The highly anticipated UFC 308 is just hours away, and fight fans around the globe are buzzing with excitement for the stacked 13-fight card.
Our pick of the bunch is, of course, a still-invincible Ilia Topuria defending his UFC title against fan favourite Max Holloway.
Just as I did last week, I'll preview the big one, while also including my predictions and betting tips.
Ilia Topuria v Max Holloway preview
One of the fights of the year, and where do we start?
Firstly, a victory here would surely cement Topuria's dominance over the featherweight division, which is a remarkable achievement in hindsight, when considering its sheer competitiveness.
Topuria's rise to the top has been pretty much flawless, with the Georgian winning all seven fights since making his promotional debut in 2020. Topuria won UFC gold back in February when getting the better of Alexander Volkanovski by KO in the second round.
Prior to beating Volkanovski, Topuria had some other impressive victories, which include wins against Bryce Mitchell and Josh Emmett.
His opponent, Holloway, arrives here on the back of an impressive victory over USA's Justin Gaethje. It was a fight for the ages, as the pair traded punches in the final seconds, with Holloway winning by KO just before the final bell.
Keys to victory
Topuria is known for strong striking ability, which is proven by a CV that includes four wins coming by KO.
Whilst Topuria is renowned for his heavy striking ability, he is also good when it comes to wrestling. He showed that when he came face to face with Bryce Mitchell, who was known for his strong wrestling attributes going into that bout.
In the opposite corner, fan favourite Max Holloway is an all-time great within the UFC, and has already cemented himself as one of the industry's greatest featherweights.
I think if Max can avoid the strong right hand from Topuria, then he could very well win this on points, as I do feel strongly that his boxing is just that little bit better and he could out-strike Topuria throughout the fight.
What the bookies say
Bookmakers have Topuria marked up as a strong odds-on favourite at 1/3 with Bet365, giving away no value to punters whatsoever. On the other hand, Holloway arrives here as a tempting 12/5 underdog.
That is a great price in my opinion, as I don't feel there's much between the two. Furthermore, Holloway has never been knocked out in a UFC cage, with all his losses coming via points decisions.
Some of the points decisions were also questionable, and he can probably count himself a tad unlucky to not have his hand raised on a few of those occasions.
Fight prediction
I can see this going all five rounds, which may come as a surprise to some. I'm a huge fan of Max Holloway, and although he may not be as strong a finisher as Topuria, I do feel his boxing is to an elite level and probably a bit better than the Georgian's.
I fiddled about with the markets on Bet365 to try and find better value on Max to win, and I was initially tempted by the 5/1 offer to win on points.
I'll not be greedy this time around though, and I'll simply be taking Holloway to win at 12/5 as my pick for this one.
I'm already chancing my arm against a short-priced favourite, and given the fact that I thought 12/5 was over priced to begin with, it makes sense to keep things simple.
Other UFC 308 betting predictions
For those that follow me, you'll know by now that I enjoy having a side acca run alongside my main play. So I've included below my fight predictions below which I've combined into a multiple bet.
The odds on a lot of the other fights are quite short, and from experience, there is always one short-priced selection that lets you down.
I've gone for something a bit different this time around, which includes a fighter to win and the method of victory treble:
- Khamzat Chimeav to win by Submission or Decision
- Shara Magomedov to win by Decision or Technical Decision
- Magomed Ankaleav to win by Decision or Technical Decision
Odds: 10.22/1* (Bet365)
If successful, this would yield a payout of £112.25 from a £10 bet.
*Price as shown on Bet365. Equivalent to 511/50.
- Resident horse racing tipster for MFT - 5 Years experience within sport writing and horse racing
I have a feeling Bobby Knuckles may spring a surprise vs Borz but a great write up buddy, also great for us UK fans in terms of timing, enjoy mate!
Thanks for your comment mate,
Good to see we have some fight fans on this thread too as it’s a relatively new thread we’ve introduced.
Who have you backed tonight?
Sorry mate didn’t see the reply! Lost on Orolbai (fight of the year contender by the way!) but won on Shara, Murphy and Ilia :) A great fight night, see you back here for 309 buddy :)