UFC 308 Betting Tips & Predictions

UFC 308 brings a stellar card to Abu Dhabi headlined by Ilia Topuria’s first title defence against BMF Champion Max Holloway.

The undefeated Spaniard took the Featherweight title in February when dethroning Alexander Volkanovski.

The co-main event sees Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev finally square off in what looks set to be a fiery potential Middleweight title eliminator.

TIP 1 - [Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway - To go the distance - 13/10 (/betting#event/1021357626)

An intriguing Featherweight title main event awaits as Ilia Topuria defends his crown for the first time against former champion Max Holloway.

The 27-year-old is unbeaten as a pro with a 15-fight win streak, seven of those victories coming in the UFC.

A second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski won him gold at UFC 298 earlier this year, which followed on from a convincing five-round title eliminator against Josh Emmett in June 2023.

A true mixed martial artist, Topuria backs up his ability with a boundless confidence that has seen him earn four KO/TKO wins and one submission from his seven inside the octagon, showing his incredible power, high boxing I.Q and strong grappling skills.

Holloway makes his 30th UFC walk this weekend bringing a 22-7 record.

The Hawaiian went on a six-year unbeaten run following his defeat to Conor Mcgregor in 2013, making four defences of the Featherweight title he unified when defeating Jose Aldo in 2017.

Holloway’s only defeats in recent years have come in his trilogy with Volkanovski and in an interim Lightweight title bout with Dustin Poirier.

The 32-year-old was last seen competing at 155lbs at UFC 300 in May, delivering a stunning final-second knockout of Justin Gaethje in the pairs BMF title clash.

Dropping back down to 145 lbs could prove to be an issue, particularly as he took his time adding the extra muscle in the build-up to his second fight at Lightweight.

That said, Holloway has a famously solid chin having never been knocked down in his career facing a murderers row across two divisions.

Topuria will be eager to prove a point and stop Holloway, but the Hawaiian has everything in his favour to see the final bell.

TIP 2 - Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev - Any Fighter to win by KO, TKO or DQ - 10/13

Picking the winner of this fight between Whittaker and Chimaev feels like a tough one to call.

The pair were set to fight in Saudi Arabia in June, however Chimaev was ruled out after being hospitalised with an illness.

It was yet another fight cancellation for the 30-year-old who has struggled to keep active in recent times due to health and weight cutting issues, the latter prompting his move to Middleweight.

A decision win over late notice opponent Kamaru Usman was his only outing in 2023, with Chimaev fading in the second half of the fight against the former Welterweight champion, who himself had made the step up to 185 lbs.

In his seven UFC fights the Chechen battler has earned five finishes, two by KO/TKO and three by submission.

Chimaev’s mauling wrestling style won him huge hype when he burst on to the scene during the UFC’s Fight Island run in 2020, where he took three fights in three months with two of those coming in a ten day stretch.

Chimaev has made many changes to his team in order to fix some of the issues that have been plaguing him, but whether he will be back to his devastating best in time for this fight is the big question.

Whittaker makes what will be his third outing this calendar year as he looks to chase down a rematch with now champion Dricus Du Plessis.

The Australian was last seen defeating Chiamev’s replacement Ikram Aliskerov in the first round in June, while he started the year with a points win over Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in February.

A former Middleweight champion, Whittaker has only lost to Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya (twice) since 2014, seeing off the majority of challengers with 15 wins in this period.

Whittaker has a good all round game, but crucially is a strong wrestler with excellent takedown defence (82%) and has never been submitted in his pro career.

This being a five-round contest will suit Whittaker with this being his ninth booking over Championship distance, however, there is no doubt Chimaev has the ability to make a statement if his health and weight issues are now sorted.

It feels like the best chance for Chimaev would be to earn a TKO finish on the ground if he can find success in the wrestling, whereas if Whittaker can weather the storm he could take advantage of any lingering cardio issues and force a stoppage late in the fight.

TIP 3 - [Lerone Murphy to win by Decision - 4/5] (/betting#event/1021741663)

In a fight that was originally slated for earlier this year, Lerone Murphy puts his undefeated record on the line against Dan Ige.

The Manchester fighter secured a career best win over Edson Barboza last time out in May with the unanimous decision win putting him on the fringes of the top ten - he currently sits at number 12 in the Featherweight division.

The 33-year-old is 6-0-1 in the UFC, with four of his seven fights taking place in Abu Dhabi.

Putting aside a controversial draw in his UFC debut, Murphy has three straight wins in the UAE, making it a home from home.

Ige is the more experienced fighter with a 10-7 record in the UFC.

Also 33 years of age, the American was last seen stepping in on a matter of hours notice to face Diego Lopes at UFC 303 in June.

Although losing on the scorecards, Ige put in a strong performance with his attacking style causing problems for the highly rated Brazilian contender.

Ige has never been finished in the UFC, with 12 of his 17 fights inside the Octagon having seen the judges' scorecards.

Murphy’s contests are also regularly left in the hands of the judges, with only two finishes in the UFC.

Ige’s style should play well into Murphy’s intelligent counter striking approach and the “Miracle” is the pick to secure the win here.