On February 17th, Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski walked into UFC 298 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California as the UFC Featherweight Champion. Many considered him the third-best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet behind Jon Jones and Islam Makhachev. Volkanovski headed into his sixth title defense against Ilia Topuria off the back of consecutive defeats to the aforementioned Makhachev. However, those losses came at lightweight rather than 145 pounds, and he was still considered a heavy favorite for victory.
In fact, DraftKings Sportsbook which provides UFC betting and offers that include no-sweat first bet offers, made him a -140 betting favorite against his Spanish-Georgian challenger. The 27-year-old was certainly a live underdog and headed into the contest undefeated, most recently knocking off the hard-hitting Josh Emmett via unanimous decision in his contest back in June 2023. As such, Topuria was expected to put up a resilient performance, but no one could have anticipated what was about to come.
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Ilia Topuria Wins Via Knockout
In the first round of the contest, it was clear that the longtime champion would have his work cut out. The challenger peppered away with leg kicks and Volkanovski looked like he was on the back foot. However, as all good champions do, he came back fighting. Volkanovski responded with leg kicks of his own as well as a stinging orthodox jab that backed his opponent up. But Topuria’s overhand right looked like it could connect at a moment’s notice, whistling past the champ’s head by a matter of millimeters on numerous occasions.
The Great was awarded the first round on all three judge’s scorecards, something that may have been controversial had the fight gone the distance. But it didn’t. In fact, it didn’t even make it through the second round. Three minutes into the second stanza, the challenger connected with that fearsome right, dropping Volkanovski to his knees. Topuria followed it up with vicious ground and pound while the champion was laid with his back against the fence before the referee called a stop to the contest.
The 18,000 fans in attendance were shook at what had just taken place. A new featherweight king was crowned for the first time in four and a half years. An immediate rematch is to be expected considering the length of time Volk was champion and considering the fact that he did UFC head honcho Dana White a favor when he battled it out in a rematch with Makhachev on short notice. That rematch may well be in Spain, something that the newly crowned champion immediately called for in his post-fight interview.
It wasn’t all bad for Australians however. Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker returned to winning ways with a unanimous decision victory against Brazil’s Paulo Costa. The Reaper had lost two of his last four bouts, but immediately catapulted himself back into title contention with an impressive performance.
What’s Next for the Featherweight Division?
The obvious answer would be an immediate rematch between the newly minted champ and Australia’s finest. Volkanovski ran roughshod over the featherweight division, becoming one of the longest-reigning champions in the company. He has beaten the best of the 145-pounders, including three victories over the fearsome Max Holloway. However, as the Blessed One came up unsuccessful in his three fights against Volk, the UFC may opt to give him a title shot against Topuria. He has has certainly earned the opportunity.
The Hawaii-born star does have a fight currently booked. He is set to face off against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 for the BMF belt in a highly anticipated contest that should produce fireworks. If he comes out of that contest unscathed, he may find himself next in line. As of right now, it is certainly a big “if.”
That leaves Volkanovski as the sole contender for the strap. A rematch between him and Topuria, in Spain no less, would certainly sell out a stadium, and big business is exactly what the UFC is after.
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