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Quite simply, it’s the best mixed martial arts fight currently booked anywhere in the world at the moment.
Headlining the UFC 298 main card (Saturday, February 17, 7 p.m. PST / 10 p.m. EST on ESPN+ PPV), longtime featherweight champion Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski puts his title on the line against undefeated challenger Ilia “El Matador” Topuria. It’s a tremendous contest between elite competitors that has the entire MMA fan base buzzing with excitement and anticipation. A true clash of world-class, well-rounded combatants.
THE CHAMPION
The UFC’s longest reigning champion, Alexander Volkanovski has held the belt for 1,526 days since claiming the title at UFC 245. That’s good enough for fifth all-time, only behind MMA royalty like Anderson Silva, Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, and Jose Aldo.
Not bad company to keep, eh?
Since winning the belt in December 2019, Volkanovski has become one of the UFC’s greatest champions, defending the featherweight title five times. Undefeated at 145 pounds through 17 bouts in the weight class, Volkanovski stepped up to lightweight in 2023, losing a pair of title fights to pound-for-pound number one Islam Makhachev. Even with the losses he remains one of the best athletes to ever step foot inside the Octagon.
Volkanovski possesses all the tools for MMA. Short and compact for the division, he still has tremendous reach and some of the best distance management in the sport. He’s able to attack with leg kicks before finding angles to move inside with boxing combos. “The Great” is also an adept wrestler with first-rate submission defense and top-tier ground and pound. He’s also one of the most analytical thinkers in the game, making real time adjustments in between rounds to exploit opponent’s weaknesses.
In nearly every outing, Volkanovski puts on a master class.
THE CHALLENGER
Undefeated and just entering the prime of his career, Ilia Topuria has made a rather quick ascension to his first UFC title fight. Making his UFC debut as a late-notice replacement during the pandemic “Fight Island” era in 2020, the German-born-of-Georgian-heritage-who-resides-in-Spain Topuria has needed just six fights to earn a shot at the featherweight belt.
In those six fights he’s demonstrated excellent boxing and pressure fighting, while battering and dominating every opponent he’s faced.
Originally a Jiu Jitsu-stlye fighter, Topuria has made tremendous strides with every ensuing fight. He’s evolved into a dominant striker and grappler and his vast skill set is matched only by his style, look, and trash talk.
Already calling himself the UFC featherweight champion, Topuria would be best served to slow down with all the chatter and focus on the task at hand. After all, let’s not forget that he was unable to make weight and was forced to withdraw from UFC 270, which happens the be the last time the promotion visited the Honda Center in Anaheim, site of Saturday’s UFC 298 card.
THE MATCHUP
On paper, this fight between Volkanovski and Topuria is everything an MMA fan could dream of: an all-time great facing a complete and prime challenger. Two well-rounded mixed martial artists who are dangerous in every aspect of the sport, both with something to prove.
With Volkanovski almost clearing out the featherweight division, Topuria might be his toughest test to date after the trilogy against Max Holloway. He’s certainly the hardest hitter Volkanovski has faced during his title reign.
While Topuria owns a two-inch advantage in height, it is Volkanovski’s reach advantage that may very well come into play on Saturday night. Especially because he knows how to force opponents to play his game, often using the kicking game to own real estate in the Octagon before finding his punching range.
Power is another big factor in the UFC 298 main event, with Topuria owning an edge in this department.
The ground game is a bit of a wildcard in this featherweight title fight, and it’s not because both Volkanovski and Topuria aren’t adept on the mat, but rather because they both prefer to trade punches and look for the knockout.
Regardless, Topuria is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, and Volkanovski uses wrestling and top game to employ his ground and pound, where he does some of his finest work. So, don’t be surprised if the bout hits the ground once per round.
THE MAIN CARD
The UFC 298 main card is absolutely stacked.
In addition to the headlining title fight between Volkanovski and Topuria, there’s a pivotal middleweight matchup between former champion Robert Whittaker and the always dangerous Paulo Costa. Entering the Octagon for the first time since August 2022, Costa is coming off a lengthy absence from competition, while Whittaker looks to avoid consecutive losses for the first time in a decade.
A bout between top-10 welterweights Ian Machado Garry and Geoff Neal is sure to deliver technical striking exchanges and all sorts of chaos on the feet. However, it’s a bantamweight matchup between former champion Henry Cejudo and second-ranked Merab Dvalishvili that has some of the highest stakes on the fight card.
In all likelihood, the bout between Cejudo and Dvalishvili, who is currently riding a nine-fight win streak, is shaping up to be a number-one contender bout. With the next bantamweight title shot practically on the line, expect Cejudo and Dvalishvili, two of MMA’s top wrestlers, to deliver a frenetic pace and some wild exchanges and sweeps.
A middleweight bout between Anthony“Fluffy” Hernandez and Roman Kopylov kicks off the UFC 298 PPV main card on ESPN+.
UFC 298 Full Fight Card
UFC 298 Pay Per View Main Card (on ESPN+ PPV) 7 p.m. PST / 10 p.m. EST
- Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria – for the UFC featherweight title
- Robert Whittaker vs. Pauolo Costa
- Ian Garry vs. Geoff Neal
- Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo
- Anthony Hernandez vs. Roman Kopylov
UFC 298 Prelims (on ESPN+ & ESPN) 5 a.m. PST / 7 p.m. EST
- Amanda Lemos vs. Mackenzie Dern
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Justin Tafa
- Rinya Nakamura vs. Carlos Vera
- Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
UFC 298 Early Prelims (on ESPN+ & ESPN) 3 a.m. PST / 5 a.m. EST
- Danny Barlow vs. Josh Quinlan
- Valentine Woodburn vs. Oban Elliott
- Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick
*fight card subject to change
Dan Shapiro is a writer, editor, musician, and producer currently based in Los Angeles. In addition to covering some of the biggest fights in combat sports history, he’s also hunted down the world’s best sushi, skied the northern hemisphere in July, and chronicled Chinese underground music for publications like CNN, the New York Daily News, VICE, and Time Out. Dan also conjured up a ghost at the Chateau Marmont while out on assignment for RoadTrippers. Follow him on Twitter here.