UFC 298 is set for this Saturday, February 17, and will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The early preliminary card starts at 6:30 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass. The preliminary card is next up at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+. The big show gets started at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
The prelims feature a good matchup between two of the best in the women’s strawweight division as #3 Amanda Lemos takes on #7 Mackenzie Dern. On the main card, top-five bantamweights #2 Merab Dvalishvili and #3 Henry Cejudo clash. Also, Irish sensation and #10 ranked welterweight Ian Garry looks to keep his undefeated streak alive against #8 Geoff Neal.
In the co-main, top-10 middleweights #3 Robert Whittaker and #6 Paulo Costa face off. Whittaker is a former middleweight champion, looking to get back into the contender conversation. The 33-year-old has lost to the cream of the crop within the division in Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya (twice) of late. Costa is a dangerous striker who has won five of his last six by knockout. In his latest bout, he defeated Luke Rockhold by unanimous decision.
Defending UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanvoski will take on unbeaten challenger Ilia Topuria in the main event.
Volkanovksi needs no introduction, holding the featherweight title since 2019 with five successful defenses. Although he couldn’t beat Islam Makhachev, Volkanovski is the man to beat at 145 pounds. Topuria comes in unbeaten, recently out-dueling vet Josh Emmett and walking away with a unanimous decision win. He’s shown stoppage ability, as four of his last five victories have been by knockout (3) and submission (1).
Volkanovski enters with -125 odds to win, while Topuria has +105 odds to win. The favored method of victory is Volkanovski to win by decision (+240), per DraftKings Sportsbook.
UFC 298: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria main card, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN+PPV
- Main event: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria, for Volkanovski’s featherweight title
- #3 Robert Whittaker vs. #6 Paulo Costa, middleweight
- #8 Ian Garry vs. #10 Geoff Neal, welterweight
- #3 Henry Cejudo vs. #2 Merab Dvalishvili, bantamweight
- #15 Anthony Hernandez vs. Roman Kopylov, middleweight
Preliminary card, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN+
- #3 Mackenzie Dern vs. #7 Amanda Lemos, women’s strawweight
- #15 Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Justin Tafa, heavyweight
- Rinya Nakamura vs. Carlos Vera, bantamweight
- Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro, light heavyweight
- Josh Quinlan vs. Danny Barlow, welterweight
Early preliminary card, 6:30 p.m. ET, UFC Fight Pass
- Oban Elliott vs. Val Woodburn, welterweight
- Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick, women’s flyweight