The UFC featherweight championship is headed to Spain with a Georgian flair.
In the highly-anticipated UFC 298 main event, Ilia Topuria made the most of his moment on the big stage when he knocked Alexander Volkanovski unconscious at 3:32 of Round 2 to claim title gold. The bout headlined the pay-per-view event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
A massive right hand early from Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in Round 2 sealed the deal after a closely contested opening five minutes. As Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) circled against the cage he walked directly into a left hand that shut the lights out.
Follow-up shots rained down, but weren’t necessary for the task at hand. Volkanovski laid unconscious on the canvas for a significant period of time before he rose to his feet to congratulate his opponent.
ILIA TOPURIA JUST SHOCKED THE WORLD 😱 #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/PsjcpBigtP
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 18, 2024
Topuria, 27, becomes the first Spanish and Georgian fighter. He’s believed by many to be a potential budding superstar for a market the UFC has not yet visited. UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell even flew to Spain ahead of the bout during negotiations with Topuria.
Other notable wins for Topuria include Josh Emmett and Bryce Mitchell.
Volkanovski loses at featherweight for the first time in his UFC tenure. He’s suffered knockouts in back-to-back fights, having been finished by Islam Makhachev in a lightweight title challenge in October.
After the fight Saturday, Volkanovski suggested a rematch vs. Topuria in Spain.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 298 results include:
- Ilia Topuria def. Alexander Volkanovski via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 3:32
- 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
- Amanda Lemos def. Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Junior Tafa via TKO (leg kicks, 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
- 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)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
