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UFC 298 went down last night from Anaheim, California, and in a major upset, a new champion was crowned at 145 pounds.
The result of the headliner wasn’t the only memorable moment of UFC 298, though, as plenty more happened at this blockbuster event.
With that in mind, here are the five best moments from UFC 298: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria.
#5. Zhang Mingyang scores a brutal KO in his full UFC debut
Outside of the obvious – the headliner – UFC 298 was actually short on violent finishes, with seven of the event’s 12 bouts going the distance.
However, one fighter who made sure he took out his foe was debutant Zhang Mingyang, who sparked out opponent Brendson Ribeiro on the prelim card. The brutal finish ensured ‘The Mountain Tiger’ earned a $50k bonus, too.
It didn’t take long for the Chinese native to dispatch his foe. Ribeiro made the mistake of being willing to trade off with him in the pocket, and paid the price just after the 90-second mark.
Zhang leveled him with a beautiful combination, and with the Brazilian downed, he punctuated the finish with three savage hammer fists. They were pointless, of course, but showed that ‘The Mountain Tiger’ has a nasty killer instinct.
Sure, he won’t get the shot at current light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira that he asked for after the fight, but this was a tremendous way for him to debut. On a so-so prelim card, this stood out as the best moment.
#4. Ian Machado Garry’s rise to the top of the UFC continues
Welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry remains one of the most polarizing fighters on the UFC’s roster right now.
To some fans, he’s a lovable, if a little naive character simply looking to make his mark in the promotion. To others, though, he appears to be seen as an irritant, and his relationship with his wife Layla has received a lot of criticism, even though that may not be fair.
What isn’t in question is the Irishman’s fighting abilities, though, and they were on show last night in his win over Geoff Neal.
The fight was a relatively close one throughout, with Neal landing plenty of solid shots of his own, but in the end, it was Garry’s ability to keep ‘Handz of Steel’ at bay with his low kicks and longer strikes that did the trick.
Quite how the fight went to a split decision, with one judge scoring it 29-28 in favor of Neal was anyone’s guess, but thankfully, the right man had his hand raised in the end.
While this wasn’t Garry’s best showing, the Irishman’s rise to the top will now continue, and his personality will mean the UFC will likely look to him as a headliner in his next fight. Sure, he didn’t get the finish he wanted here, but this was still one of the night’s more memorable moments.
#3. Merab Dvalishvili slams Henry Cejudo to cement his title credentials
Coming into their bantamweight clash last night, the pressure was on for both Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo.
Dvalishvili was looking for his 10th victory in a row, one that would most likely move ‘The Machine’ to the front of the queue for a title shot. Cejudo, on the other hand, had vowed to hang up his gloves altogether if he couldn’t win.
Unfortunately for ‘Triple C’, after a solid opening round that saw him stun Dvalishvili, the Georgian took over and earned a well-deserved decision victory.
Remarkably, the punctuating moment came in the third round when ‘The Machine’ managed to hoist Cejudo – an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling – into the air before slamming him down with authority.
By that point, despite Cejudo’s best efforts, the fight clearly belonged to Dvalishvili. On this form, it’s hard to imagine either Sean O’Malley or Marlon Vera stopping him in his inevitable title challenge, meaning that the UFC should have a new 135-pound champ soon.
And while he didn’t finish ‘Triple C’, the slam he landed on him will be added to his highlight reel for years to come, and stands as one of last night’s best moments.
#2. Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa turn back the clock in a middleweight war
With respect to Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Lemos, who were awarded the Fight of the Night bonus, the best bout on offer at UFC 298 was probably the middleweight tilt between Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa.
There were questions around both men coming in. Whittaker had been knocked out for the first time in a while by Dricus du Plessis in his last fight, making fans question whether time had caught up with him.
Costa, meanwhile, hadn’t fought since a sloppy win over Luke Rockhold in 2022.
Remarkably, though, both men looked better than they’d done in a long time last night. They exchanged for three rounds at a quick pace, each man landing some heavy blows, and the first round saw ‘The Eraser’ stun Whittaker with a spinning wheel kick.
‘The Reaper’ came back well, though, and showed no ill effects in the later rounds, eventually landing enough strikes to pull away from his Brazilian foe on the scorecards.
Costa did not let himself down at all, though – this was probably his best showing since prior to his 2020 title shot against Israel Adesanya.
Essentially, this was a fight that showed the best of both men, and more to the point, it proved that they’re both still very relevant contenders in the UFC’s middleweight division right now.
#1. Ilia Topuria dethrones Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title
Naturally, the moment that everyone will be talking about coming out of UFC 298 took place in the event’s headliner. It saw major underdog Ilia Topuria pull off one of the biggest upsets in a long time, stunning longtime featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski to take away his title in the second round.
Coming into the bout, few observers were giving ‘El Matador’ much more than a puncher’s chance, largely because Volkanovski had previously been so dominant over the likes of Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega.
However, ‘Alexander the Great’ had been knocked out by Islam Makhachev in his last fight, showing that he was, in fact, human.
Nobody could’ve seen the way that Topuria would prove that too, though. After a close opening round, it looked like Volkanovski was beginning to find his groove, and he began the second stanza by chipping away at the Spaniard with combinations.
Suddenly, though, Topuria flipped the script. He waded forward with a ruthless flurry, and while most of his shots missed, a right hook landed cleanly and knocked the champion unconscious in an instant.
Moments later, Jason Herzog stopped the bout, and Topuria had not only become the new titleholder, but the first fighter to ever defeat ‘Alexander the Great’ at 145 pounds.
Where things go from here remains to be seen – a rematch would seem fair if Volkanovski wants it – but this was a true highlight reel moment for ‘El Matador’, and it’s destined to be replayed many times over the upcoming years.
