UFC 308 predictions, odds, best bets: Max Holloway and Khamzat Chimaev are among the top picks to consider

Featherweight gold is on the line on Saturday night when Ilia Topuria puts his title on the line against former champion Max Holloway UFC 308 main event. The fight is Topuria’s first title defense and he will look to add a win over a legend to his resume.

Holloway has won three consecutive victories in this fight, most recently defeating Justin Gaethje in a fight for the ceremonial “BMF Championship”. The Gaethje fight was the biggest highlight of Holloway’s incredible career. After dominating most of the fight, Holloway pointed to the canvas, dared his stubborn opponent to stand up and throw punches in the fight’s final seconds, and then knocked Gaethje unconscious.

Topuria has had its own highlight moment. He faced Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 and scored a brutal second-round knockout to secure the championship. A win over Holloway would solidify Topuria’s place at the top of the 145-pound pecking order.

After going 2-3 with our best bets for UFC 307, we’re at 25-29 for the year. That’s not a track record, but we’re hoping to get out of the red before the end of the year, and that can only be achieved through a successful night at UFC 308. Check out the UFC betting sites if you are interested in betting on a fight on this card.

Let’s take a look at our picks for the best bet for each main card fight at UFC 308.

Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan

Armen Petrosyan +3.5 (-175)

As a reminder, point spread betting in MMA involves adding up the final scorecards (i.e. a winner on the cards with three 29-28 scores would have won by three points, meaning +3.5 for the losing fighter a winning one bet would be) and any other method of winning also counts as a win. It will be a pure striker battle between two talented strikers. Magomedov is a kick-first fighter, while Petrosyan will look to close the distance and let his hands go. On paper, it’s a hard-fought fight with Magomedov as the -160 favorite. A small surprise for Petrosyan is not out of the question, but it is safer to assume that he can win at least one round to reach the point spread.

Magomed Ankalaev vs Aleksandar Rakic

Magomed Ankalaev wins by KO/TKO/DQ or Aleksandar Rakic ​​​​wins by decision (+125)

This combo series is available at DraftKings and covers the two ways I can imagine this fight going. Ankalaev is a capable but not great takedown artist, and Rakic ​​should be able to handle any situation if Ankalaev decides to wrestle. It probably won’t happen too often that this is even possible, as Ankalaev prefers to strike rather than wrestle And said recently that he was told if he put up a good fight he would be on his way to the title. Rakic ​​spent the first round of his fight making Jiri Prochazka look like a world champion before Prochazka bit his mouthpiece and unleashed all hell. Ankalaev could always crack Rakic ​​with big throws and stop the ball, but if he fails to make the stop, there is every chance that Rakic ​​will outdo him with sharper, more technical shots to prevent a decision. In any case, this bet covers those bases.

Lerone Murphy vs. Dan Ige

Lerone Murphy by decision (-160)

Murphy opened at around -170 and is now in the -290 range. His mix of striking and grappling will be a handful for Ige, who is a similarly versatile fighter. Ige begins to spiral out of control as he tends to get knocked down and unable to find a way back to his feet. With most other things pretty even, Murphy’s ability to get Ige on his back and keep him there will likely be the deciding factor in the fight. It seems unlikely that we will get a finish in this game, which makes Murphy the move by decision.

Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev

Fight for more than 2.5 rounds (-125)

Chimaev is the favorite, but there are so many questions about him right now. After bursting onto the UFC scene with two incredibly dominant wins in the space of 10 days, he has now had two fights in just over two years. Injuries, illnesses, weight loss issues and inactivity have marred the last few years for someone once viewed as a man who would win UFC gold in short order. Nearly four and a half years later, Chimaev has a fight that could finally catapult him to the title. Defeating Whittaker is no easy task, however, and Chimaev looked very human in his last fight, a decision win over Kamaru Usman, winning the fight on two weeks’ notice and in his first fight at middleweight. Whittaker is a legend, but one who is in the back half of his fighting career and has been overwhelmed with power by men like Dricus Du Plessis, so an expected victory from Chimaev is no surprise. Whittaker is good enough and has enough tricks up his sleeve to force Chimaev to respect his game, meaning we should at least see the start of the second half in this five-round match.

Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway

Max Holloway +5.5 (+100)

Holloway is the most difficult task Topuria has been given in his career. Yes, Topuria is coming off a win over Alexander Volkanovski, who defeated Holloway multiple times, but Volkanvoski was pretty loopy early in the fight and didn’t have a particularly good style for what Topuria brings to the cage. Holloway is a different animal, with more range and a crisp boxing style that will challenge Topuria in the fight. Topuria’s takedowns are solid, but Holloway has tremendous takedown defense that negates that approach. All of this means that while Topuria is considered the favorite, it won’t be an easy night for the champion. Holloway should win a few rounds and his legendary chin should hold up in this fight and be close enough that we’ll take the +5.5 to the legend, with the added assurance that Holloway will still get a stop along the way pays out.