Sean O’Malley and Dustin Poirier disagree with Michael Bisping in their UFC 308 main event predictions.
UFC 308 takes place in Abu Dhabi on Saturday evening and is headlined by Ilia Topuria defending his featherweight belt for the first time against Max Holloway.
Topuria defends his featherweight belt against Holloway tonightGetty
The main card is set to begin at 7pm BST as Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev also battle it out in a five-round co-main event.
“I’ve got to go with the champ. I’ve got to go with Ilia Topuria,” Bisping said.
“Look, listen, there’s more than one way to skin a cat when it comes to mixed martial arts. The way Max Holloway skins a cat, he does it great.
“He’s a striker. He’s got beautiful jujitsu. He’s got wrestling as well and the ground and pound is fantastic.
“But Ilia Topuria has got many different choices. Can he go five rounds? Absolutely. There’s no reason why we can’t doubt Topuria’s ability to go five rounds.”
Topuria made his UFC debut in October 2020 and won the featherweight belt for the first time by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in February.
Volkanovski has proved to be Holloway’s kryptonite during his UFC career, as the latter lost three title bouts to the Australian between 2019 and 2022.
‘Blessed’, however, is one of the UFC’s most experienced fighters and has never been finished in the Octagon under Dana White’s promotion.
He also brings a wealth of experience to the Etihad Arena, Yas Island, having contested in 33 professional MMA bouts (26-7), compared to Topuria’s undefeated 15.
“I believe with the athletic ability that he has, all the momentum that he has, the superstar that he’s becoming, there’s no way he’s going to overlook somebody like Max Holloway and not push his body to the absolute limit,” Bisping added.
Bisping will call all of the fights in Abu Dhabi as a commentatorGetty
“The reality is, picking a winner in this fight is very, very hard. You can make a case for Holloway. You can make a case for Toporia. But at the end of the day, we’re all just going off hunches. I believe Toporia is what he says he is.
“I believe, potentially down the line, we’ll see him fight Islam Makhachev for two belts. And for those reasons, I’m very hesitant to say this, but I’ve got a feeling that the winner Saturday night will be Ilia Topuria. He will be the featherweight champion.”
Dustin Poirier’s illustrious 14-year career in the UFC includes two victories over ‘Blessed’ with the most recent in April 2019 earning him interim lightweight champion status.
He fell in his last Octagon appearance to current lightweight champion and No.1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter Islam Makhachev.
However, Poirer believes his old foe can get the job done.
“I will never bet against Max Holloway,” he said to ESPN MMA. “I’m going Max by decision.”
Dustin Poirier won the interim belt against Max Holloway at UFC 236Getty Images – Getty
Former bantamweight champion O’Malley agreed with ‘The Diamond’, citing Holloway’s height advantage and five-round experience as to why he may overcome Topuria.
“He’s [Holloway] gonna out f****** tower him,” O’Malley said on Instagram.
“It doesn’t always mean you win. It should but it doesn’t apparently. I think Max is gonna stand on the outside. He’s gonna hit him with some long shots.
“Ilia’s gonna do his little thing when he tries to get in on the side cause he’s little and Max is gonna pack him from the outside.
O’Malley dropped his bantamweight belt to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 in Las VegasGetty
“I believe that fight is gonna go to the decision… I think Max Holloway is gonna get the job done. Five round experience. Weighing heavy on me.”
Regardless of the result, MMA fans are in for a treat in the United Arab Emirates.
Bisping even added that the main event clash between Topuria and Holloway could level Conor McGregor’s 2015 bout with Jose Aldo as the greatest featherweight fight of all time.
