With UFC 308, the promotion will go back to Abu Dhabi with some of the biggest fights. While Max Holloway will challenge Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title in the main event, Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker will finally face each other in the co-main event. But a fight is in jeopardy and this might disappoint fans.

No, this time, it is not Khamzat Chimaev who pulled out because of his health or injury. Fans might feel he is unreliable because of his previous fight cancelation and health issues, but instead, it is the heavyweight fight- Gane versus Volkov that won’t be a part of UFC 308. The fight has been rescheduled to UFC 310 in December. The UFC is yet to confirm this change. However, what led to such a sudden switch in plans?

As per several reports, Alexander Volkov is injured but more details about it are currently not available. This news will sadden fans as they were excited to watch Ciryl Gane go against the Russian heavyweight once again.

The first time Alexander Volkov and Ciryl Gane fought was back in 2021. The Frenchman won convincingly through a unanimous decision- 50-45, 50-45, 49-46. All of Gane’s brilliance on the feet, his speed, footwork, and technical striking were too much for his opponent. But Volkov, too, handled himself pretty well, and gave the former interim champ a tough time in the very first and last rounds, managing to almost go blow-for-blow with him.

This is why when their rematch was announced for UFC 308 in October, fans were very excited. Especially because the Russian has improved quite a lot on the feet, as he showed in his last outing against Sergei Pavlovich, who the boogeyman of the division was.

He is coming off a four-fight win streak, whereas ‘Bon Gamin’ went 2-2 in his last four fights. The latter lost against Jon Jones at UFC 285 and Francis Ngannou at UFC 270. All things said and done, what happens to UFC 308 now?

UFC 308 to be Dagestani-heavy as Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov postponed

Along with Khamzat Chimaev, UFC 308 will feature some of the other biggest stars in the promotion. Except, unfortunately, lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Originally, he was slated to defend his title for the fourth time against Arman Tsarukyan on the card. But the Dagestani injured his hand and was forced to postpone the clash.

But, his fellow Dagestani compatriot Magomed Ankalaev, who has been in line for a title shot, will face #5 light heavyweight Aleksandar Rakic in a cracking matchup on the main card. Given both men’s caliber, pedigree, and warrior spirit, their clash is expected to be an electric one.

Rounding out the main card will be another Dagestani. Undefeated one-eyed finishing machine Sharaputdin Magomedov will take on fellow unranked middleweight Armen Petrosyan. The former, of course, has uncharacteristically had only one finish in three UFC bouts so far, when he had a 100% knockout rate coming into the promotion last year. And that is why most expect ‘Shara Bullet’ to go all out trying to score another quick knockout, hoping it will get him a shot at a ranked opponent.

The following is the entire UFC 308 lineup so far:

• Champ Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
• Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker
• Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
• Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
• Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Geoff Neal
• Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki
• Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos
• Brunno Ferreira vs. Abus Magomedov
• Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Justin Tafa
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
• Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
• Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
• Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira

What are your predictions for UFC 308? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.