Topuria KOs Holloway; Chimaev Submits Whittaker at UFC 308
UFC 308 took place in Abu Dhabi on October 26, 2024, with two major finishes at the top of the card. Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria became the first fighter to knock out Max Holloway, stopping him in the third round. In the co-main event, Khamzat Chimaev submitted former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in round one.
Topuria makes history against Holloway
Holloway had never been knocked out in his professional career. Topuria changed that at 1:34 of the third round, landing a left hook that ended their featherweight title fight. The win was Topuria’s first successful defense of the championship he had won earlier in 2024, and it made him the first opponent to finish Holloway by knockout.
Chimaev submits Whittaker
Chimaev took Whittaker down early and secured a face-crank submission at 3:34 of round one. Whittaker later said he believed the hold may have dislocated his jaw. The result gave Chimaev a major win over a former champion and strengthened his position in the middleweight title picture.
Other main-card results
- Magomed Ankalaev defeated Aleksandar Rakić by unanimous decision.
- Lerone Murphy defeated Dan Ige by unanimous decision.
- Shara Magomedov stopped Armen Petrosyan by knockout in round two.
What followed UFC 308
The title implications played out in different ways. Topuria later vacated the featherweight belt, moved up and won the lightweight title in 2025; Justin Gaethje dethroned him in June 2026. Chimaev went on to win the middleweight championship in 2025, then lost the belt to Sean Strickland in May 2026. Those later results put the UFC 308 performances in context while keeping the event’s original outcomes clear.
UFC 308’s main event and co-main event both delivered decisive finishes with championship consequences. Topuria’s knockout ended Holloway’s long-standing run of never being stopped, while Chimaev’s dominant opening-round submission marked a major step toward his eventual title win.
Sources: UFC 308 official results and highlights; UFC official scorecards; UFC on Topuria’s move to lightweight; UFC Freedom 250: Gaethje defeats Topuria; UFC 328: Strickland defeats Chimaev.
