ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 16: (L-R) Opponents Alexander Volkanovski of Australia and Ilia Topuria of Germany face off during the UFC 298 ceremonial weigh-in at Honda Center on February 16, 2024 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Topuria makes history, dethrones Volkovski in devastating fashion
Spain has its first UFC champion. Ilia Topuria has dethroned Alexander Volkanovski and with style points. The 27-year-old challenger ate up Volkanovski’s left calf in the first round and targeted body shots to slow Volk down. Topuria stalking down Volkanovski looking for his big right hand. Volkanovski having success with kicks and jab taking the first round with his activity. A right to the body, left hook upstairs grazing and then a flush right hook put Volkanovski out cold in the second round. Ushering in theera of the Matador,
A champions medal isn’t judged on how they handle triumph but how they rebound from adversity. Robert Whittaker rebound from his Knockout loss to out dueled Paulo Costa for a decision win. Whittaker pile up calf kicks, jabs and found success at the end of long combinations. It wasn’t a land slide by any means, Whittaker survived a tenuous moment at the end first as Costa landed a wheel kick and had a very strong second round. The win gives the former champion hopes of getting back in title contention.
Ian Garry has drawn emotion from the UFC audience that was evident as boos rained down after Garry’s split decision win over Geoff Neal
It’s hard to deny Merab Dvalishvili of a his title shot. A competive first round saw Henry Cejudo have success wrestling Dvalishvili but the volume of strikes landed went in favor of Dvalishvili who’s attack kicked up a notch over the next ten minutes to a pace that left Cejudo visibly exhausted as the decision was read.
Number 14 ranked middleweight Anthony Hernandez defend his spot against unranked Roman Kopylov. Hernandez landed big shots in the pocket opening his entry for takedowns. Hernandez relentless effort for the takedown wore down Kopylov who had his moments landing body kicks, but couldn’t shake Hernandez off his back leading to a rear naked choke finish in the second.
Amanda Lemos showed off the experience gained from going five rounds with the champion Weili Zhang. The lemos right hand was on target. The durability of Dern of on display as she survived and threaten with submissions. The Lemos defense was up to the task and her offense nearly shut Derns eye to earn the decision.
A knee injury suffered this week by Justin Tafa lead to Junior Tafa taking his brother’s spot against Marcos Rogerio De Lima. De Lima found no issue with the opponent change destroying Junior’s left leg with calf kicks for a second round TKO, the 14th knockout win of his career.
Japanese wrestler Rinya Nakamura defeated short notice opponent, Carlos Vera implementing a strong wrestling game plan due to an injured right hand racking up over 12 minutes of control time.
The finishing ability of Mingyang Zhang has been confirmed. The Chinese fighter took some damage but hung tough in the pocket putting Brendon Ribeiro down with a right cross left hook. An 11th knockout win earns Zhang his 10th win in a row.
The debut of Danny Barlow resulted his 5th win by knockout. The first two round between Barlow and Josh Quinlan had a close first two rounds. The Memphis fighter took the fight into his hand landing a crushing overhand left. Seeing the finish line ahead Barlow unleash a barrage of hooks closing Quinlan’s right eye for the TKO.
A short notice debut against a prospect like Bo Nickel was the cost of entry to the UFC for Val Woodburn. Many expected with a second fight in the octagon at his natural weight would provided much more insight into who he really is. The debuting Oban Elliott ate Woodburns best shots in the first round taking control of the fight with his grappling. Elliott showed solid grappling taking the back multiple times inflicting damage and threatening chokes to win a unanimous decision.
The night stared out with Miranda Maverick winning a unanimous decision that should have her in the women’s flyweight rankings next week. Maverick showed off improvements in her striking and her poise as she outworked the current number 12 ranked Andrea Lee.
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