it should to say it like that. “Magomed Ankalaev is coming for Alex Pereira’s waist jewels, people, hide the children!”
I kind of see Ankalaev as a modern day Yoel Romero, a fighter who, whenever and wherever he shows up, weird things happen. The Blachowicz draw was an example. He was so uninspiring in that fight that the UFC pivoted off of him so fast it was like they stepped on a hot ember. It was like the fight game’s version of a yawn. Then he fights Johnny Walker the first time and blasts him with an illegal knee as if the concept of rules hadn’t occurred to him.
It doesn’t help that he would look more at home in overalls.
Still, should he beat Rakic in what is a wholly digressive No. 1 contender bout, to deny him a title shot is to announce to the world that this man is in contender’s purgatory. I do think that the UFC is reluctant to make a title fight with their golden boy Pereira, not just because he might overwhelm him with wrestling and kill off one of the game’s biggest draws, but because now you’re in the business of promoting Magomed Ankalaev.
Think about that a minute. It’d be like marketing tapioca pudding.
What I’m saying is, Krylov and Pereira will be one hell of a fight!
4. How far can Shara Bullet go in the UFC?
CHUCK: If I’m the UFC, I steadily feed woodwork journeyman to Shara twice a year — once in Abu Dhabi, once in Saudi Arabia — for as long as I can, and I sit back and enjoy the show, never bothering my mind with how he’d look in the AI-driven rankings.
I see Shara as a novelty. Half-blind is a cool look for 14th century Norsemen, and it fits in a certain setting in the UFC. That is, the loosely regulated areas where commissions can — pardon the pun — turn a blind eye. He has that red hair. The milky orb. The beard. Everything about him screams “ahoy!” but I don’t think he seriously gives a damn about making his way into contention. I mean, he’s from Dagestan, yet I think his preference is to strike rather than smesh. Not sure that’s entirely lawful in his country.
I know you have followed his story more closely, Petesy, but sometimes the characters in the game are good enough just by being there. I think as far as he can go is just what he’s doing now, fighting the outskirts of the top 15.
PETESY: A lot of Shara Bullet’s origin story has been lost on the English-speaking masses, and again, I’ve relied heavily on Denis Geiko from Red Corner MMA to give me an insight into the fire-haired pirate from Dagestan.
Shara became a star in Russia way before hitting the UFC, fighting on YouTube shows in Russia that focused on personality rather than ability. As he built his brand, he was also building the arsenal that has allowed him to gain a 3-0 record in the UFC. Among younger fans in the region, he is more popular than any of the UFC’s other Russian contingent.
Interestingly, he only cuts about five pounds to make middleweight, which is a bold move considering he may be the only man from Dagestan who doesn’t consider wrestling his primary skill set. That may show itself on Saturday against out-and-out striker Armen Petrosyan — the Armenian stamped his ticket to the UFC with a knockout of an undefeated light heavyweight on Contender Series, so Petrosyan should certainly have size advantage.
As far as the UFC concerned, I can see Shara getting into the rankings but never really launching a significant title challenge. That could change if he keeps passing tests at a higher level. Outside of the UFC, I think Shara will continue to be massive star. He’s already reportedly booked his first role as a villain in a Hollywood movie, and I believe his striking appearance and unique personality will continue to open doors for him.