In a 5-round featherweight championship bout in the main event, Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway meet Saturday at UFC 308 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s UFC odds around the UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.
The prelims begin at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+, and the main card begins at 2 p.m. ET on pay-per-view.
Records: Topuria (15-0-0) | Holloway (26-7-0)
Topuria puts his strap on the line for the 1st time after claiming the featherweight championship against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. He has won all 7 fights at the UFC level, with just 2 of those bouts going the distance. He has 4 KO/TKO wins, including the title bout against Volkanovski, while submitting Bryce Mitchell at UFC 282.
Holloway has won 3 straight fights since a unanimous-decision loss to Volkanovski in a title fight at UFC 276. He has back-to-back KO/TKO wins over Justin Gaethje and Chan Sung Jung, but prior to that he had 8 consecutive decisions, going 4-4 in those fights.
The Georgian champ is 5 years younger than “Blessed”, although the latter has a 7.17-to-4.40 significant strikes landed per minute advantage over Topuria. The significant strikes accuracy percentage is basically even, with Holloway at 49.64% and Topuria at 49.40%.
In the ground game, Topuria is very good, posting a 1.92 takedown average, while he is 56.25% in takedown accuracy percentage. The champ has a sparkling 1.28 submission average, to just 0.32 for Holloway.
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UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of UFC odds. Lines last updated at 9:44 a.m. ET.
- Fight result (2-way line): Topuria -275 (bet $275 to win $100) | Holloway +225 (bet $100 to win $225)
- Over/Under: 4.5 rounds (Over +100 | Under -130)
- Will the fight go the distance? (Yes +120 | No -165)
UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway picks and predictions
Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)
Topuria (-275) will set you back nearly 3 times your potential return, and there is no way to justify betting that straight up. If you were to toss the Georgian champ into a multi-leg parlay, it could be excused betting such a high number.
However, let’s get a little more specific. Holloway (+225) has ended up going the distance in 8 of the past 10 fights. While Topuria has had just 1 fight go the distance in the past 6 outings, this is a huge step up in opponent.
Look for TOPURIA BY POINTS (+250) to get the job done in a knockdown, drag-out fight.
Over/Under (O/U)
YES: FIGHT TO GO THE DISTANCE (+120) is worth a look at plus-money.
Topuria has ended up fighting into the 2nd round in each of the past 4 outings, while winning via unanimous decision against Josh Emmett in the main event June 24, 2023, in a Fight Night.
For Holloway, he has ended up going the distance 8 times in the past 10 outings, and the Gaethje knockout at UFC 300 came at 4:59 of Round 5, just a single second short of going the distance.
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