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UFC 298 just wrapped up a great night of fights in sunny southern California. The Honda Center saw all manner of action from the athletes, but there were a couple stinkers that didn’t quite pass muster (looking at you Ian Machado Garry). We’ll get to Ian’s fight in a second but first, let’s bask in the glory that was Ilia Topuria putting Old Man Volkanovski right to bed. Tucked him in and sang him a lullaby, he did. But we’re actually kind of sad to see “The Great” get handled like that. He was a good champion, always ready to take on the toughest and gave 100% in all his fights, win or lose. His legacy is more than secure.
All the action from their contest was packed in less than two full rounds—eight minutes and 32 seconds, to be exact. Topuria, it would appear, understands the value of backing up any smack talked during the buildup to his fights. Ian Machado Garry would do well to commit that performance to memory before he starts in with the “I’m too big for Ireland” talk.
Ilia’s multi-faceted skillset is exactly what the doctor ordered to supplant the long-reigning Volkanovski. It would be his crispy, crunchy boxing that would set the tone and his shot selection was a certified chef’s kiss. The way he’d dig hard shots to the ribs in the clinch when Volk was trying to work knees or headhunt was brilliant. It was a masterful performance that deserves every bit of the praise it has gotten and will get this week.
Other UFC 298 moments
The co-main event was a mess in the best way possible, and that is mainly due to Paulo Costa once again starting strong and completely abandoning any semblance of a game plan by the time round two was midway in. He won the first minute of the fight, took the next 3.5 minutes off, then landed a head kick that put Whittaker on roller skates. Fortunately, he was saved from any further punishment by the horn.
The beginning of the second round saw Paulo come out hot, but once again, he devolved into slugging and not bothering to check the brutal low kicks Rob was landing, nor did he attempt to change stances. Whittaker turned that very mortal moment around and pretty much destroyed Costa with volume for the rest of the contest. It was really funny when Costa pointed to the center of the octagon, non-verbally telling Rob to bring it in the last minutes of round three and to leave it all in the cage, except Costa wasn’t willing to do that himself. High comedy!
Ian Machado Garry disappointed in a way that can only be described as “bored me to tears.” For all that mess he was talking this week, he certainly didn’t deliver on his promises. And for someone that thinks he’s too big to headline an entire Irish card, he certainly didn’t make any new fans tonight and it’s very likely he lost some of the ones he had going in. You’ve got two choices, Ian, either stop talking, or actually go for it in the cage.
Have we finally seen the last of Henry Cejudo? He claimed that if he lost this bout, he would retire for good and he did lose this bout, and he lost it definitively. It pains me to ever agree with Dana White on anything, but Henry did waste three of his remaining prime years in “retirement.” While in his self-imposed exile from the sport, he started a family and it wouldn’t be too long after that before he started clucking about coming back. Now he’s lost two back-to-back. Time waits for no man, not even you, Henry Cejudo.
There were some real jewels on UFC 298 aside from these fights, as well. Lemos-Dern was a certified banger with lots of action. Kopylov-Hernandez was fantastic for as long as it lasted. Even the heavyweight fight delivered some action albeit completely one way traffic for MRDL. Let’s take a look at the official results:
UFC 298 Results
- Ilia Topuria def. Alexander Volkanovski by KO at 3:32 of round 2: Featherweight Title
- Robert Whittaker def. Paulo Costa by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2): Middleweight
- Ian Machado Garry vs. Geoff Neal by split decision (30-27 x2, 28-29): Welterweight
- Merab Dvalishvili def. Henry Cejudo by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Bantamweight
- Anthony Hernandez def. Roman Kopylov by submission (RNC) at 3:23 of round 2: Middleweight
- Amanda Lemos def. Mackenzie Dern by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Strawweight
- Marcos Rogério de Lima def. Justin Tafa by TKO (Leg kicks) at 1:14 of round 2: Heavyweight
- Rinya Nakamura def. Carlos Vera by unanimous decision (30-27 x3): Bantamweight
- Mingyang Zhang def. Brendson Ribeiro by KO at 1:41 of round 1: Light Heavyweight
- Danny Barlow def. Josh Quinlan by TKO at 1:18 of round 3: Welterweight
- Oban Elliott def. Val Woodburn by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28): Welterweight
- Miranda Maverick def. Andrea Lee by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28): (W) Flyweight
UFC 298 Bonuses
- Fight of the Night: Amanda Lemos vs. Mackenzie Dern
- Performance of the Night: Zhang Mingyang, Ilia Topuria and Anthony Hernandez
Don’t forget to check out the bonus section where the boys give their patented, five-star review of all the fights. You can’t get this anywhere…or can you? We like to think you can’t, so we’ll stick with that. Just be sure to listen!
Check out the FREE preview
Listen to the FULL episode on our podcast Substack
What comes after UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria?
The next event after UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria will be UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 on February 24th. That card is taking place at the Arena CDMX Mexico City, Mexico and the main event will enjoy a rematch between Top-5 flyweights Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval. The co-main event has an even better rematch than that when elite featherweights Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega run it back.
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