The UFC 298 press conference just concluded a short time ago, and the main event headliners gave us fans a whole lot of UFC 298 news to dissect.
It’s rare we see a press conference that’s packed with such loud and enthusiastic fans — but that’s exactly what the Anaheim, California crowd delivered.
The Volkanovski vs Topuria press conference barbs thrown back and forth were the highlights of the event. Yet, every main card fighter offered something of interest to the fans, and intrigue for Saturday night is riding high after the UFC press conference.
Volkanovski vs Topuria Press Conference: Volk Laughs Off Topuria’s Empty Threats
The most interesting aspect of this UFC 298 press conference was Alexander Volkanovski showing up to the UFC press conference in his ‘Old Man Volk’ attire; which is a reference to a viral skit that Volkanovski made earlier this week, which jokes about people calling him an old man prior to this fight with the younger Topuria — despite Volkanovski still being viewed as the betting favorite.
Everybody in the arena found Volk’s gimmick — which, in addition to the old man attire, included constant grandpa jokes and even Volkanovski pretending to fall asleep while Topuria was speaking — hilarious.
Except Ilia Topuria, that is, who was trying to do his best Conor McGregor impersonation throughout the UFC press conference.
Each time Topuria spoke, there was a chorus of boos that drowned out whatever it was that he was trying to say. And whenever Topuria tried to intimidate Volkanovski with something he had to say, the reigning featherweight champion simply laughed it off — or fell asleep.
While both main event fighters approached this press conference in completely different ways, both succeeded in making Saturday seem even more intriguing than it already is.
UFC 298 Press Conference: Loud Applause For Paulo Costa
One of the most unexpected reactions from the UFC 298 press conference was when the Anaheim gave audience gave Paulo Costa a massive cheer when he entered the arena, and applauded him loudly every time he spoke.
While Costa has become a fan favorite over the past couple years, Anaheim’s love might be because of the epic fight ‘The Eraser’ produced against Joel Romero back in 2019, which also took place in Anaheim.
Regardless, fan adoration won’t help Costa when he steps into the octagon against Robert Whittaker.
Another noteworthy moment of UFC 298 news was when the Georgian bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili pulled out a Mexican flag for the crowd.
Although it initially sounded like Dvalishvili seemed to believe he was located in Mexico, it ultimately became clear that he was just drumming up support for the Mexican fans in attendance, given that Anaheim is rather close to Mexico’s border.
Aside from Topuria, most fighters were content to show respect to their opponents during the UFC press conference.
Of course, given how stacked this UFC 298 card already is, they don’t need to attract much attention with their mouths. Instead, they’re content to let their fighting do the talking for them.
