REPORT | Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway added to UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi following Islam Makhachev injury

According to several reports, UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway will clash in October.

‘El Matador’ has been out of action since his fight for UFC gold earlier this year in February. Facing longtime featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, Ilia Topuria made quick work of the titleholder. The Spanish fighter scored a second-round knockout victory and called out Max Holloway afterward.

Just two months later, ‘Blessed’ scored his own knockout on the main card of UFC 300. In a rare lightweight appearance for the Hawaiian, Max Holloway scored a fifth-round knockout over ‘BMF’ champion Justin Gaethje. While there was initially some debate on where the featherweight would compete next, he quickly decided on a return to 145.

For the last few months, there’s been speculation that Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway would take place at the Las Vegas Sphere. However, those plans were dashed last week. UFC 306 will instead be headlined by a pair of title bouts, including Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili, and Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko.

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Ilia Topuria y Max Holloway se citan para Abu Dhabi el próximo 26 de octubre

Informa @IratiPratSC 👇 https://t.co/c718WwrEUg

— MARCA (@marca) July 29, 2024

Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway reportedly targeted for UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi

However, fans can now expect Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway to go down on October 26th. According to a report from Marca, agreements are in place for the featherweight title bout. Furthermore, the fight was originally targeted for UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. The original plan also called for Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan for Abu Dhabi.

However, the lightweight champion revealed a hand injury earlier this week, meaning he won’t likely fight in October. With that, Ilia Topuria’s featherweight title defense against Max Holloway has instead been moved back. As of now, UFC 307 still lacks a main event, but there has been a title bout linked to that date.

That title bout, is a women’s bantamweight championship contest between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena. ‘Rocky’ claimed the title that Amanda Nunes left vacant in January, scoring a decision victory over Mayra Bueno Silva. Nonetheless, with Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway seemingly set for October, the UFC’s schedule for the last half of 2024 is starting to take shape.

What do you make of this UFC 308 news? Who do you have winning in this featherweight title bout? Max Holloway or Ilia Topuria?