UFC #298 : VOLKANOVSKI VS TOPURIA

Alexander Volkanovski returns to the 145-pound division to defend his title for the sixth time.

At UFC 298, Volkanovski puts his belt on the line against Ilia Topuria in Anaheim, California. The undefeated challenger won all six of his UFC fights thus far and has earned three straight performance bonuses ahead of his first shot at UFC gold.

Unlike Topuria, who couldn’t have more momentum leading into UFC 298’s main event, Volkanovski suffered two defeats in his last three fights, both against Makhachev in his quest to become the fifth two-division champion in UFC history.

While Volkanovski’s first fight against the P4P king earned Fight of the Year honors, the second, which he accepted on short notice, was far more devastating. Only three minutes into the first round, Makhachev landed a perfect head kick to close the show early.

But between those two fights, Volkanovski proved that he’s the featherweight champion for good reason. At UFC 290 in July, Volkanovski defended his title against Yair Rodriguez, and did it flawlessly. Not only that, but “The Great” is undefeated at 145 pounds, winning all 16 of his professional fights at featherweight.

Volkanovski first captured gold in 2019, when he defeated Max Holloway at UFC 245. Despite winning via unanimous decision, the fight was extremely close in the fans’ eyes. So Volkanovski doubled down and defeated Holloway in an immediate rematch seven months later.

He then defeated Brian Ortega, “The Korean Zombie,” Holloway a third time, and Rodriguez to successfully defend his title five times, which is two short of Jose Aldo’s featherweight record of seven title defenses. Volkanovski is currently riding an 11-fight win streak at featherweight in the UFC, which is the longest active win streak in the division and the second longest all-time behind Max Holloway (13).

Tags: UFC, MMA, UFC 298, VOLKANOVSKI VS TOPURIA

Category:  Ufc