UFC 308 Preview in Abu Dhabi UAE

UFC 308 goes to Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Saturday afternoon (ET), featuring two insanely-hyped main events on the card.

The co-main event will have Robert Whittaker (27-7-0) against the 13-0-0 Khamzat Cimaev. There isn’t a middleweight title on the line, but the winner here is expected to earn a shot at the belt. This will only be a three-rounder. Cimaev is -240, Whittaker at 2-1 (+200).

Current middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis is awaiting his ‘probable’ next opponent.

Meanwhile, Ilia Topuria (15-0-0) defends his featherweight belt against Max Holloway (26-7-0). Holloway is a game veteran and one of the more popular UFC fighters.

Topuria is the -235 choice against Hollway (+195), accordjng to UFC 308 odds. It wouldn’t be shocking to see some line movement toward the challenger, however.

There are three other featured bouts on the program

–Lerone Murphy (14-0-1) draws Dan Ige (18-8-0) (featherweights)

–Magomed Ankalaev (19-1-1, 1NC) opposes Aleksandar Rakic (14-4-0) (light heavyweights).

–Sharaputdin Magmedov (14-0-0) versus Armen Petrosyan (9-3-0) (middleweights). 

There are also any number of available prop wagers, as per UFC 308 specials.

We will break down UFC 308 and discuss the best bets in the Saturday card…

Lerone Murphy (2-5, [-250]) vs. Dan Ige (2-1, [+200]) (featherweights)

Lerone Murphy is off a (five-round decision) victory against Edson Barbosa at UFC Fight Night.

Murphy had 220 significant strikes (four takedowns) in the win. He wasn’t taken down once against Barboza, who only had 79 significant strikes through the 25 minutes in the octagon.

Murphy has an orthodox stance with takedown accuracy of 52 percent. Prior to his win against Josh Culibao, Murphy had won his previous two bouts, that despite being taken down a combined 10 times.

Meanwhile, Dan Ige lost (decision) his last bout last June, taken down once/submitted once.

Therefore, Murphy has all the momentum. He’ll likely land more significant strikes and should add more takedowns as well. Murphy is the choice if he’s around his current price.

Robert Whittaker (2-1 [+200]) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (-240) (Middleweight)

Winner here figures to get a title bout against champ Dricus Du Plessis.

Whittaker is ranked third, Chimaev 12th entering this bout.

Whittaker is on a two-match win streak after losing (second-round TKO)  to Du Plessis in 2023. Whittaker was ‘outstruck’ by a 2-1 margin to that point. Whittaker’s last bout against Ikram Aliskrov ended with his own (first-round) TKO at UFC Fight Night this past June. That was a scheduled five-rounder. Whittaker ended it early.

Chimaev is undefeated on the heels of a tight decision against Kamaru Usman about a year ago.Chimaev hasn’t fought since because of his mystery illness right before a scheduled bout against Whittaker. Chimaev’s never been taken down in UFC, averaging nearly four takedowns per match. He is the real deal and a legit favorite in here, 

Max Holloway (+195) vs. Ilia Topuria (-235) (Featherweight)

Ilia Topuria TKO’d Alexander Volkanovski this past February to earn the featherweight belt, despite fewer significant strikes before his (second-round) TKO.

Topuria is predicting a submission win against the challenger this time around.

Topuria has landed takedowns nearly two times per bout (career 56% takedown accuracy).

Holloway, meanwhile, has done a good job of avoiding takedowns (16 percent) in his career, adding 48% strike accuracy of his own. Holloway had a huge TKO over Justin Gaethje (UFC 300) with a second remaining in the final round. Holloway hasn’t been submitted since UFC 251 back in 2020.

Holloway as the underdog has too much value to ignore in the main event at UFC 308. Take him to end things.