Ilia Topuria (15-0) makes good on his promise as he knocks out Alexander Volkanovski (26-4) in the 2^nd round to capture the UFC Featherweight Championship in the main event of UFC 298 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Over the last several weeks, Ilia Topuria has been manifesting becoming the featherweight champion, even editing his Instagram account bio by including “UFC World Champion Undefeated 15-0”. He made good on these claims when he landed a right hand that floored the former champion.

“They’re going to tell you can’t do it. They’re going to knock you down and doubt you,” said Ilia Topuria. “But guess what, the only person you need to [listen to] in this life is yourself. Just trust yourself. Work tirelessly. And everything is possible”.

With this win, Topuria becomes the 1^st ever Spanish fighter to win gold in the UFC. He is also the 5^th undisputed UFC Featherweight champion ever behind Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor, Max Holloway, and Alexander Volkanovski.

For the former champion, this is his first UFC defeat at featherweight after previously going 13-0 against the division. This is also his second knockout defeat in four months after his TKO loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 294.

In the co-main event, Robert Whittaker (26-7) returned to form against Paulo Costa (14-3) and walked away with a unanimous decision victory. This comes after his TKO defeat to now UFC Middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis.

Robert Whittaker controlled most of the 1^st round, but was hit was a brutal spinning wheel kick right before the round ended. He then bounced back to out strike Paulo Costa and won the remaining two rounds on all three of the judge’s scorecards.

This win puts Whittaker back on track toward the UFC Middleweight title, which he loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 in 2019.

Elsewhere on the card, Ian Machado Garry continued his undefeated streak as he moved to 14-0 by winning a split decision over Geoff Neal. Merab Dvalishvili picked up the biggest win of his career as he defeated Henry Cejudo by unanimous decision. Lastly, Anthony Hernandez submitted Roman Kopylov via rear naked choke in the 2^nd round.

Prelims

Amanda Lemos def. Mackenzie Dern via Unanimous Decision

Marcos Rogerio De Lima def. Junior Fata via 2^nd Round TKO

Rinya Nakamura def. Carlos Vera via Unanimous Decision

Zhang Mingyang def. Brendson Ribeiro via 1^st Round KO/TKO

Danny Barlow def. Josh Quinlan via 3^rd Round KO/TKO

Oban Elliott def. Val Woodburn via Unanimous Decision

Miranda Maverick def. Andrea Lee via Unanimous Decision