Spain has a UFC world champion, and he captured the gold as emphatically as we’ve seen any champion crowned over recent years.
Ilia Topuria, who proudly represents Spain and Georgia in the Octagon, had promised to knock out all-time great featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 298 in Anaheim. And, at the end of a wild night at Honda Center, he did just that. And how.
After a tricky start that saw Volkanovski open up with a surprisingly kick-heavy attack, Topuria stayed compact and adjusted, before letting his hands fly.
“El Matador” fought more like the bull, as he pushed forward looking to land big punches, but Volkanovski initially did well to keep out of the way of Topuria’s heaviest shots. Indeed, the Australian’s kick-and-move strategy saw him win the opening round on all three judges’ scorecards.
But, after the restart, Topuria took control. The Spaniard pushed forward much more aggressively at the start of Round 2, and stepped into boxing range. That enabled him to land with power on the defending champion.
As well as his heavy punches, Topuria started to have some real success with his calf kicks, and a number of chopping efforts to Volkanovski’s lead leg put champion in clear pain.
With large sections of the crowd chanting his name, Topuria poured forward and let fly with more big punches – and one combination proved decisive as he hit the jackpot mid-way through the round.
A multi-punch combination saw Topuria connect with a body shot, before a perfectly-timed right hook connected flush on Volkanovski’s chin. The punch knocked out the Aussie instantly, and gave Topuria a life-changing win.
Topuria’s emphatic finish extended his perfect professional record to 15-0, and elevated him to superstar status. The newly-crowned Spanish champion already counts Spanish tennis star Rafa Nadal, former Real Madrid and Spain captain Sergio Ramos among his biggest fans.
And with UFC CEO Dana White revealing in the post-fight press conference that plans are already afoot to take the UFC to Spain, a huge pay-per-view card on Spanish soil in 2024 or 2025 looks like a distinct possibility.
UFC 298: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Ilia Topuria def. Alexander Volkanovski via knockout (punch) — Round 2, 3:32 – for featherweight title
- Robert Whittaker def. Paulo Costa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Ian Machado Garry def. Geoff Neal via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
- Merab Dvalishvili def. Henry Cejudo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Anthony Hernandez def. Roman Kopylov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:23
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Amanda Lemos def. Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Marcos Rogerio def. Lima def. Junior Tafa via TKO (leg kick and punches) – Round 2, 1:14
- Rinya Nakamura def. Carlos Vera via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Zhang Mingyang def. Brendson Ribeiro via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:41
EARLY PRELIMS
- Danny Barlow def. Josh Quinlan via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:18
- Oban Elliott def. Val Woodburn via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Miranda Maverick def. Andrea Lee via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
