Volkanovski returns to featherweight looking to dominate at UFC 298

It’s time! Another weekend of UFC bouts is right around the corner, as UFC 298 kicks off Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski gets set to defend his featherweight title belt for a sixth time against the 26-yearold rising star from Halle, Germany, Ilia “El Matador” Topuria, in the main event, airing live on ESPN+ and PPV, with prelims live on ESPN. Having remained undefeated in the featherweight division, Alexander Volkaonvski looks determined to get himself back into the win column after putting his win streak on the line, coming up short twice against a formidable lightweight champion in Islam Makhachev. Still regarded by many as the greatest featherweight in mixed martial arts, his failed bid to become a two-division champ has cast some doubts, with his return to the octagon coming just four months after a knockout loss at UFC 294 in October. Speaking to Michael Bisping on his YouTube channel, Volkanovski is confident in his abilities and experience having fought three times in 2023. “He’s a good matchup. A lot of hype around him, undefeated, I think this is just the perfect bounce-back fight for me as well. A lot of people are saying he’s dangerous, which, look, he is dangerous,” Volkanovski said. “He’s a powerful dude. He’s undefeated. That’s a story in itself. You’ve got the story of what happened in my last fight. People are like, ‘Oh, is he coming back too soon?’ All this is part of the story. When I look at it, I’m like, ‘Mate, I’ve been in camp for that long.’ I’m hearing people saying, ‘Oh, he’s back too soon.’ I just can’t see it,” Volkanovski said. While Volkanovski does hold an impressive 26-3 record, Illia Topuria comes in undefeated at 14-0 with 12 bouts ending in stoppages. Since joining the UFC in 2020, he’s racked up six wins, including his most dominant and recent victory coming against Josh Emmett.