UFC 298: Welcome to the Matador Era, Ilia Topuria Claims Featherweight Title with Epic Knockout

All week long Ilia “El Matador” Topuria was calling his shot. A first or second knockout he repeated at media events in the lead up to UFC 298.

Many felt the +120 underdog from Georgia, by way of Spain, was biting off more than he could chew, but in the end Topuria made good on his call, knocking out longtime champion Alexander Volkanovski at 3:32 of the second round.

 

Starting off slow and methodically, both Topuria and Volkanovski felt each other out for the better part of the first frame. With minimal output through five minutes, the champion and the challenger turned up the pace in the second stanza, although it was Topuria who pressed forward as more of the bull rather than his “Matador” moniker.

Finally letting his hands fly, Topuria found the opening he needed midway through the second, unloading a flurry of punches, eventually connecting on a right hook flush on Volkanovski’s jaw.

Dropping the former champion, Topuria landed a few more follow-up punches as Volkanovski hit the canvas.

With the win, Topuria improves to 15-0 and 7-0 in the UFC. He also ended Volkanovski’s historic featherweight reign, which began in December 2019 at UFC 245. Topuria now joins Volkanovski, Max Holloway, Jose Aldo, and Conor McGregor as the only featherweight champs in UFC history. And while a rematch with Volkanovski is the likely next step for the new champ, he used his precious Octagon interview time to call out McGregor for an openweight match in Spain.

Whittaker Bests Costa

In the UFC 298 co-main event, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker outlasted Paulo Costa to return to the win column.

Using his signature technical approach, Whittaker boxed Costa up, pushing the pace, landing well timed punches and kicks to keep the Brazilian guessing throughout.

Costa never relinquished, matching Whittaker on the feet, connecting with a spinning back kick and punches at the end of the first round that badly stunned and fazed the former champion.

Bloodied and bruised, Whittaker never faltered, continuing his methodical hunt, attacking Costa’s head and body. In the end, the judges saw the fight for Whittaker, who returns to the win column after suffering a shocking defeat last summer to current middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis

Whittaker now finds himself back in the title hunt at 185 pounds, although with the middleweight picture rather cluttered at the top of the division, it’s likely he’ll need one more win before being granted another crack at the belt.

Dvalishvili Wins for Georgia

Georgian bantamweight Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili continued his historic run up the division ranks with a unanimous decision win over former two-weight champion Henry Cejudo.

Claiming a record tenth-straight win in the 135 pound division, the last three of which have come against former champions, Dvalishvili opened up with an unorthodox approach, throwing wheel kicks to move into grappling range.

Once in the clinch, the fight was a mad scramble for 15 minutes with Dvalishvili regularly finding the edge. At one point, “The Machine” carried Cejudo over to his own corner to show off his bounty for Facebook founder, and UFC fan, Mark Zuckerberg.

Cejudo was a game opponent, matching Dvalishvili’s output for the most part, but throughout the three-round affair, “The Machine” proved to be the sharper fighter, getting the better of nearly every exchange.

With the win, Dvalishvili has been tagged as the next bantamweight title challenger, potentially facing the winner of next month’s clash between champion Sean O’Malley and Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC 299.

Fluffy Hernandez Comes From Behind … Again

Opening up the main card, California native Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez extended his win streak to five, coming from behind to beat Roman Kopylov, who took the fight on short notice.

In what has become his signature style, Hernandez absorbed heaps of punishment for the better part of the fight, taking numerous kicks to the body.

Moving into the clinch in the second round, Hernandez brought the fight to the mat where he found top position and began his submission assault.

Needing a few attempts to find the choke, Hernandez ultimately slipped his arm under Kopylov’s neck to force the tapout.

With the win, Hernandez should receive a step up into the middleweight top 10 for his next bout.

UFC 298 Post Fight Bonuses

The following fighters all won an additional $50,000 for their efforts at UFC 298.

• Performances of the Night: Ilia Topuria, Anthony Hernandez, Zhang MingYang
• Fight of the Night: Amanda Lemos vs. Mackenzie Dern

UFC 298 Official Results

• Ilia Topuria def. Alexander Volkanovski via KO (punches) R2, 3:32
• Robert Whittaker def. Paulo Costa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Ian Garry def. Geoff Neal via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
• Merab Dvalishvili def. Henry Cejudo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez def. Roman Kopylov via submission (rear naked choke) R2, 3:23
• Amanda Lemos def. Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Junior Tafa via TKO (leg kick & punches) R2, 1:14
• Rinya Nakamura def. Carlos Vera via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Zhang MingYang def. Brendson Ribeiro via KO (punches) R1, 1:41
• Danny Barlow def. Josh Quinlan via TKO (punches) R3, 1:18
• Oban Elliott def. Val Woodburn via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Miranda Maverick def. Andrea Lee via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)