The UFC will hit Abu Dhabi twice this year with the second visit for UFC 308 which will be headlined by featherweight champion Ilia Topuria defending his title against former champion Max Holloway.
First reported by MARCA, confirmed by UFC CEO Dana White on Saturday morning on social media.
#UFC308 October 26th from Fight Island, Abu Dhabi!@VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/v7FdlGXQzl
— danawhite (@danawhite) August 3, 2024
Topuria (15-0) took the belt off of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February. Still yet to be beaten his UFC resume includes name such as Volkanovski, Josh Emmett, Bryce Mitchell, Jai Herbert, Ryan Hall and Damon Jackson. It’s has not been a secret that Holloway was the likely challenger for the title up next.
Holloway (26-7) was the longtime king of the featherweights until Alexander Volkanovski came around. His legendary career spans over 12 years in the UFC. He’s beaten the likes of Andre Fili, Cub Swanson, Charles Oliveira, Jeremy Stephens, Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo, Brian Ortega to name a few.
It wasn’t until he finished Justin Gaethje for the BMF title at UFC 300 that the push to get him into the next 145 title fight really picked up steam. Holloway dominated Gaethje and knocked him out with one second left in one of the most iconic sequences of all time.
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev recently revealed a hand injury may take him out for the rest of the year. With about 3 months left until UFC 308 it looks very unlikely that Makhachev will be available to headline that PPV card.
UFC 308 takes place in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 26.
