UFC 298: Official scorecards from Honda Center in Anaheim, California
UFC 298 just wrapped up. The event took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Feb. 17, 2024, and featured several high-profile names and interesting match-ups that kept the fans at the edge of their seats.
In the main event, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski took on Georgian-Spanish fighter Ilia Topuria in his quest to become the most dominant champion in the division's history.
Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and No.6-ranked Paulo Costa battled it out in the co-main event to keep their title aspirations in the rapidly changing landscape of the division.
The judges scoring these contests had a tough task at hand and here are the scorecards for UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria.
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria
Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski faced massive adversity heading into the fight being the older champion coming off a knockout loss to 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev. Meanwhile, the much younger Ilia Topuria promised to end the champion's title reign in fashion.
While the Australian fighter showed up on point and won the first round on all three judges' scorecards, a powerful right hook knocked him out in round two. Topuria became the first man to defeat Volkanovski at featherweight.
Topuria became the fifth man in the UFC featherweight division to hold the undisputed title and defeated an all-time great fighter to ascend to the top.
Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa
Robert Whittaker took a page from Israel Adesanya's books and attacked Paulo Costa's lead leg consistently throughout the fight while maintaining a sustained assault up top.
Costa, who appeared to be the more durable fighter between the two, had most of his success with jabs and high kicks that had no tell. Although Whittaker outstruck Costa in every round, 'The Eraser' came close to finishing the fight in the closing moments of round one with a perfectly placed spinning heel kick to the face.
However, Whittaker did enough to convince the judges and walked away with a hard-fought unanimous decision win.
Geoff Neal vs. Ian Machado Garry
Ian Machado Garry faced the toughest opponent of his career to date in No.8-ranked welterweight fighter Geoff Neal. Garry employed effective footwork from the get-go and tried to keep Neal at kicking range. 'Handz of Steel' had moderate success with inside leg kicks and succeeded in getting close to land power punches.
In the end, Garry won the closely contested but relatively uneventful three-rounder via split decision.
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo
At 37, Henry Cejudo is in the twilight of his career but took on one of the best fighters of the next generation, Merab Dvalishvili, in an attempt to make a final run at the UFC 135-pound title.
Cejudo started strong and won the first round on all three judges' scorecards. However, Dvalishvili took over from the middle of the second round as the former double champ looked visibly exhausted and struggling with what appeared to be a forearm injury.
'Triple C' gave Dvalishvili one of the toughest fights in recent memory but ultimately lost two of three rounds to the much younger and primed Georgian.
Anthony Hernandez vs. Roman Kopylov
Having gained notoriety for his relentless chain wrestling, No.15-ranked middleweight Anthony Hernandez put his ranking on the line against Roman Kopylov in the main card opening bout.
Hernandez attempted a staggering 11 takedowns in less than two rounds, eventually sinking in a rear naked choke. Kopylov fought the choke valiantly for almost a full minute but eventually tapped out, giving Hernandez the eighth submission win of his career.
Amanda Lemos vs. Mackenzie Dern
The featured prelim bout was a classic striker vs. grappler contest. One of the best female strikers in the UFC, Amanda Lemos took on Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Mackenzie Dern as both women attempted to bounce back from recent losses.
The back-and-forth action-packed contest saw both women have their moments and did a great job of surviving in each other's strong areas. In the end, Lemos got her hand raised, winning two of three rounds on the judges' scorecards.
Marcos Rogerio De Lima vs. Junior Tafa
A relatively inexperienced Junior Tafa stepped up to fight the veteran Marcos Rogerio De Lima after his brother Junior Tafa was forced to pull out of the fight due to an injury.
However, De Lima put his experience to use and battered Tafa's leg with repeated leg kicks. A hard kick to the leg dropped Tafa in round two and the 38-year-old rained down hammer fists on his late-replacement opponent until the referee stepped in.
Rinya Nakamura vs. Carlos Vera
Japan's Rinya Nakamura went into the opening bout on the preliminary card as the biggest favorite on the UFC 298 card against Carlos Vera. Nakamura masterfully worked around Vera's leg locks and dominated the fight with a better offense, control, and an overall good look.
Although he was disappointed for not getting a finish, the judges scored every round in the Japanese prospect's favor, and here is the scorecard.
