The Octagon returned to Anaheim, California, for tonight’s UFC 298 event, a twelve-bout fight card headlined by Alex Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria.
The highly anticipated men’s featherweight title fight resulted in another sensational knockout victory for Ilia Topuria. After likely being outpointed in the opening round, ‘El Matador’ came out of the gate strong in the second frame and ultimately was able to put Alex Volkanovski away with a huge combination. The title-earning victory improved Topuria’s professional record to a perfect 15-0.
UFC 298 was co-headlined by a highly anticipated middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa. The contest proved to be a thrilling back and forth affair. Robert Whittaker got off to a strong start in round one but ended up getting rocked by a spinning heel kick from Paulo Costa in the final seconds of the frame. Round two was another strong five minutes for the former middleweight champion, who utilized some hard low kicks and good left hands to get the better of the Brazilian. The third and final round was competitive, but ‘The Reaper’ seemed to pull away in the final minutes. After fifteen minutes of action, Whittaker was awarded the decision win.
Following the conclusion of tonight’s event, UFC officials announced at the post-fight press conference that five fighters would be taking home performance bonuses.
Fight of the night: Strawweight fighters Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Lemos each pocketed $50k for their thrilling war in tonight’s UFC 298 featured prelim. Lemos ultimately won the contest by unanimous decision (29-28 x3).
Performance of the night: Ilia Topuria earned an extra $50k for his second-round knockout victory over Alex Volkanovski in tonight’s main event (see that here).
Performance of the night: Zhang Mingyang pocketed an extra $50k for his first round knockout victory over Brendson Ribeiro (see that here).
Performance of the night: Anthony Hernandez earned an extra $50k for his second round submission victory over Roman Kopylov.
Are you surprised by any of the performance bonuses handed out by Dana White and company following the conclusion of tonight’s UFC 298 event in Anaheim? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!
