UFC 308 Predictions – Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway: Fight card, odds, expert picks, preview, prelims

Fast-rising superstar Ilia Topuria looks to add to his resume on Saturday when he defends his featherweight championship against former champion and fan favorite Max Holloway. The fight is the focus of UFC 308 from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Topuria won the title in February with a devastating knockout over Alexander Volkanovski. With this win, Topuria's career record increased to 15-0, with only two opponents making the final score. A win over Holloway, once the most dominant featherweight in the world and now riding a three-fight winning streak, would boost Topuria's stature as a star as well as his place on the pound-for-pound lists.

The main event sees another former champion meet a rising star as former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker takes on the dominant Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev enjoyed a very fast start to his UFC career, which slowed in recent years due to injuries, illness and other issues. Whittaker, meanwhile, is trying to fight his way back into title contention and a win over Chimaev would go a long way toward getting him into that position.

With so much going on Saturday night, let's take a closer look at the full fight card with the latest odds before getting into our staff's predictions and picks for the PPV portion of the festivities.

UFC 308 fight card, odds

• Ilia Topuria (c) -265 vs. Max Holloway +205, featherweight title
• Khamzat Chimaev -265 vs. Robert Whittaker +210, middleweight
• Lerone Murphy -250 vs. Dan Ige +195, featherweights
• Magomed Ankalaev -400 vs. Aleksandar Rakic ​​​​+300, light heavyweights
• Shara Magomedov -165 vs. Armen Petrosyan +140, middleweight
• Geoff Neal -335 vs. Rafael dos Anjos +250, welterweights
• Myktybek Orolbai -305 vs. Mateusz Rebecki +240, lightweights
• Said Nurmagomedov -220 vs. Daniel Santos +180, bantamweights
• Abus Magomedov -150 vs. Brunno Ferreira +125, middleweight
• Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Chris Barnett, heavyweights
• Farid Basharat -670 vs. Victor Hugo +480, bantamweights
• Ismail Naurdiev -155 vs. Bruno Silva +125, middleweight
• Rinat Fakhretdinov -355 vs. Nursulton Ruziboev +280, welterweights
• Rafael Cerqueira -120 vs. Ibo Aslan +100, light heavyweights

With such a massive main event coming up, the CBS Sports team continued with predictions and tips for the main card. Here are your favorites: Brent Brookhouse (martial arts journalist), Brian Campbell (martial arts journalist), Shakiel Mahjouri (writer), Michael Mormile (producer) and Brandon Wise (senior editor).

UFC 308 tips, predictions

Topuria vs. Holloway

Campbell: Topuria talks about such a big game when it comes to his skill set. However, the reality is that he has only lasted seven fights since his UFC debut in 2020. As great as Holloway is as a high-volume striker with battle-tested experience and stingy takedown defense, Topuria is much more versatile and even a more dangerous finisher. No one has been able to drop, let alone stop, Holloway during his future Hall of Fame run in the UFC, and it's hard to imagine anyone doing so. But even if this fight goes the distance, Topuria's rare combination of punching power, speed and superior accuracy should be enough to keep Holloway from being the kind of dominant self he has been against everyone from Justin Gaetje and Arnold Allen to Yair Rodriguez and Calvin Kattar were in recent fights. Topuria has too many weapons and a mindset that will be difficult to break.

Brookhouse: It's an overused term in martial arts, but ultimately styles are what make fights. Topuria is a great fighter with speed and power, and what he did to Alexander Volkanovski to win the title was brilliant. Volkanovski was a bad match for Holloway, Topuria was a bad match for Volkanovski, and something tells me that Holloway is just as bad a match for Topuria. Holloway has extremely crisp boxing, great takedown defense, tricky length and an iron chin. Topuria is the favorite and should be, but this is a fight that just is feels like an impending surprise.

Mahjouri: Holloway bounced back against top contenders, but his three losses to former champion Alexander Volkanovski are hard to ignore. Holloway has been the 1A or 1B featherweight contender for nearly a decade, but I truly believe Topuria is the future. Topuria is equipped with fight-ending power and submissions, fantastic boxing technique, great strike defense, and strong takedown offense and defense. Holloway's clearest advantages are his volume and endurance, particularly the latter. Topuria put more distance between himself and Josh Emmett in Topuria's only five-round fight, but slowed noticeably in round 5. There's a lot of passion here. Topuria is undefeated in 15 pro fights, notably recovering from a highlight-reel headbutt to beat Jai Herbert at lightweight, and Holloway's chin has served him well in 33 fights. Ultimately, Topuria has more tools than Holloway. My guess is that he will finish or give the challenger three rounds.

Chimaev vs. Whittaker

Campbell: Does “The Reaper” still have a chance at the title at the age of 33? Recent fights seem to indicate that the former champion is definitely making it, as he has controlled and/or dominated everyone not named Dricus du Plessis or Israel Adesanya since he first lost his belt in 2019. Even the Adesanya rematch was so controversial that a decision could have easily been made either way. However, the new challenge in the form of Chimaev is difficult. However, it would be disingenuous to pretend that Chimaev has been a singularly dominant force since joining the UFC in 2020. Some of his victories have certainly made it, but so many other setbacks (from injuries and illnesses to a serious weight mistake that canceled his pay-per-view main event against Nate Diaz) continue to leave questions as to whether Chimaev will actually make the rankings can climb to secure a middleweight title fight. While this non-title co-main event can be expected to be a competitive five-round fight that will likely produce the next title challenger, Whittaker has the better boxing and enough well-rounded game to keep Chimaev at bay to prevent him from taking full control. Staying away from the screen will no doubt be crucial for Whittaker, but a narrow win on the scorecards is certainly in play for the veteran as he openly covets a second chance at du Plessis, who previously beat Whittaker in one of his own his admitted fight was an aberration as it was the worst performance of his career.

Mahjouri: There is a general belief among MMA fans that Robert Whittaker is the perfect test for Chimaev. I share this assessment. Whittaker is one of the most versatile fighters on the UFC roster. The former middleweight champion excels at racking up points, avoiding clean throws, getting involved in grapplings and occasionally threatening a knockout. Wrestling isn't Whittaker's main weapon, but he's very good at it. Whittaker took first place in the Australia Cup, Australia National Wrestling Championship and Commonwealth Games tournaments during his UFC run. It's paramount that his takedown defense – which failed him against the marauder Dricus du Plessis – stands up to Chimaev. If Whittaker, who defeated Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero twice, can fend off Chimaev's early grappling attack, he will likely beat Chimav in his first five-round bout.

Murphy vs. Ige

Mahjouri: Ige knocks out fewer opponents and generally fights for competitive decisions against elite opponents. I don't suspect he'll knock out undefeated striker Murphy. Ige's offensive wrestling is arguably his weakest skill. If Ige hasn't revolutionized his wrestling, Murphy will take the lead with his striking. Neither man has been stopped in 51 combined fights, a streak that will likely last through Saturday. I think Murphy wins two rounds for a unanimous decision or split decision.

Who will win UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway and how exactly does the fight end? Visit SportsLine now for in-depth picks and analysis from the peerless expert who's over $1,500 up on his UFC main card picks and find out.