Tag: UFC 298

Mackenzie Dern plans ‘to correct the mistakes’ after UFC 298 loss, receives praise from Dana White

Mackenzie Dern didn’t get the win at UFC 298, but she at least has Dana White’s support.

[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] put on a valiant effort at UFC 298 but ultimately fell short.

Dern lost a close decision to Amanda Lemos this past Saturda in a Fight of the Night effort. She rallied after being dropped and badly hurt in Round 2, but it wasn’t enough to sway the judges in her favor.

Despite now being on a two-fight losing skid for the first time in her career, Dern (13-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) remained positive in an Instagram post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3g_tETLTXa/

“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world”
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The results weren’t what I was hoping for! Thank you everyone for all the support! I love doing what I do! Now, it’s time to correct the mistakes and keep up the hard work! 💪🏼👊🏼 Congrats to @amandalemos_ufc for an amazing fight! FOTN for us! 🙏🏼

A bloodied and battered Dern held her face after being dropped by Lemos, and UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] was shocked to hear that she didn’t suffer any major injuries.

“We were convinced that she had a broken orbital in that fight,” White said during the UFC 298 post-fight news conference. “When she went down with the eye thing, we were convinced it was a broken orbital, and she fought through it. I’m shocked that it’s not (broken). She’s so f*cking tough. She’s awesome.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Demetrious Johnson says Ilia Topuria is just a bad matchup for Alexander Volkanovski: ‘You’re going to sleep’

Demetrious Johnson advises Alexander Volkanovski against taking an immediate rematch vs. Ilia Topuria.

[autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] advises [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] against an immediate rematch vs. [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) was dethroned by Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 298 main event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. when he was knocked out in Round 2. “The Great” campaigned for a rematch, and is even willing to face Topuria in Spain to get it.

But Johnson isn’t sure if that’s a good idea. He thinks Topuria’s power will continue to pose problems for Volkanovski.

“I watched his (Volkanovski’s) press conference, and he still seems bubbly,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “There’s a spirit about him where he wants to continue to fight, but the question is, does he do an immediate rematch? For me, after listening to the press conference, Volkanovski was like, ‘Man, I was going to start adding more things to the fight.’

“When I sit here, if Ilia gets the opportunity to touch you, you’re going to sleep. So, I don’t know what other tool set he was going to bring to the fight to stop Ilia from getting to him. If they do a rematch, all Ilia has to do is touch him. He has to run away from Ilia Topuria for 25 minutes. … I truly feel like Ilia Topuria is a bad matchup for Alex Volkanovski because he doesn’t get frustrated.”

Volkanovski has been knocked out in his past two fights. Johnson worries about his chin moving forward – especially in a matchup against someone like Topuria.

“I’d be curious to see how he (Volkanovski) would change the game plan because if Ilia touches you, he’s going to go out,” Johnson said. “Especially since his last few fights he’s gotten knocked out. You look at Wanderlei Silva, you look at Chuck Liddell, once you get knocked out and you get knocked again and again, that button goes quicker and quicker and quicker. It happened last night.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Feb. 20: Ilia Topuria new No. 1 at featherweight

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 298 in Anaheim, Calif.

UFC 298 in Anaheim, Calif. featured a number of ranked fighters picking up key wins, including a title change in the featherweight division.

[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] became champion by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in Round 2, keeping his undefeated record intact to begin his featherweight championship reign. Entering the week at No. 4 in the division, Topuria rises to No. 1 status, knocking Volkanovski off the throne to the No. 2 slot.

The moves didn’t stop there for Spain’s newest superstar. Topuria also rises from unranked to take No. 4 in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

T.J. Dillashaw: Alexander Volkanovski ‘was fighting scared’ at UFC 298, led to Ilia Topuria’s knockout

T.J. Dillashaw says he could tell during the fight that Alexander Volkanovski was scared of Ilia Topuria’s power.

[autotag]T.J. Dillashaw[/autotag] questions [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]’s game plan vs. [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his featherweight title to Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) by second-round knockout in Saturday’s UFC 298 main event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Dillashaw thinks Volkanovski looked uncharacteristically tentative and feared Topuria’s power.

“He was only throwing kicks. I know he was scared of the power,” Dillashaw said on the “JAXXON PODCAST.” “You can tell the way he was fighting, he was very scared of Topuria’s power, which he should be to an extent, but he’s never fought like that in the past. The first two rounds, all he was doing was throwing kicks. He wasn’t setting them up. He was just throwing them. He was expecting Topuria to block them.

“I was thinking he was trying to slow down his arms because every time you block a kick, it’s like getting a charley horse in your arm. Every time you get hit there, more blood comes to it. It slows his arms down. So, I was thinking maybe he’s slowing down his arms by throwing kicks and getting him to block, because he wasn’t setting them up. He wasn’t throwing kicks to knock him out. You could tell because if he was trying to do that, you’d throw a combo, finish with a kick, hopefully catch him.”

Dillashaw also didn’t like Volkanovski’s body language whenever Topuria would press forward.

“Every time Topuria would get close, he’d be like backing out and leaning away,” Dillashaw continued. “As soon as I saw that, I was like, ‘Damn, he’s going to get caught.’ He was fighting scared. He was worried about the power. I’m a huge Volk fan. I was wanting him to win. … He just kept leaning away, leaning away from everything and leaning away from the power.

“It was only a matter of time before Topuria caught him because that guy stays so tight. He’s so composed in his boxing, and his combos are great. I think that’s where it went wrong. He was scared. He was afraid of his power and fought scared. Topuria didn’t have anything to lose, Volk had all of it to lose, and he fought that way. He fought scared of his power.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Alexander Volkanovski hopes to rest up, rematch Ilia Topuria in Spain: ‘I’m going to get that belt back’

Alexander Volkanovski is willing to go to Spain to get his rematch with Ilia Topuria.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] is willing to go to Spain to get his rematch with [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his featherweight title to Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) by second-round knockout in Saturday’s UFC 298 headliner at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the promotion’s plans to have Topuria make his first title defense in Spain later this year, and Volkanovski thinks that would line up perfectly for him in terms of a return.

“Next time, it’ll be different, but I’m going to just have a little bit of a rest,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I definitely want that rematch. Spain, what I’m hearing, is going to happen. Dana wants Spain, obviously Ilia wants Spain. That probably won’t be until later in the year.

“So the timing would be perfect for me to spend time with the fam, rest up a little bit, look after myself and then we’ll get back in there. We’ll make it right on my end. I’m going to do everything right for the next one, and I’m going to get that belt back. Mark my words.”

Volkanovski said he was starting to get into his groove in Round 2, before Topuria backed him against the cage and clipped him.

“I think the judges had me up the first round, and I think I was starting to pick it up even more in the second,” Volkanovski said. “I was ready to even go another level. I had him missing, I was starting to touch him, and I was going to start adding on, and he did a great job of getting me to the cage where we knew we didn’t want to be with someone like him.

“He got me there and I probably had better options than looking for a counter. After he backed me up there, he caught me. He did a great job to find that, a great shot, and that’s all you need in this sport.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Alexander Volkanovski’s coach after UFC 298: We knew Ilia Topuria had a puncher’s chance – and he got it

Joe Lopez suggests Ilia Topuria simply capitalized on his puncher’s chance at UFC 298.

Joe Lopez suggests [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] simply capitalized on his puncher’s chance at UFC 298.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his featherweight title to Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) by second-round knockout in Saturday’s UFC 298 main event.

All three judges scored Round 1 in favor of Volkanovski, and his head coach believes he was starting to take control before he got caught.

“Alex was going through the game plan, was finding his range and starting to touch him up,” Lopez told the Daily Mail. “(I) was disappointed (by the result), knowing that Alex has a much better skillset.”

Lopez said they were aware of the power Topuria packs but appeared to insinuate that’s all they had to worry about. Four of Topuria’s past six wins have come by knockout.

“We knew coming into this fight he had a puncher’s chance – and he got that punch,” Lopez said.

Former five-time defending champion Volkanovski called for an immediate rematch with Topuria, who called out Conor McGregor in his post-fight speech. Topuria has been dismissive of most top contenders – including running things back with Volkanovski, but said he’d be open to a rematch if the UFC offered it.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Rinya Nakamura refuses to make callout after hearing boos during performance at UFC 298

At around 14-1, Rinya Nakamura was by far the biggest betting favorite on the card for his fight with Carlos Vera at UFC 298.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – [autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag] beat Carlos Vera with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Take a look inside the fight with Nakamura, who at around 14-1 was by far the biggest betting favorite on the card.

Miranda Maverick on invincibility and pickles after win over Andrea Lee at UFC 298

Miranda Maverick, who has a thriving upstart pickle side hustle, outworked Andrea Lee at UFC 298 for her fourth win in five fights.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – [autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag] beat Andrea Lee with a unanimous decision Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Take a look inside the fight with Maverick, who has won four of her past five fights.

Oban Elliott goes full WWE after capping off crazy UFC 298 fight week with debut win

Oban Elliott survived a big head kick to win his UFC debut against Val Woodburn at UFC 298.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – [autotag]Oban Elliott[/autotag] beat Val Woodburn with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Take a look inside the fight with Elliott, who survived a big head kick to win his UFC debut.

Amanda Lemos remained task-oriented at UFC 298, despite memories of recent title loss

Listen to her speak for a couple minutes and it’s apparent UFC 298 winner Amanda Lemos is all business.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] has long carried herself with an all-business attitude and a title shot loss didn’t change that.

In the UFC 298 featured prelim Saturday at Honda Center, Lemos (14-3-1 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated Mackenzie Dern (13-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) in a Fight of the Night bonus-earning unanimous decision.

“I’m feeling happy about tonight and I’m happy to be back in the win column,” Lemos told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “… The way that we thought this was going to happen is what happened.

“The fight stayed standing as much as possible, trying to impose my game and avoid her and to avoid the possibility of her imposing her game, which is taking me down. (I tried) getting up as soon as possible and damage her. When I was taken down, there wasn’t much damage, so I was able to get up and continue kicking and just continue to do my game, which is what I did.”

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The victory returned Lemos into the win column after a failed first promotional title bid vs. Zhang Weili in August. Lemos lost that fight by unanimous decision, but immediately went back to the drawing board with focuses on learning and improvement.

“I learned a lot from the loss,” Lemos said. “It was an opportunity to go back to work. We actually watched the fight many times. The idea is to go back into the gym and evolve and become as complete as possible, as much as possible, to make it harder on my opponents to get something on me. That’s what I’m doing. That’s what I’m accomplishing, and that’s what we’re getting done.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.