UFC 298: Ilia Topuria knocks out Alex Volkanovski to win featherweight title
Alex Volkanovski was in surprisingly good spirits following the loss of his UFC title, already challenging Ilia Topuria to a rematch. RE-LIVE ALL THE ACTION.
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Alex Volkanovski demanded an immediate rematch with Ilia Topuria after the Aussie was knocked out in brutal fashion in the second round at UFC 298 in Anaheim.
A perfect right hand to the chin spelled the end of Volkanovski’s incredible featherweight reign, leaving the Aussie on the canvas for well over a minute as Topuria celebrated becoming Spain’s first ever UFC champion.
Volkanovki was in surprisingly good spirits 90 minutes after the fight, and is already campaigning to run it back.
“I’ve been champion for a long time, but I need that rematch,” he said. “It’s something that needs to happen.
“I’ve been a company man, I’ve fought on late notice, I fought Max three times. You name it, I’ve done it, so I think I deserve it.
“I want the rematch, that’s my goal. I don’t ask for much, I just want the rematch.”
UFC president Dana White confirmed there are plans to have Topuria headline the company’s first ever event in Spain, with Volkanovski already focusing on winning his title back there.
“I’m good, I’m in high spirits, I’m more motivated than ever,” he said. “That’s all that matters.
“Before, it was about being active and whatever, but now I just want that rematch.”
The loss is Volkanovski’s second knockout defeat in four months, but the 35-year-old was adamant his KO to Islam Makhachev in October had nothing to do with the loss to Topuria.
“You can’t take anything away from Ilia,” he said. “If he puts a hand on you, you’re gonna go down.
“It was a clean right hand, and it doesn’t matter who you are, you’re gonna go down.
“He caught me, I won’t take anything away from him. My camp was great and I felt good.
“That’s the game. We knew he’d be fast and powerful, we knew not to be on the cage, but he did a great job. Not much I can say but, congrats.”
Topuria gave a mixed response when asked whether Volkanovski should get an immediate rematch.
“He’s such a good person, and, to be honest, at this point, I’m gonna give him a rematch because he’s such a good person,” he said. “But, at the same time, it’s time to move on, clean out the division. New champions, new challenges.
“But, my job is to fight. Whoever they tell me to fight next, I’ll be there.
White remained similarly tight-lipped about whether Volkanovski will get the rematch.
“(Volkanovski) is the greatest in that weight class ever,” the UFC boss said. “We’re definitely going to Spain, but who (Topuria) is facing, we don’t know.
“I have a lot of respect for Volkanovski, so we’ll see how it plays out.”
In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker turned back the clock, reigniting the fire inside him that fuelled his run to the title.
Whittaker’s tense unanimous decision win over Paulo Costa keeps his hopes of fighting for the belt alive.
The Aussie is eyeing up a rematch with new middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, and wants to stay busy for the rest of the year. That includes a possible Australian return, with the UFC in talks to hold an event in Perth later in the year.
“I’d like to fight twice more this year,” Whittaker said. “To be able to fight in mid-year is exciting – the options are open.
“If there’s a card in Australia, I’m jumping on it. It makes sense to wait for that one.”
Earlier in the night, Junior Tafa’s feel-good fairytale story didn’t have a happy ending.
After replacing his injured older brother, Justin – who picked up a knee injury during fight week – Junior suffered his own debilitating leg injury on the way to a second round TKO defeat to Marcos Rogerio de Lima.
Tafa stepped in just one day before the fight, and became the only fighter to complete his entire fight camp – which consisted of 10 push-ups – in a hotel lobby.
De Lima sent a barrage of heavy leg kicks to Tafa’s left shin and knee. The Aussie couldn’t put any weight on it by the second round, collapsed to the floor and was finished.
Devastating KO: Volkanovski’s UFC reign ends in brutal fashion
Ilia Topuria is the new featherweight champion of the world, knocking out Alex Volkanovski in devastating fashion in the second round. It had been an even fight to that point, with Topuria throwing bombs and Volkanovski keeping at range.
It was a pinpoint right hand to the jaw that sent Volkanovski to the canvas. He was out, but copped a few more shots, and remained slumped in the corner for two minutes before being helped onto a stool.
It’s Volkanovski’s second knockout loss in a row, following his first round defeat to Islam Makhachev in October, and there had been questions around whether he was coming back too soon.
While the dejected Aussie collected his thoughts with his team, while Topuria celebrated with his team – including his young son – across the Octagon.
Ilia Topuria called out Conor McGregor during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
“I feel so happy Joe. I feel so happy right now. They’re gonna tell you you can’t do it, but the only person you need in this life is yourself. Trust yourself and anything’s possible. Look at me now.
“I just now my skills. I worked so hard. It was knowing that one day I would become a UFC world champion. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, it matters where you’re going.
“I just had to throw a lot of punches in this fight, a lot of combinations. This is what I did.
“Conor McGregor, if you still have some balls, I’ll be waiting for you in Spain.”
Volkanovski immediately called for a rematch.
“He has the power in his hands, we knew we had to be careful. Well done to him, he caught me. Credit to him, he’s a hard hitter. He wasn’t meant to land like that, but he did.
“I’ve been champion of this featherweight division for a long time, he mentioned Spain, so maybe we do a rematch in Spain.”
RE-LIVE ALL THE UFC 298 ACTION BELOW
ROUND 2: Volkanovski switches stances early on, as Topuria throws big bombs that fall just short. Topuria lands a nice left a minute in, but Volk responds with a nice one-two of his own. Topuria is feinting really well. He’s also landing a few big kicks to the Aussie’s left leg. Volk’s jab is doing damage though, and Topuria is starting to show it on his face. TOPURIA KNOCKS OUT VOLKANOVSKI!!!! IT’S ALL OVER!!!
ROUND 1: Big chants of “Ilia, Ilia” ring around in the opening seconds. Volk stalks the outside, throwing kicks as Topuria loads up on his shots. The challenger does look dangerous though. As expected, it’s Topuria’s power against Volkanovski’s movement and output. They’re talking to each other in there. A close round, but I think Volk took it.
4.40PM: ZUCK WALKS VOLK TO THE OCTAGON
In a wild twist, Mark Zuckerberg has joined Alex Volkanovski’s fight day crew, walking to the Octagon with the Aussie featherweight champion. Zuckerberg, who had been sitting cageside earlier, changed into a UFC-issued fight kit and walked alongside Volk’s coach, Joe Lopez while Land Down Under played.
The Facebook founder won’t remain in the corner during the fight though, just making the walk. That was the big reveal Volkanovski hinted at yesterday.
4.30PM: WHITTAKER SEALS STUNNING COMEBACK
Australian hero Robert Whittaker battled back from a stunning first round head-kick to beat Paulo Costa by unanimous decision in the co-main event.
The Aussie had promised to bring back “the animal” he had been on his rise to the middleweight title, and he was made to dig deep in a wild 15-minute scrap.
Whittaker started brilliantly in the first round, but was sent staggering by a perfect spinning heel kick in the final seconds of the opening frame.
In another trademark gritty performance though, he won with scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27, keeping his hopes of fighting for the 185-pound title again alive after his loss to Dricus du Plessis last year.
“I told you I’d take the fight to him, he’s a tough dude,” Whittaker said afterwards.
“I did. I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform, especially after my last fight, but I’m looking to make amends with Dricus.
“I’m back!”
Costa ran across the cage and was aggressive early on, while Whittaker kept him at bay with a series of leg kicks.
The size difference was noticeable, but as the action slowed, Whittaker was able to land more and more telling combinations.
Costa rattled Whittaker badly with a perfect spinning heel kick in the final 10 seconds of the opening round, putting the Aussie on wobbly legs. He didn’t fall, but was in serious trouble and was likely saved by the bell.
“Nothing but a flesh wound,” he joked afterwards. “It wasn’t fun, it was the best shot of the night.”
Whittaker didn’t seem to show any ill effects of the heavy shot to open the second, but it gave Costa a big boost in confidence.
The Reaper kept targeting Costa’s left leg, which had big red marks on it, but the Aussie ended the second round bleeding from his nose and cuts around his eye.
The wide-eyed alertness in Whittaker’s eyes in the early minutes of the fight had been replaced by a grim determination entering the decisive third frame.
Whatever is in Costa’s ‘Secret Juice’ – the mysterious health drink he’s selling – clearly worked. He barely slowed down in the third round, swinging huge shots and headhunting the former champion.
Costa even did some showboating as the heavily pro-Whittaker crowd chanted “Robbie, Robbie, Robbie”.
The middleweight legends were nothing but respectful after the final buzzer, bowing to each other in the middle of the cage as they waited for the scores.
4.07PM: REAPER WALKS TO THE OCTAGON
It’s finally time for Rob Whittaker and Paulo Costa. The winner could find themselves in a title fight in the next 12 months. For the loser though, it’s a very long way back to the top.
We’ll have three rounds and 15 minutes to find out.
3.25PM: ’MONSTER’ SEND CEJUDO TO THE METAVERSE
Merab Dvalishvili wanted to do his best work right in front of the most famous – and wealthy – spectator in the arena during his comeback win over Henry Cejudo.
The rising bantamweight star stopped to say something to Mark Zuckerberg before the fight started, and, after losing the first round, kept an eye on the tech billionaire throughout.
In the second, he clamped Cejudo in a headlock near Zuckerberg’s seat, and shared a joke with the Facebook founder.
In the third round, he hoisted a helpless Cejudo over his shoulder, marched across the cage, dumped him on the canvas in front of Zuckerberg and wailed away with ground and pound.
The Monster spoke about his relationship with Zuckerberg after claiming a unanimous decision win.
“In the last couple of months, Mark Zuckerberg was my supporter and he came in support,” he said, before calling out bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, who was in the crowd.
O’Malley defends the title against Marlon Vera at UFC 299, but Dvalishvili will be next in line.
Meanwhile, Cejudo took his gloves off and looked like he was about to retire, but wasn’t given the microphone or the airtime to do it.
Earlier in the night, Zuckerberg greeted Alex Volkanovski in his dressing room.
Volk holidayed with Zuckerberg at his Lake Tahoe home after beating Yair Rodriguez last July, and the pair have remained close.
2.50PM: OLD MAN VOLKS HIT ARENA
As the pay per view portion of the card starts, the Old Man Volk costumes are catching on.
The character Volkanovski used to unsettle Topuria and hit back at his doubters went viral across social media this week and has spawned lookalikes.
Including these four blokes sitting in the second row.
We’re told one of them is a hugely popular YouTuber from Australia named Shammi.
Meanwhile, local favourite Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez has just kicked off the PPV and sent the crowd wild with a second round submission win over Roman Kopylov.
It caps off a rough week for Kopylov, who attended the press conference, but wasn’t asked a single question.
2.20PM: DERN CELEBRATES LOSS IN BIZARRE SCENES
Fan favourite McKenzie Dern was left a bloody mess after a three-round war with Amanda Lemos, before momentarily celebrating despite losing a unanimous decision.
In the featured prelim, Dern – a jiu jitsu specialist – won the opening round, but came desperately close to being finished in the second.
With Mark Zuckerberg watching on from cageside, a huge overhand right from Lemos sent Dern reeling across the Octagon, before a left hook dropped her on her back.
Lemos hammered in some nasty ground and pound, with referee Mike Beltran nearly stopping the fight, before Dern escaped.
Mackenzie Dern thought she got the decision #UFC298pic.twitter.com/7OVK4totM3
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 18, 2024
Dern fired up the crowd at the close of the round, but she had a massive welt on her left cheek and blood all around her right eye.
Lemos won the fight with three scorecards of 29-28, but for half a second, Dern thought she had won and started celebrating.
Dern collapsed to the canvas after realising she’d lost, and was distraught as she exited the cage.
1.32PM: AUSSIE HERO PAYS PRICE FOR BRAVE CALL
Junior Tafa’s bold decision to replace his injured older brother, Justin, against Marcos Rogerio de Lima has ended in defeat after a leg injury left him virtually incapacitated in a second round TKO loss.
Tafa became an instant crowd favourite after stepping in on just 34 hours’ notice after Justin injured his knee during fight week.
Junior earned huge cheers at the weigh-ins after his “training camp” consisted of just 10 push-ups in the hotel lobby the day before the fights.
In a cruel twist of fate though, Junior also picked up a debilitating leg injury to match his brother’s in the opening minutes of the bout.
It was a series of devastating lower leg kicks that forced Tafa to limp out of danger after just 90 seconds.
Brazilian veteran de Lima landed a smooth double-leg take-down with two minutes remaining in the opening round, and Tafa was eventually forced to hop to the corner, unable to put any weight on his left leg.
Barely able to move in the second, Tafa swung for the fences, but the wily de Lima was able to stay out of trouble.
Another brutal leg kick a minute into the second saw Tafa drop to the mat, simply unable to stand up.
De Lima landed a few punches on the ground before referee Frank Trigg stopped the action 1:14 into the round.
12.57PM: EX-NRL STAR SPOTTED CAGESIDE
Former Dragons legend Matt Cooper is in the house, sitting in an exclusive section a few seats along from WWE superstar CM Punk.
Cooper, who made his boxing debut last year, arrived at the Honda Arena for the early prelims before supporting fellow Illawarra icon Alex Volkanovski in the main event.
After arriving, he had a quick catch up with Nitro Circus star Ryan Williams before settling in to watch the action.
A longtime fight fan, there had been talk for years that Cooper would make the switch to MMA once his footy career ended.
He fought Justin Hodges in October, dropping a points decision to his one-time State of Origin rival.
11.15AM: VOLKANOVSKI RIVAL’S SURPRISE FIGHT WEEK GIFT
They might have been bitter rivals for a few months, but there’s no bad blood between Alex Volkanovski and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Makhachev, who won a pair of 155-pound bouts against Volk last year, even sent the featherweight champ a present for his kids this week.
The gift comes days after Volkanovski told a hilarious story about his daughter being scared of home intruders.
“I told her, ‘I’m right, here, I’m the world champion, I’m sure I’ll sort it out’,” Volkanovski said in the clip, before adding the zinger.
“And she goes, ‘But what if it’s Islam Makhachev??’”
The clip made its way to Makhachev, who sent Volkanovski a package.
“Islam must have felt a little bit bad, and sent some presents for the girls,” Volkanovski said ahead of his fight with Ilia Topuria later today. “There was a message and he just said, ‘Tell them I’d never come to the fight uninvited.
“He’s a good human being, Islam, and it’s much appreciated.”
10.15AM: WE’RE LIVE FROM ANAHEIM
We’re live on the ground from the Honda Center in Anaheim, and the fights are just about to get underway.
Alex Volkanovski is rolling alongside some heavy hitters, with NBA superstar Jamal Murray joining his entourage yesterday.
Volk has also promised a massive surprise later in the day, but wouldn’t reveal any more details when pressed by this masthead.
Fans are speculating whether it’s a UFC 300 main event reveal, or if another famous face is joining his crew.
Almost fight time. Massive day for Volk and Whittaker, while Junior Tafa is everyone’s new favourite fighter.
— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) February 17, 2024
Live blogging from Anaheim here: https://t.co/dvrvBa51Sa#UFC298#UFCpic.twitter.com/ypQRJJcJAA
8AM: UFC’S MOST-CONFIDENT MAN POSES HUGE THREAT TO VOLK
Ilia Topuria might be the most confident title challenger Alexander Volkanovski has ever faced.
In his first pay-per-view main event, and first world title fight, the 27-year-old breezed through hours of media interviews and press conferences with ease this week.
When I asked him: “If you win this weekend …” the Spaniard cut me off and corrected the question. “When I win this weekend.”
The 27-year-old is so confident that he’s already planning his first title defence, which he wants to be held at his beloved Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium against Conor McGregor.
And with a string of highlight reel knockouts to his name, he should be confident.
It wasn’t until he walked onstage for the fight week press conference that cracks appeared.
As the delirious crowd drowned him out with endless boos, he immediately grew angry. The cool exterior of the dapper fighter wearing nice suits and posing for social media photos with red wine and roses vanished.
Flustered, he swore at the crowd, pulled the finger and yelled at Volkanovski.
It could mean one of two things come fight night.
Topuria could channel that aggression into one of his notorious knockouts. Or he could let the occasion get to him, and melt under the pressure like he did at the press conference.
The first option makes him one of the most dangerous opponents Volkanovski has ever faced. Where past opponents like Max Holloway is a cardio machine with elite level striking, Brian Ortega is one of the best jiu jitsu practitioners in the UFC, and Yair Rodriguez can knock you out with shots you don’t see coming, none of them possess the kind of power Topuria does.
And that, according to one former UFC champion, could be the difference.
“Volkanovski wasn’t knocking people out until recently,” Henry Cejudo told this masthead. “If he goes in there and trades with the Matador, Topuria has more power.
“This dude puts people out, and that’s the difference. This dude’s got a little more fury in his punches.”
Cejudo wants to see Volkanovski use his footwork better than he did against Islam Makhachev in their rematch in October too.
“Lateral movement is the key,” Cejudo said. “Bring those fakes, inside kicks, outside kicks, and slowly bring in the hands once you break that foundation, then it’s his fight.
“But if he’s too linear, like he was against Islam, where he was just waiting, I think it’s Topuria’s fight.
“It’s in Volkanovski’s hands. He has the ability to make the adjustments, we’ve seen him change.”
Another key adjustment heading out of Volkanovski’s knockout loss to Makhachev and into this weekend’s featherweight defence is the reintroduction of Eugene Bareman.
The head coach at Auckland’s City Kickboxing, Bareman felt taking the short-notice Makhachev rematch was a bad idea, and with prior engagements, he was unable to travel to Abu Dhabi to corner Volkanovski.
This time around though, he’ll be back in Volk’s corner.
“He’ll be here, he comes in the next couple of days,” Volkanovski told this masthead on Wednesday. “He’s busy and they were doing other stuff fight week, but he’ll be here in the corner for fight day.”
Volkanovski spent several training camps at City Kickboxing during his run to the title, but does all his training at his Windang gym these days.
Bareman, who guided Israel Adesanya to the middleweight title, is a vital voice in the corner, working alongside Volkanovski’s longtime coach Joe Lopez.
“Everyone does their part, we’re a team and we stick together,” Volkanovski said. “We have our group chats where we’re game-planning, sending sparring footage and going over things we can change.
“Everyone puts their two cents in.”
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