Tag: UFC 298

Aljamain Sterling makes prediction for friend, teammate Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo at UFC 298

Aljamain Sterling sees Merab Dvalishvili outlasting Henry Cejudo at UFC 298.

[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] sees [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] outlasting [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] at UFC 298.

Sterling’s teammate Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) faces Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.

Former bantamweight champion Sterling’s most recent win came over Cejudo in a close five-round battle at UFC 288, so “The Funkmaster” has solid intel on both men. Sterling expects Dvalishvili’s pace and cardio to be too much for Cejudo.

“I think Henry Cejudo is going to be competitive for all of three to four minutes, maybe the whole first round,” Sterling said on his YouTube channel. “But after that, you’re going to start to see a significant dip in the output, and the confusion Henry is going to have, I think, if Merab stays dialed in and focuses on what he needs to do, doesn’t rush in, doesn’t make any mistakes.

“Cejudo does good with that karate stance. If you run in, he has a good right hand. … My early prediction for this is Merab Dvalishvili finishes Henry Cejudo in Round 3. I’m going to say TKO. Merab’s not really a submission guy. Actually, I’m not going to give it away, but Merab’s got some tricks.”

With both Cejudo and Dvalishvili possessing a strong grappling base, Sterling sees similar attributes between them on paper.

“It’s a very even fight when you look at the striking, when you look at what both these guys do well, when you look at things that they struggle with,” Sterling said. “Henry doesn’t have to deal with a much taller person, but he had a tough time when he faced (Demetrious) ‘Mighty Mouse’ (Johnson) because he was a shorter person.

“Merab’s not shorter – he’s about the same height, but just a little bit taller – and I think that’s going to be a little bit difficult for him to work with that because Merab’s not the biggest bantamweight, but he hits like a bigger guy. I think Merab is going to shock the world and he’s going to shock Henry Cejudo come Feb. 17.”

[lawrence-related id=2694370,2676299,2675147,2673676]

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

Tatiana Suarez vs. Amanda Lemos added to UFC 298 in February

A pivotal strawweight bout has been added to UFC 298 as top-five contenders Tatiana Suarez and Amanda Lemos are set to do battle.

A pivotal strawweight bout has been added to UFC 298 as top-five contenders [autotag]Tatiana Suarez[/autotag] and [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] are set to do battle.

The UFC on Tuesday announced the matchup, which takes place Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Undefeated Suarez (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) returned to her winning ways this year after a nearly four-year layoff due to injury. She beat Montana De La Rosa at flyweight in her first fight back, a second-round submission in February. Suarez followed that up with another second-round submission, this time at strawweight against former champ Jessica Andrade in August. Suarez will look to secure a title shot with another win, especially a finish.

Lemos (13-3-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is coming off a title-fight loss to champ Zhang Weili this past August at UFC 292. Lemos lost by unanimous decision to snap a two-fight winning streak against Michelle Waterson-Gomez and Marina Rodriguez.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030788]

With the addition, here is the updated UFC 298 lineup:

  • Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria – for featherweight title
  • Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili
  • Amanda Lemos vs. Tatiana Suarez
  • Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura
  • Ikram Aliskerov vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick
  • Marcos Rogerio vs. Justin Tafa
  • Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
  • Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita

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

Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura joins UFC 298 lineup in February

Ranked heavyweights Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura will look to rebound at UFC 298 in Anaheim in February.

Ranked heavyweights will look to rebound at UFC 298.

[autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag](14-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) takes on [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag] (24-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC) on Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+., promotion officials announced Tuesday.

Tuivasa will aim to snap a three-fight losing skid, which most recently added a submission loss to Alexander Volkov at UFC 293 in September. Prior to that, “Bam Bam” was on a five-fight knockout streak, including a stoppage of former title challenger Derrick Lewis.

Tybura is also coming off a stoppage loss. After winning seven of his past eight, the Polish fighter suffered a first-round TKO to current interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall at UFC Fight Night 224.

The latest UFC 298 lineup now includes:

  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria – for featherweight title
  • Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili
  • Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita
  • Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
  • Marcos Rogerio vs. Justin Tafa
  • Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick
  • Ikram Aliskerov vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura

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

Ilia Topuria ahead of UFC 298: Alexander Volkanovski ‘will be one of the easier fights of my career’

Ilia Topuria is oozing confidence ahead of UFC 298.

[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] is oozing confidence ahead of UFC 298.

Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) challenges featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) in the Feb. 17 headliner at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Despite losing twice to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, Volkanovski has been unstoppable during his featherweight title reign. However, Topuria plans on walking him down and bringing the fight to him.

“He doesn’t stand a chance. He has zero opportunity,” Topuria told ESPN Deportes. “I don’t see any holes, but I can tell how he attacks. The only attack I see is that he is going to kick my legs. That’s the only thing that he can do.

“He has good cardio, but everyone has good cardio when they’re not under pressure. When you’re walking forward, you’ll have good cardio. But when you’re in trouble, cardio tends to fade away, and this will be the case. He will have someone in front of him that never goes back.”

Undefeated Topuria has been on a roll himself, earning bonuses in his past three showings against Jai Herbert, Bryce Mitchell and Josh Emmett.

“I think it’s going to be perfect,” Topuria said. “It’s going to be a masterpiece, to hit and don’t get hit. That’s what you will see in this combat. You’ll see an authentic mixed martial artist.”

Not only is Topuria predicting dominance, he’s making a bold prediction.

“I don’t have any doubt that the finish will come, and it will be one of the easier fights of my career so far,” Topuria said.

[lawrence-related id=2701467,2698222,2696209,2694392]

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

Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili booked for UFC 298 in February

A potential title eliminator at bantamweight is booked for UFC 298 with Henry Cejudo set to take on streaking contender Merab Dvalishvili.

A potential title eliminator in the bantamweight division is booked for UFC 298 with former two-division champion [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] set to take on streaking contender [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag].

Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) announced Sunday on his YouTube channel that he will take on Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) on the Feb. 17 card, which takes place at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.

A person with knowledge of the situation verified the booking to MMA Junkie, but requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

[lawrence-related id=2701467,2698417]

Cejudo, No. 8 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings, is coming off a title fight loss to then-champ Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 in what was his return to competition from a three-year layoff.

The former 135-pound and 125-pound titleholder was hoping for a quick turnaround from the loss and was connected to a matchup with Marlon Vera at UFC 292 in August, but the 36-year-old suffered a shoulder injury. Now healthy, Cejudo will look to push back into another title opportunity.

He will have a stiff task in the form of No. 2-ranked Dvalishvili, 32, who is riding a nine-fight winning streak and has been pushing hard for his first UFC title shot. “The Machine” hasn’t suffered a defeat since April 2018, and his current run of success includes victories over former champs Petr Yan and Jose Aldo.

The latest UFC 298 lineup now includes:

  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria – for featherweight title
  • Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili
  • Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita
  • Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
  • Marcos Rogerio vs. Justin Tafa
  • Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick

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

Alexander Volkanovski motivated to ‘shut these people up,’ embarrass Ilia Topuria at UFC 298

Alexander Volkanovski believes Ilia Topuria could use a little humbling at UFC 298. And if the champ does that, he’ll silence any doubters.

Featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] aims to silence any doubters at UFC 298.

Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defends his title against unbeaten [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) on Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Topuria has predicted a first-round finish of Volkanovski, who warn of being overconfident.

“This guy thinks he’s the man,” Volkanovski said on the “Who The Fook Are These Guys” podcast. “It’s funny. For me, I’ve always wanted to earn my stripes, earn these positions, put myself in there, and earn that respect. This guy’s just getting things given to him and probably not even that much, but he thinks he’s the man. The beautiful thing about it is I get to teach a kid a lesson. Ready to go out there, I want to teach him a lesson, humble him a little bit, and still let him wake up to himself and then he can bounce back when my time’s done.

“He needs a bit of humbling. Twenty-six, perfect age. He needs the world to see, a little humbling experience for him. He maybe needs a bit of embarrassment and snap things into gear and then maybe he can one day be a great champion. Right now he wants to act like how he’s acting, I’m just going to teach him a lesson. I’m going to embarrass him. He’s young enough to bounce back in a positive way. I’ll play teacher the next few months.”

Looking to rebound from his knockout loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, Volkanovski is aware of the doubt surrounding him. He appeared vulnerable and emotional in his post-fight speech, but Volkanovski vows he’s more than ready to continue defending his featherweight throne.

“If people are going to see weakness, if my opponents think that’s weakness – the beautiful thing is I had mixed emotions about people seeing me like that. Then I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m glad I did because it was a positive, I believe,'” Volkanovski said. “There’s a lot of people that needed to see that. Not just that, people get to see what happens next. I hope these people are seeing it as weakness. Watch me walk through my next opponents. Watch me do what I’m going to do and shut these people up.

“Then all of the sudden, I can literally look at these people and be like, ‘Shut your mouth. That’s right, I am still that guy.’ You might see me vulnerable, but don’t forget I’m the – hey, one day I might be a little vulnerable, you might see me there covering my face at that one point, but the next week I’m the baddest man on the planet. You remember that. And some people need to be reminded. The beautiful thing about it is I get to remind them not too far away.”

[lawrence-related id=2699502,2698222,2696209,2694392]

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

Ikram Aliskerov vs. Anthony Hernandez joins UFC 298 lineup

Ikram Aliskerov will look to enter the middleweight rankings at UFC 298 when he takes on Anthony Hernandez in Anaheim.

[autotag]Ikram Aliskerov[/autotag] will look to enter the middleweight rankings at UFC 298.

Aliskerov (15-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] (11-2-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Both fighters confirmed the news on their social media platforms after an initial report from MMA Fighting.

Since he punched his ticket to the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series, Aliskerov has scored back-to-back first-round knockouts of Phil Hawes and Warlley Alves. His lone career loss came to Khamzat Chimaev in April 2019.

Hernandez is riding plenty of momentum having won four straight – three by finish. He’s coming off a third-round TKO of Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Fight Night 224 in May.

The latest UFC 298 lineup now includes:

  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria – for featherweight title
  • Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita
  • Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
  • Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Justin Tafa
  • Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick
  • Ikram Aliskerov vs. Anthony Hernandez

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

UFC champ Alexander Volkanovski gives positive update after first spar under concussion protocols

Alexander Volkanovski says “no knocks, no symptoms” as training for his UFC 298 title fight with Ilia Topuria gets underway.

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media][autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] has had his first sparring session ahead of UFC 298 and, at least according to him, all went well.

Featherweight champion Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defends his title against unbeaten Ilia Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) on Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Volkanovski is coming off a knockout loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev this past October at UFC 294, causing many to be concerned over his relatively quick turnaround. But Volkanovski assures that he’s undergoing all the necessary health protocols and provided a positive update ahead of his first spar.

“Just had my first spar,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “So, obviously had to follow all the protocols, concussion, back to training. So, followed all the protocols to a tee, no symptoms, kept it rolling, kept it rolling. Felt real good. No knocks, no symptoms still. So, we’re rolling. We’re going to keep this baby rolling. Very, very happy with it.

“Very thankful for the team behind me, obviously Joe (Lopez) and all my training partners … my doctors, as well, they’ve literally dealt with thousands of concussions, so they made sure I followed (protocols) to a tee. Mate, I feel great, was able to train the whole way through, so I haven’t lost too much fitness, which is good. We’ve still got plenty of time before we even get into camp. Now I get to ease back into a full training schedule.”

Volkanovski will look to notch his sixth title defense after wins over Max Holloway twice, Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung, and Yair Rodriguez during his featherweight championship reign.

[lawrence-related id=2698222,2696209,2694392,2692239]

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

UFC 298 official for Anaheim on Feb. 17 with Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria headliner

The UFC will travel to Anaheim, Calif., for the 10th time in its history for UFC 298 on Feb. 17.

Featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]’s title fight vs. [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] at UFC 298 has a date and location.

Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) will look to notch his sixth title defense when he takes on unbeaten Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) on Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., UFC CEO Dana White announced Thursday on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0AC2SKPUSb/

Volkanovski will return to featherweight after falling short against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev a second time at UFC 294. With a full training camp, Volkanovski took Makhachev to the brink in their first fight at UFC 284, but he stepped in on less than two weeks’ notice for a second opportunity last month in Abu Dhabi. Volkanovski lost the rematch by first-round knockout.

In between his lightweight title fights against Makhachev, Volkanovski finished Yair Rodriguez by third-round TKO to retain his 145-pound title at UFC 290 this past July.

Topuria has looked dominant since joining the UFC roster in 2020. After four straight finishes over Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall, Jai Herbert, and Bryce Mitchell, the Georgian fighter dominated Josh Emmett in the UFC on ABC 5 main event to earn his third bonus in a row.

The latest UFC 298 lineup now includes:

  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria – for featherweight title
  • Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita
  • Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro

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

Ilia Topuria identifies where he’s ‘going to make a difference’ vs. Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298

“I’m pretty sure I’m going to get that win,” Ilia Topuria said of his UFC 298 title fight vs. Alexander Volkanovski.

[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] sees his ground game posing problems for UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag].

Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) challenges Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) for the 145-pound title in the UFC 298 headliner on Feb. 17.

Topuria started his career with seven consecutive submission wins but has relied more on his striking in recent octagon bouts. But against Volkanovski, he sees the ground as his path to victory.

“That’s where I really think I have the advantage with him because he’s a good striker, but he’s not a natural wrestler. or he’s not good on the ground,” Topuria said on the Overdogs Podcast. “That’s where I’m going to make a difference.”

Volkanovski will make less than a four-month turnaround after suffering a first-round knockout to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. However, Topuria isn’t putting too much stock into that.

“For me, what happened in his last fight doesn’t change anything,” Topuria said. “I know the result will be the same, training is the same, the focus is the same. I’m going to train for the best in the world, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to get that win.”

Undefeated Topuria actually thinks the knockout loss takes the weight off Volkanovski’s shoulders.

“He has really nothing to lose. He already lost,” Topuria said through an interpreter. “He already knows how that feels, I don’t know how that feels, and I better never taste how that’s going to feel.”

If victorious, Topuria has already mapped out a plan where he makes his first title defense against another featherweight great.

“So, that’s what I think is going to happen that I’m going to beat Volk on Feb. 17 and then I’m going to fight Max Holloway here in Spain,” Topuria said. “That’s my goal right now, and I think it’s going to happen.”

[lawrence-related id=2696209,2694392,2685383,2681255]

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