UFC 298 full fight card details: Start time, venue, how to watch and more
UFC 298 is set to kick off on Feb. 17. at the Honda Center in Anaheim, the United States.
The main-event featues a featherweight title clash as Alexander Volkanovski returns to the divison hoping to defend his belt for the sixth time. He will face Ilia Topuria, who has been on a tear since making his debut in the promotion in 2020. The 27-year-old has won all six of his bouts since making his debut and has yet to taste defeat as a professional (14-0).
In the co-main event, fan favorites Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa meet in a middleweight clash.
The Australian will be aiming to bounce back from his surprising defeat to Dricus du Plessis last year. Costa, meanwhile, will be making his first appearance in the octagon for over a year, as a staph infection kept him out of his bout against Khamzat Chimaev in 2023.
Elsewhere on the maincard, Geoff Neal and Ian Garry will face off in a welterweight bout. Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo will go head-to-head in a bantamweight clash, with the winner expected to challenge for the title.
Middleweights Anthony Hernandez and Roman Kopylov will also kick off the main card proceedings.
The action for the evening kicks off with the early prelims, which will begin at 6:00PM ET / 3:00PM PT / 11:00PM GMT.
The preliminary will then start two hours later, and the main card is expected to take place at 10PM ET / 7PM PT and 3:00AM GMT.
For fans looking to purcahse UFC 298, it is available through an ESPN + PPV subscription and TNT Sports Box Office for viewers in the UK.
Alexander Volkanovski believes a victory over Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 will be "perfect" for the story of his career
Alexander Volkanovski will return to the featherweight division and make his first title defence of 2024 when he faces Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.
'The Great' heads into the fight off the back of a first round head kick KO loss he suffered at the hands of Islam Makhachev last October. Considering the manner of his loss and that he is now 35 years old, there is a narrative amongst some fans that his bout against Topuria could start a downward spiral in his career.
Speaking on Israel Adesanya's YouTube channel, Volkanovski hit back at fans with that mindset, believing instead that the writing is on the wall for him to prove his doubters wrong. He said:
"It's perfect for my storyline right now. 'Cause right now, everyone's looking at me from the lost loss, coming off that, and people are looking into my age being 35 and all this."
He added:
"I love proving people wrong. I've been doing it my whole life. I get to do that again."
Catch Alexander Volkanovski's comments regarding UFC 298 here (16:35):