Monday Matchmaker: What's next for Topuria, Chimaev after UFC 308 wins?

Big things happen every time the UFC makes its annual October trip to Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and this year was no different.

Ilia Topuria closed out UFC 308 by doing precisely what he promised to do, becoming the first person to stop Max Holloway due to strikes while retaining his featherweight title in a performance that puts him in the thick of the “best fighter on the planet right now” conversation.

Prior to “El Matador” successfully defending his title and earning his second monumental stoppage win of 2024, two elite contenders seemed to cement their standing as next in line in their respective divisions, while a host of others turned in quality efforts to earn victories and my attention from a fantasy matchmaking perspective.

So let’s get into this edition of the Monday Matchmaker.

ILIA TOPURIA

After dispatching Holloway and offering a kind words to the Hawaiian star during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, Topuria was asked who he’d like next out of former champ Alexander Volkanovski and surging Brazilian Diego Lopes, and responded by saying, “both” and laughing.

Volkanovski made his way into the Octagon to congratulate Topuria and the two shared a nice moment, with the Spaniard saying the former champion deserves a rematch after all he had done during his reign atop the 145-pound weight class.

This was always the way things were going to go if things played out the way they did on Saturday, and it’s the right decision, but it also feels a little passed its “sell by” date as well.

Tenured champions like Volkanovski always merit an automatic rematch; he held the title for four years, successfully defended it five times and hadn’t lost in the division until Topuria dusted him in February to claim the title. Had that not been the Australian’s second knockout loss in five months, we likely would have seen the rematch already, but Volk rightfully wanted to take some time, Holloway made his case emphatically at UFC 303, and now here we are.

One can make a valid argument that Volkanovski should be better this time around — he’s not making a quick turnaround off a knockout loss in a fight that he had taken on short notice up a division, and his pedigree makes him, at the very least, a live dog. But you could also argue with more than a year likely to have passed by the time they do it again, the buzz of a rematch will have died down, and that Volkanovski having lost three of his last four makes you wonder if the pack finally caught up to him after years of trying to chase him down?

Plus you have the streaking Lopes right there as arguably a more interesting, more exciting option, having earned three wins this year in the time since Volkanovski has been regrouping to push his winning streak to five and put himself in the thick of the title conversation.

The scary thing is that who Topuria fights next might not matter because he’s looked outstanding the whole way through his UFC career, and once again made good on his lofty pre-fight promise, successfully becoming the first person to stop Holloway. He’s now 8-0 in the UFC and 16-0 overall, and he doesn’t turn 28 until early next year.

Topuria is outstanding in every facet, aggressive in his pursuit of action, and hardened in his belief that he’s the best fighter on the planet. Results like he’s delivered this year make it difficult to argue that isn’t the case.

KHAMZAT CHIMAEV

As soon as Chimaev wrapped up his first-round stoppage win over Robert Whittaker in the co-main event, everyone was calling for the undefeated menace to leapfrog Sean Strickland in the next middleweight title fight opposite Dricus Du Plessis.

It’s understandable given that Chimaev injured Whittaker’s jaw and is now 8-0 in the UFC and 14-0 overall, with all but two of those UFC wins coming inside the distance. But there is no need to shuffle the deck and push Strickland aside.

For as dominant as Chimaev has been inside the Octagon, he’s also been somewhat unreliable and tough to book outside of the cage, which makes banking on him as a title challenger, and potential champion beyond that, a challenging venture.

He had already been forced to withdraw from a meeting with Whittaker earlier in the year due to health issues, and has fought once annually, in October, in Abu Dhabi, each of the last two years. Since his whirlwind introduction to the UFC audience in 2020, Chimaev has competed just five times, and it seems like he is limited to fighting in Saudi Arabia or Abu Dhabi, which limits when his next fight could conceivably take place.

Rather than push Strickland aside to hustle Chimaev into the mix, go through with the rematch between Du Plessis and Strickland in the first quarter of 2025, and book the unbeaten contender against the victor in October. It’s not ideal that Chimaev always gets a home game, but you can only make due with what you’ve got and he’s too good to not afford him an opportunity to challenge for championship gold next time out.

MAGOMED ANKALAEV

This one brings up the age-old question of whether we want to see the best fight the best or the coolest, most explosive potential matchups available?

In a meritocracy, Ankalaev would have fought for the belt ahead of Khalil Rountree Jr., but that’s not how things work, so instead, the talented Russian had to do away with Aleksandar Rakic in a good-but-not-great effort to extended his unbeaten streak to 13 and further entrench himself as the No. 1 contender in the light heavyweight division.

However, as good as Ankalaev is, he’s not always entertaining, and that’s how all-action types like Rountree Jr. are able to skip the line and challenge for gold ahead of him. There is also the concern that he could be kryptonite for Pereira, though the broadcast team did an excellent job detailing how despite his perception, the Russian isn’t a high-volume wrestler, and isn’t particularly efficient with his takedowns when he does look to go that route.

We’re at the point now between Ankalaev’s unbeaten streak and Pereira’s torrid pace that they’re really the only opponent that makes sense for one another going forward, so the UFC might as well just go ahead, book it, and see what happens. At this point, betting against “Poatan” seems foolish, and if Ankalaev does win, you’ve got a new champ that just unseated a juggernaut to extend his unbeaten run to 14, which feels like a pretty good selling point if you ask me.

QUICK HITTERS FOR THE REST OF THE UFC 308 WINNERS

Lerone Murphy: After besting Dan Ige on the scorecards, Murphy called for a bout with Josh Emmett and it’s a perfect pairing. “The Miracle” is 7-0-1 in the UFC and 15-0-1 overall, and a date with a tenured gatekeeper like Emmett makes a great deal of sense.

Shara Magomedov: “Bullet” picked up the never-before-seen double spinning backfist knockout win over Armen Petrosyan on Saturday to move to 4-0 in the UFC. He seems to have some of the same “where he can fight” limitations as Chimaev, which limits his options, but I think a grinder like Andre Petroski would happy venture to the Emirates in order to potentially up-end the streaking striker.

Ibo Aslan: Now 2-0 in the UFC with a pair of finishes, Aslan merits a step up in competition. Light heavyweight is always a little thin, so he’s likely to be in with someone much more experienced next time out, like Ion Cutelaba perhaps.

Geoff Neal: The Fortis MMA man snapped a two-fight skid with a first-round injury stoppage win over Rafael Dos Anjos in a bout he was dominating out of the gates. With everyone else ahead of him either booked or already on his resume, a five-round main event opposite Joaquin Buckley in Q1 2025 would certainly work and help continue clarifying things in the welterweight division.

Mateusz Rebecki: The Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) grad went to war with Myktybek Orolbai and came out on the happy side of the split decision verdict. He’s a fun, action-oriented fighter, so let’s see how he does against a more technical opponent like Nasrat Haqparast net time out.

Abus Magomedov and Ismail Naurdiev: Magomedov picked up his second straight win a couple fights after Naurdiev earned a victory in his return to the promotion. They’re on the same timeline, they’re in the same range in the division, and pitting them against one another in a “which one moves forward?” type of contest would work.

Kennedy Nzechuwku: Following an inconsistent run at light heavyweight, Nzechukwu shifted up to heavyweight on Saturday and stopped Chris Barnett, looking much swift with his weapons and comfortable in his new surroundings. He was originally scheduled to face Marcos Rogerio de Lima on Saturday, so re-booking that one is an easy way to sort out what comes next for Nzechukwu.

Farid Basharat: Props to Basharat for going through with his fight against Victor Hugo up a full division after the Brazilian missed weight by an egregious 9.5 pounds. Basharat earned the decision win to remain unbeaten, and merits another step up in competition next time out. How does the winner of the impending clash between Miles Johns and Cody Garbrandt sound?

Rinat Fakhretdinov: “Gladiator” moved to 5-0-1 in the UFC with a victory over Carlos Leal in the UFC 308 opener. He’s fought a good slate and his win over Bryan Battle continues to age nicely, which should put him in line for another slight step up in competition going forward, with Australian Jake Matthews feeling like a reasonable target.