UFC 298 Results: What a Night – An Event for the Ages and a New Champion

Was this the best event of 2024 so far? Definitely. Ilia Topuria is the new UFC Featherweight Champion! Volkanovski’s legendary reign is over but we would love to see a rematch between these two titans. What an unbelievable night! Here are all the UFC 298 results.

UFC 298 Results: Main Card, Fight by Fight

Anthony Hernandez vs Roman Kopylov – Hernandez won via submission (rear-naked choke, 3:23, Round 2)

Antony Hernandez entered this contest as a massive betting favorite and definitely proved why in the first minutes of the opening segment. He was the aggressive one of the pair, landed more significant strikes, and shot for a takedown at least nine times. Kopylov was standing well and did not allow a transfer but he was forced to defend himself throughout most of the round.

Kopylov landed some nasty shots at the start of the second round but made the mistake of giving Hernandez the takedown. After several consecutive submission attempts, he caught Kopylov with a tight rear-naked choke and forced the tap.

Merab Dvalishvili vs Henry Cejudo – Dvalishvili won via unanimous decision

Bookmakers did not believe that Henry Cejudo could handle Merab Dvalishvili. However, in the first couple of minutes, Cejudo looked significantly better than his opponent. His speed is simply incredible and people often forget how powerful he actually is.

Round 2 was extremely fast-paced. Cejudo got an early takedown, and then Merab shook him with a combination that would have put most bantamweights to sleep. Dvalishvili got a takedown as well but failed to achieve anything with it and the fight went back to the standing position.

Merab Dvalishvili vs Henry Cejudo. Credit: IconSport

Cejudo attempted a takedown but Merab countered him and caught him in a guillotine choke. It is shocking how Henry survived that round but he knew that it was close to the end, so he simply made it out alive.

Cejudo looked exhausted at the start of the third round and Dvalishvili never stopped pushing forward. The pace of that fight was unbelievable and Merab truly showed why he is the real deal. Statistically, Dvalishvili had around or over 70 significant strikes in Round 3 while Cejudo had less than 10. This is how dominant Dvalishvili was in the last five minutes.

Geoff Neal vs Ian Machado Garry – Garry won via split decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29)

We continue the UFC 298 results with one of the most-anticipated fights on the card. Ian Garry finally made it back to the Octagon after canceling his December bout due to pneumonia.

This fight had a slow start. We expected more aggression from the fighters but they had a far more careful approach and nothing significant happened for the first three minutes. They opened up around the last minute of the round and both landed some tough shots. This round could easily be scored as a draw – the significant strikes were almost equal. We would give it to Neal with 10-9 as he was controlling the pace.

Geoff Neal vs Ian Machado Garry. Credit: IconSport

Round 2 began with several circles around the Octagon until Neal pushed Garry into a clinch. The fans in the arena rightfully booed the fighters as if nothing was happening in the cage. A few pointless exchanges and another minute of clinching.

There was more action in the final segment but then again, we expected this to be one of the best fights on the entire card. Garry was keeping his distance, mostly relying on jabs, while Neal was forced to chase him. Garry landed more significant strikes in the second and third rounds, so the judges gave him the nod via split decision.

Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa – Whittaker via unanimous decision

Robert Whittaker is an absolute monster. His speed, his power, and his technical abilities proved once again why he has been sitting at the top of the division for years. He dominated Costa for five minutes, landed brutal shots, and probably was close to breaking Costa’s left leg, and yet… Costa almost knocked him out with a spinning kick in the final five seconds of the round.

That kick clearly caused some serious damage as Whittaker entered the second round with more caution and for some time, Costa was landing shot after shot. Nevertheless, despite the cut on the right cheek and the bleeding nose, Whittaker’s constant jabs and hooks were probably making Costa rethink his decision to become a professional fighter.

Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa. Credit: IconSport

If you ever need to prove to someone that MMA is a beautiful sport, show them this fight. Costa and Whittaker gave us 15 minutes of open war, mixing all striking styles and never backing out. Their cardio is simply on a different level and both were as lively after three rounds as they were at the start of the fight.

This was one of the easiest UFC 298 results to predict. Whittaker is an exceptional athlete and deservedly won this bout via unanimous decision.

Alexander Volkanovski vs Ilia Topuria – Topuria won via KO (3:32, Round 2)

Everything that happened in the days before this fight was for show. The reality is that these fighters have a lot of respect for each other and they showed it at the start of the fight.

A calm start from Topuria who was studying Volkanovski’s style and strategy and a more active start from the champion, who was throwing a ton of kicks. A very competitive first round but we probably have to score it for Volkanovski as he landed a higher number of significant strikes.

Round 2 was extremely competitive and both fighters were landing combinations. And then it happened. Topuria landed a combination to the body and head of Volkanovski that opened him up for that one overhand punch that put him to sleep. He was out immediately and remained on the ground for a couple of minutes. And there you have it – one punch is all it takes. For the second time in a row, Volkanovski got knocked out. So, what happens now?

UFC 298 Full Card Results

The undercard presented us with an upset or two but we mostly saw dominant performances from the betting favorites. Here are all the UFC 298 results.

Main Card:

• Featherweight Title: Alexander Volkanovski vs Ilia Topuria – Topuria won via KO (3:32, Round 2)
• Middleweight: Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa – Whittaker via unanimous decision
• Welterweight: Geoff Neal vs Ian Machado Garry – Garry won via split decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29)
• Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili vs Henry Cejudo – Dvalishvili won via unanimous decision
• Middleweight: Anthony Hernandez vs Roman Kopylov – Hernandez won via submission (rear-naked choke, 3:23, Round 2)

Prelims:

• Women’s Strawweight: Amanda Lemos vs Mackenzie Dern – Lemos won via unanimous decision
• Heavyweight: Marcos Rogerio De Lima (-138) vs Justin Tafa – de Lima won via TKO (1:14, Round 2)
• Bantamweight: Rinya Nakamura vs Carlos Vera – Nakamura won via unanimous decision
• Light Heavyweight: Zhang Mingyang vs Brendson Ribeiro – Mingyang won via KO (1:41, Round 1)

Early Prelims:

• Welterweight: Josh Quinlan vs Danny Barlow – Barlow won via TKO (1:18, Round 3)
• Welterweight: Oban Elliott vs Val Woodburn – Elliott won via unanimous decision
• Women’s Flyweight: Andrea Lee vs Miranda Maverick – Maverick won via unanimous decision