UFC 298

UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria

Company type	Mixed martial arts event
Industry	Sports entertainment
Founded	February 17, 2024 (2024-02-17)
Headquarters	Anaheim, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide (broadcast)
Parent	Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria was a mixed martial arts event organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, taking place on February 17, 2024, at the Honda Center located in Anaheim, California.

Background

This event represented the UFC's tenth occasion hosting a fight card in Anaheim, with the previous visit being UFC 270 in January 2022.

The main event featured a contest for the UFC Featherweight Championship between reigning titleholder Alexander Volkanovski and challenger Ilia Topuria. Initially scheduled for UFC 297, this matchup was postponed when Volkanovski was reassigned to face UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294.

A light heavyweight bout between Zhang Mingyang and Brendson Ribeiro, which had been delayed due to visa complications following a prior event relocation, was rescheduled to occur at UFC 298.

The lineup included a middleweight showdown between former champion Robert Whittaker and ex-title contender Paulo Costa. Their fight had been arranged multiple times but faced repeated delays caused by withdrawals and contract disagreements.

Welterweight fighters Ian Machado Garry and Geoff Neal met in the octagon after Neal withdrew from their initial booking at UFC 292 due to health concerns; their bout was moved up from UFC 299 to this event.

A welterweight contest originally set between Yusaku Kinoshita and Danny Barlow experienced a change when Kinoshita was replaced by Josh Quinlan for undisclosed reasons.

Heavyweights Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura were originally slated to compete at this event, but their bout was shifted to serve as the headline for a Fight Night card in March.

In the women's strawweight division, former title challenger Amanda Lemos took on Mackenzie Dern after Tatiana Suarez withdrew because of injury.

Bantamweight competitor and Road to UFC Season 1 winner, Rinya Nakamura, faced promotional newcomer Carlos Vera following Brady Hiestand's withdrawal due to injury.

Middleweight Anthony Hernandez fought Roman Kopylov after Ikram Aliskerov pulled out owing to illness-related issues; this fight had been arranged previously but canceled when Hernandez withdrew.

Tresean Gore was expected to face A.J. Dobson in a middleweight bout but had to withdraw with a shoulder injury, resulting in the cancellation of that matchup.

At heavyweight, Marcos Rogério de Lima squared off against Junior Tafa, who accepted the fight on just one day's notice after his brother Justin Tafa withdrew because of injury.

During the broadcast, it was announced that former PRIDE Middleweight Champion and UFC Light Heavyweight title challenger Wanderlei Silva would be honored as the next inductee into the "pioneer wing" of the UFC Hall of Fame, with the ceremony scheduled for June’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

Bonus awards

The following athletes were awarded $50,000 bonuses:

• Fight of the Night: Amanda Lemos vs. Mackenzie Dern
• Performance of the Night: Ilia Topuria, Anthony Hernandez, and Zhang Mingyang

Reported payout

The disclosed payouts from the California State Athletic Commission do not include sponsorship earnings or UFC "fight night" bonuses:

• Ilia Topuria: $350,000 defeated Alexander Volkanovski: $750,000
• Robert Whittaker: $400,000 defeated Paulo Costa: $250,000
• Ian Machado Garry: $110,000 defeated Geoff Neal: $108,000
• Merab Dvalishvili: $210,000 defeated Henry Cejudo: $150,000
• Anthony Hernandez: $132,000 defeated Roman Kopylov: $80,000
• Amanda Lemos: $160,000 defeated Mackenzie Dern: $200,000
• Marcos Rogério de Lima: $200,000 defeated Junior Tafa: $23,000
• Rinya Nakamura: $46,000 defeated Carlos Vera: $12,000
• Zhang Mingyang: $20,000 defeated Brendson Ribeiro: $10,000
• Danny Barlow: $20,000 defeated Josh Quinlan: $12,000
• Oban Elliott: $20,000 defeated Val Woodburn: $15,000
• Miranda Maverick: $150,000 defeated Andrea Lee: $70,000

Fight night weights

The comparison between the official weigh-in figures and the fight night weights, as documented by the California State Athletic Commission, reveals notable increases in fighters' weights:

• Alexander Volkanovski: from 145 to 166.2 lbs (gain of 21.2 lbs, 15%)
• Ilia Topuria: from 144.5 to 167.2 lbs (increase of 22.7 lbs, 16%)
• Paulo Costa: from 185.5 to 215.2 lbs (added 29.7 lbs, 16%)
• Robert Whittaker: from 185.5 to 207.6 lbs (up by 22.1 lbs, 12%)
• Ian Machado Garry: from 170.5 to 180.6 lbs (rose by 10.1 lbs, 6%)
• Geoff Neal: from 170.5 to 200.8 lbs (jumped 30.3 lbs, 18%)
• Henry Cejudo: from 135 to 150.6 lbs (increased by 15.6 lbs, 12%)
• Merab Dvalishvili: from 135 to 156.8 lbs (gained 21.8 lbs, 16%)
• Roman Kopylov: from 185 to 194 lbs (up by 9 lbs, 5%)
• Anthony Hernandez: from 185.5 to 203.6 lbs (added 18.1 lbs, 10%)
• Mackenzie Dern: from 116 to 127 lbs (rose by 11 lbs, 9%)
• Amanda Lemos: from 115.5 to 123.8 lbs (increased by 8.3 lbs, 7%)
• Junior Tafa: from 249 to 247 lbs (decrease of 2 lbs, -1%)
• Marcos Rogerio de Lima: from 261.5 to 273.4 lbs (gain of 11.9 lbs, 5%)
• Carlos Vera: from 135.5 to 158.6 lbs (added weight of 23.1 lbs,17%)
• Rinya Nakamura: from135.5 to147.2lbs(increaseof11.8lbs,9%)
• Brendson Ribeiro: from205.5 to219.6lbs(gained14.1lbs,7%)
• Zhang Minyang: from204.5 to230.2lbs(added25.7lbs,13%)
• Danny Barlow: from171 to197.8lbs(increaseof26.8lbs,16%)
• Josh Quinland:from169to187.8lbs(riseof18.8lbs,11%)
• Val Woodburn:from169.5to184lbs(gainof14.5lbs,9%)
• Oban Elliott:from170.5to185.2lbs(up14.7lbs,9%)
• Miranda Maverick:from126to135.8lbs(increaseof9.8lbs,8%)
• Andrea Lee:from125.5to136.2lbs(riseof10.7lbs,9%)

See also

• 2024 in UFC
• List of current UFC fighters
• List of UFC events