Preview: UFC 308 ‘Topuria vs. Holloway’

Middleweights

Sharabutdin Magomedov (14-0, 3-0 UFC) vs. Armen Petrosyan (9-3, 3-2 UFC)

ODDS: Magomedov (-155), Petrosyan (+130)

UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway Saturday at 2 PM ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Magomedov is still more overhyped than not, but he’s now coming off a strong performance and it will be interesting to see how far “Shara Bullet” can go in a division that makes for a lot of advantageous matchups. Magomedov certainly stands out thanks to a unique look—he’s essentially a one-eyed fighter—and a flashy striking style built around kicks delivered with an impressive level of speed. His three trips to the Octagon thus far have shown some warts in his game, even if there are still some clear positives. He did well in a debut win over Bruno Silva in 2023. Even if Silva, who is nobody’s idea of a wrestler, found some takedowns, Magomedov’s speed and sheer commitment to activity kept him ahead of the Brazilian for three rounds. A sophomore effort against Antonio Trocoli was pretty disheartening. Trocoli’s size and clinch-heavy style neutralized Magomedov to a surprising level until the Russian was able to take over once his opponent tired. He looked much better in a quick turnaround against Michal Oleksiejczuk in August. Oleksiejczuk put together dedicated and effective pressure for three rounds, but Magomedov looked sharp throughout, staying effective with his kicks and generally doing his best job yet of staying composed in the face of adversity. Magomedov gets both an advantageous matchup and a tough test next against Armenia’s Petrosyan.

Petrosyan is a striker by trade, so the UFC did well to keep Magomedov away from a wrestler, but “Superman” is well-rounded enough at this point that he could be able to beat the Russian at his own game. Petrosyan’s regional resume wasn’t much to speak of ahead of his knockout win on the Contender Series in 2021, but he hit the ground running with a UFC debut win over Gregory Rodrigues a few months later. The finishes have dried up for Petrosyan inside the Octagon, but he has done a surprisingly strong job of reinventing himself as a three-round fighter, throwing out a ton of striking volume to overwhelm opponents while showing enough takedown defense to get by in most cases. Petrosyan’s last fight, a quick submission loss to ace grappler Rodolfo Vieira, showed that his wrestling isn’t exactly bulletproof, but that comes one fight after an impressive decision win over Christian Leroy Duncan, which saw him blend his usual approach with enough clinch work and wrestling to neutralize a fellow striker. Petrosyan figures to break out a similar game plan here, and the narrow lean is that it will work again this time around. Magomedov should be able to get his licks in, but Petrosyan seems durable and dedicated enough to keep moving forward while also presenting more of a physical threat than Oleksiejczuk did. That should be enough to overwhelm the Russian in the aggregate. The pick is Petrosyan via decision.

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Topuria vs. Holloway
Chimaev vs. Whittaker
Murphy vs. Ige
Ankalaev vs. Rakic
Magomedov vs. Petrosyan
The Prelims