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UFC 298 is in the books; a showcase for some dreams, and the final curtain for others.
Ilia Topuria stole the show with the exact performance he predicted, but when it finally happened even he didn’t seem to believe it. Topuria first got on my radar when he neutralized the elite grappler Ryan Hall at UFC 264 and in his subsequent fights has recorded four straight performance bonuses. The man has a quiet relentlessness to his fighting style, while being fiery outside the cage. His boastfulness in the lead-up to UFC 298 could have blown up in his face, but instead forms the foundation to a burgeoning European stardom.
It should also be remembered that Topuria had a vicious back and forth rivalry with Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett which I even joked about in a 2022 cartoon.
I hate to throw dirt on Volkanovski’s grave prematurely but I’d like to see the affable Australian take some time off after UFC 298. He’s absorbed too many knockout losses in too short a period of time for my fandom. It’s a cruel part of the fight game I’ve come to terms with: by the time you gain fan notoriety and people start tossing around the term GOAT, it means you’re on the other side of the mountain.
I’d love to see Volkanovski take time to recover and then get the most out of this new contract. Headline a fight night vs Bryce Mitchell, Josh Emmett, some fighters who are just a bit below the elite level.
Don’t Fear the Reaper
Robert Whittaker survived a late first round scare at UFC 298 after eating a beautiful spinning heel kick from Paulo Costa that caught Whittaker flush in the face. I was struck by Whittaker’s poise and focus as he entered the second round. There was no sense that he needed to get one back and land his own hard shot. Whittaker just stuck to with a disciplined approach and fought his was back into the contest. With that said, his footwork was a touch slower and the performance reminded me of two other fighters when they were on their way out of elite status: Anthony Pettis and Tony Ferguson.
The first was in 2017 as Pettis toughed out a unanimous decision against the iron man of MMA, Jim MIller. The second were Tony Ferguson’s last two wins which came against the aforementioned Pettis and Donald Cerrone. In all of these cases the guy who was supposed to win did, but they took a noticeable amount of damage and didn’t look like an elite fighter outclassing their opponent. Each win cost a pound of flesh and now in hindsight we see that Pettis went 5-8 and Ferguson a dismal 0-7 afterwards.
I hate to say these things about Robert Whittaker beacause I’ve enjoyed every minute of his UFC career and I hope the UFC books him and Sean Strickland next. Bobby Knuckles likely has a few more good fights in his future, but I think his time as a champion has slipped away.
UFC 298: Mackenzie Dern got burned, but at least she earned
The Mackenzie Dern experiment is over. Eighteen fights into her career and 2-4 in her last six fights, she has not been able to put together either a wrestling or striking game to complement or maximize her significant BJJ skills. The UFC has always been eager to capitalize on a pretty face and the adoration of Mark Zuckerberg has been a value add to Dern’s viability. But with that higher profile comes tougher fights and Dern has not only stumbled every time she’s seen a significant step up in competition, the beatings have been getting worse.
Yan Xiaonan and Marina Rodriguez landed over 250 strikes combined in their decision wins while Jessica Andrade sent Dern tumbling across the canvas four times before the TKO was recorded. Frankly speaking, Amanda Lemos could have gotten a stoppage at UFC 298 with better fight IQ after bludgeoning Dern’s face.
Given the personal hardships Dern has faced in recent years and her reported pay, I think we’re going to see her in the octagon more often than not. It will be worth paying attention to her future bookings, both in terms of card placement and opponent.
Henry Cejudo snubbed at UFC 298
What a rough night for ol’ Triple C. Cejudo looked great in the opening round against Merab Dvalishvili. It was apparent that he can still tap into his competitive fire. Cejudo was fit, laser focused, but unable to withstand the relentless attack that is The Machine in the second and third rounds.
The lack of a post-fight interview at UFC 298 was quite a snub and I’m glad a reporter asked Dana White about it in the post-fight presser. White’s explanation was blunt and implied there was no love lost between the promotion and one of it’s most successful and decorated champions. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s from a weight class White once tried to murder, maybe it’s his silly promotional antics, or the fact that he dared to ask for more money, but I get the feeling that the UFC really doesn’t like him.
We are in a new era. Dricus Du Plessis, Alexandre Pantoja, and Ilia Topuria have taken over divisions formerly the province of other men. Brace yourselves, we are in for a wild new generation and should appreciate them before they’re on the wrong side of the mountain.
I’d encourage you to join the Bloody Elbow substack where you can find more in-depth fight and financial analysis as well as a new column by your truly called I Did Some Digging, in which a middle aged man armed only with a search engine and Twitter DM’s tries to get to the bottom of some MMA Old Wives Tales.
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