SUMMARY
- The main event of UFC 298 is set to feature a thrilling matchup between current UFC Featherweight Champion, Alexander Volkanovski, and El Matador Illia Topuria.
- Illia Topuria expressed his desire for a future bout against UFC icon Conor McGregor.
The UFC 298 stage is set for one of the most thrilling matchups in combat sports. Two equally skilled and talented featherweights will be headlining the main event and the outcome can’t be more unpredictable. The current UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski will put his title on the line against the undefeated El Matador Illia Topuria.
Both the UFC fighters are closely favored in the upcoming bout at UFC 298 on February 17 2024 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, United States. Volkanovski has had five successful title defenses and the second most title fight wins in UFC Featherweight division history. Although facing a formidable opponent the Spanish fighter is extremely confident in winning the bout.
The title contender went so far as to add himself as a UFC champion on his IG bio even before the bout had taken place. Topuria also claimed “Conor McGregor, that’s the fight I’m looking for,” with the MMA hour. Clarifying that he won’t be interested in defending his title against the current featherweight roster which he deemed as unworthy and wants to go against UFC icon Conor McGregor next.
Dana White is not sold on Conor McGregor vs Ilia Topuria
The UFC president shared his opinion on Topuria’s calling out one of the biggest names in the game. White stated, “I don’t know about that…i think when you’re undefeated, you’ve never tasted defeat..that’s what you should be thinking, but we’ll see how it plays out on Saturday night”. Dana admired Topuria’s confidence and mentality but wasn’t sure whether a McGregor fight would soon be in the picture for the Spanish.
White also clarified that the UFC didn’t have a scheduled date yet stating “Well first of all he is coming back from one of the nastiest injuries you can come back from. How long was Anderson Silva out when he did it…you know the guys who break that bone, so that’s an issue right there.” McGregor has been seen back in training but there isn’t any update on whether the Irish is fully recovered.
McGregor has last fought at lightweight and has shown interest in moving up to 185 lbs. This makes the supposed bout with the featherweight challenger quite unlikely. Also keeping in fact that the Irish had to go to a lot of difficult weight cuts to make it to the 145-lb division. Topuria still believes it’s the fight to make next for him based on the amount of PPVs it can draw.
Dana White comments on the 35-over curse
The MMA community is buzzed with the over-35 curse for the upcoming UFC 298 main event. As per the stats in the last 33 title fights between 125-170 weight classes that included a UFC fighter older than 35 years old, the over-35 fighter has only won twice. Dana White was asked to comment on the same during his recent interview with Kevin Iole.
In chatting with @danawhite just now, he said he’ll announce the #UFC300 main event at the post-fight news conference for #UFC298 on Saturday
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) February 13, 2024
White stated “I don’t think he has a reason to be concerned about the stats, I mean it’s been very clear that Volkanovski is just a different man…..i think when you talk about the stats and what you’re saying, it just adds a lot more excitement for the fight this week”. The UFC president was confident that Volkanovski wouldn’t be affected by the previous stats.
And is a different breed of fighter who has always proved people wrong. He also believed that the curse would just add more excitement to the bout between Topuria and Alex. Fans are eager to see how the two elite fighters showcase their talents when there is so much at stake with the buzz around the main event.