Where is UFC 298 going to be held? Dana White confirms venue for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria headliner
Weeks after Dana White's news drop announcing the first three pay-per-view events of 2024, the UFC president slowly gave more information on each fight card and just made UFC 298 official.
White confirmed that UFC 298 — headlined by featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria — will take place on Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The event will be the first time the UFC will be returning to America's Golden State since an August 2022 Fight Night card headlined by Dominick Cruz and Marlon 'Chito' Vera. UFC 298 will be the first pay-per-view event in California since UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane, which was coincidentally also in the Honda Center.
Despite the official venue announcement only coming out recently, the event was rumored to take place in California since Ilia Topuria posted a self-produced promo on social media. At the end of the video, text flashed on the screen that read 'Topuria vs Volkanovski' and 'Los Angeles, California.'
The fight will be Alexander Volkanovski's first since losing to Islam Makhachev by knockout on short notice at UFC 294. Topuria has not fought since dominating Josh Emmett in June 2023 and will enter his first major championship fight at 14-0.
Who will be fighting at UFC 298?
As of November 2023, no California-based fighters have been announced to compete on the card. Few fights in total have been officially confirmed on the card outside of the main event.
Since the departure of Urijah Faber, however, the state has been without a major UFC star. Arguably, the biggest star fighting out of California will be competing in the next pay-per-view event, as Marlon Vera and Sean O'Malley will headline UFC 299. Though born in Ecuador, Vera trains out of the RVCA Training Center with Jason Parillo, who is based in Costa Mesa.
On the undercard of UFC 298, Chinese prospect Zhang Mingyang will make his long-awaited promotional debut against DWCS contract winner Brendon Ribeiro. Top-15 heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima will also be returning against Australian knockout artist Justin Tafa.