4 biggest storylines ahead of UFC 308

UFC 308 - and Max Holloway's opportunity to become a two-time featherweight champion - is upon us.

In Saturday's main event, Ilia Topuria defends his 145-pound title for the first time against Holloway, a former champ and one of the greatest fighters in the division's history. In the co-headliner, Robert Whittaker squares off with Khamzat Chimaev in a highly anticipated middleweight bout.

Here are four key storylines ahead of the UFC's return to Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Holloway could pull off a most impressive feat vs. Topuria

Holloway is already a future UFC Hall of Famer, but he has a chance to completely rewrite his legacy against Topuria.

Reclaiming the featherweight title five years after losing it - with a victory over a next-generation champion like Topuria - would be one of the most impressive achievements in UFC history.

There are 101 fighters who have won a title in the UFC, and 19 of those did it (at least) twice in the same division. So, sure, twice is not unheard of - Valentina Shevchenko and Julianna Pena were both crowned for the second time in the last two months alone. However, it's still a pretty rare feat.

The difference with Holloway would be the amount of time between the two reigns. With the key exception of Carla Esparza, who captured the strawweight belt in 2014 and again in 2022, it's generally only a year or two. Holloway won gold in 2017, lost in 2019 after multiple defenses, and then had several failed attempts. The Hawaii native becoming champion again in 2024 in one of the deepest weight classes in MMA, and a completely different era, would be more impressive than any other second title reign we've seen.

Holloway's ups and downs since his reign ended make a second one even more improbable.

He's been the constant No. 2 fighter in the division virtually ever since he lost the belt to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 245 in December 2019, unable to get back to No. 1 but also not falling any farther down the ladder. (Technically, that changed when Topuria dethroned Volkanovski earlier this year, but you get the point.) Holloway has beaten everyone put in front of him at 145 pounds in the last decade, except Volkanovski. As a result, he's forced the UFC to put him back in multiple title fights. But he was never able to get past Volkanovski.

Volkanovski's domination of Holloway in their 2022 trilogy bout seemed as good of an indication as any that Holloway's days as a title contender were over. Not because he wasn't still one of the best featherweights in the world, but because he kept losing to the same guy - and how many more opportunities could he realistically earn before he was done?

But three straight wins over Arnold Allen, Chan Sung Jung, and Justin Gaethje (the latter of which is the front-runner for 2024 Knockout of the Year) - plus Topuria becoming the new champion - put Holloway right back in the mix. Again.

Nothing will change the fact that Holloway is already a legend and and an all-time featherweight. He secured that part of his legacy years ago. But if Holloway beats the odds and dethrones Topuria on Saturday, no one - not a single person - will remember him as the guy who won the featherweight title but then lost to Volkanovski three times. He won't be the guy who was No. 2 for a lot longer than he was No. 1. "Blessed" will be so much more than that.

Finally, Chimaev gets the test we've been waiting for

One of the biggest, longest-standing questions in MMA - whether or not Chimaev is a true middleweight contender - will finally be answered this weekend.

Fans have wondered about Chimaev's title chances at 185 pounds ever since he moved to the division after a botched weight cut as a welterweight in 2022. We were supposed to get the answer to that question at UFC 294 a year ago when Chimaev was booked against Paulo Costa, but Costa withdrew from the fight and was replaced by former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on 10 days' notice. Chimaev's back-and-forth majority-decision win over Usman - albeit an impressive result on paper - led to more questions than answers.

But there'll be no stone left unturned after Chimaev fights Whittaker, who's not just a legitimate middleweight but a former champion and the No. 3-ranked contender. Even a narrow victory would be enough for Chimaev to be rightfully considered a top-five middleweight and a threat to Dricus Du Plessis' title.

Does a title shot await the Whittaker-Chimaev winner?

Most of the time, Whittaker-Chimaev would be a clear-cut No. 1 contender bout. Both guys are on winning streaks (Chimaev is undefeated), and Whittaker has lost only to Du Plessis in the last 32 months. Most importantly, a victory in that matchup will arguably be more impressive than what anyone else has done in the division as of late.

Unfortunately for Whittaker and Chimaev, it won't be this simple.

The problem is that UFC CEO Dana White has already promised former champion Sean Strickland a rematch with Du Plessis. Longtime fans know this doesn't necessarily mean a matchup is set in stone, but it at least makes Strickland the front-runner. Whittaker and Chimaev may need to do something especially impressive to leapfrog Strickland and secure a title shot.

It could also simply come down to what the promotion considers the most appealing option, as well as timing. If Chimaev ragdolls Whittaker and leaves the Octagon uninjured, there's a good chance the UFC pivots to a more pay-per-view-friendly matchup between Du Plessis and Chimaev. If Whittaker wins, the promotion might not be as keen to run back that matchup so soon. And if Whittaker and Chimaev slug it out for five rounds and need to sit out until the summer, well, that just about locks up Strickland's title shot.

With a lot of moving parts at 185 pounds, no one should feel too good about being guaranteed a title shot.

How about Ankalaev? Will he leave Abu Dhabi with a title shot in hand?

No. 1-ranked light heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev should've been fighting Alex Pereira for the title at UFC 307 earlier in October. The promotion wanted to give Khalil Rountree Jr. a shot instead. Fine.

But if Ankalaev defeats Aleksandar Rakic on Saturday's main card to extend his unbeaten streak to 13, White and Co. can't deny the Dagestani fighter any longer.

Yet just like with Whittaker and Chimaev, it doesn't feel like a complete given that Ankalaev will face Pereira with a victory. Ankalaev has never seemed to be a favorite of White's, and a grueling split draw in a 2022 vacant title bout against Jan Blachowicz left a bad taste in the boss' mouth that hasn't quite gone away. White even apparently told Ankalaev ahead of UFC 308 that the 32-year-old has to put on a "good fight" to earn a title shot, not just win.

The UFC doesn't seem too interested in having Ankalaev potentially wrestle his way to victory against its superstar in Pereira, and understandably so. But White has always said he wants the best to fight the best. If you're going to hold true to that, you need to give Pereira the biggest test available for him at 205 pounds, and you need to give Ankalaev the title shot he already deserves.