UFC 298 storylines: Can Topuria end Volkanovski’s title run?

Few fighters in combat sports truly live up to their nickname. “The Korean Zombie” moved forward unperturbed by anything in its path, but Chan Sung Jung was neither an undead nor a myth. “The Ax Murderer,” as fierce as Wanderlei Silva was, never felled a tree or even an opponent inside the cage. The heavyweight who calls himself “Razor” has a thick beard covering his face, so what does Curtis Blaydes know about razors? Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was capable of savage violence early in his career, but toward the end it was more of a “mild disturbance.” And so on.

Then there is Alexander Volkanovski. His nickname, “The Great,” tells us two things: first, that he or someone in his circle of friends studies ancient Greek history and, second, that he is far more humble than he seems. should be. Because with apologies to Muhammad Ali, Volkanovski has earned the right to use the superlative version of that nickname. When it comes to current UFC and all-time featherweight champions, he's “the greatest.”

Volkanovski is by far the longest reigning champion in the UFC. He won the men's featherweight title in 2019, and none of the other 10 current champions won their title until 2022. Volkanovski has defended his title five times, more than twice as many as the next most accomplished champion. He'll put his belt on the line for the sixth time Saturday when he faces undefeated Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC 298 in Anaheim, Calif. (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET).

Another figure adds to the intrigue of this weekend's title defense. That number is 35 – Volkanovski’s age. No one in the UFC's lower weight divisions has ever won a title fight at this age or older. And for all his success – 12 straight victories at featherweight – Volkanovski has recently become accustomed to losing. He has lost two of his last three fights, both to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Volkanovski's loss to Makhachev in October came by first-round knockout. It's difficult to bounce back.

And yet, it still seems unimaginable that Topuria would dethrone “Alexander the Great”.

The stage is set for a big night at the Honda Center, which will see several fascinating clashes before Volkanovski and Topuria take center stage. Here's a look at the most intriguing storylines from UFC 298.

Will this remind us again that there are levels in this sport?

Men's Featherweight Championship: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria

Topuria is 14-0, with the last six of those victories coming in the UFC, four of which came by finish. He has looked destructive every time he has entered the Octagon. But here are the fighters he faced in the UFC cage: Josh Emmett, Bryce Mitchell, Jai Herbert, Ryan Hall, Damon Jackson and Youssef Zalal. There are some marginally high-end names, but compare this list with Volkanovski's six most recent opponents: Makhachev, Yair Rodriguez, Makhachev Encore, Max Holloway, The Korean Zombie and Brian Ortega. Before that, Volk had beaten Holloway two other times and before that, he had beaten Jose Aldo. He decimated every other greatest 145 pounder in MMA history.

Topuria is strangely confident, though, in the same way Chris Weidman was confident before his unthinkable upset of Anderson Silva in 2013. Does the 27-year-old Spaniard just not see what's coming? Or does he know exactly what awaits him: MMA stardom after knocking out the sport's most decorated current champion? On Saturday, we'll either see a star rise to the top of the game or a violent, dismissive backlash.

One man's redemption is another man's free fall

Middleweight: Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa

Both of these fighters are down, which is a particularly unexpected state for Whittaker. But he lost twice to former champion Israel Adesanya, then to the man who now holds the belt, Dricus Du Plessis. All of this has put the former champion far, far away from returning to the top of the mountain.

Costa has never tasted this throne. Adesanya made sure of that, dominating their 2020 title fight and handing the Brazilian his first defeat. Costa has never been the same since then, although evidence of his demise is limited, as he only fought twice. It's as if he had disappeared.

Here is an opportunity for one of these fighters to shift their career onto an upward trajectory. Of the two men, Whittaker seems more self-aware, which might ignite the fire of urgency within him. Whittaker is 33, Costa 32, so there is time – but not plenty – to make another shot at the title. It has to start this evening.

He can dish it out, but can he take it?

Welterweight: Geoff Neal vs. Ian Machado Garry

Combat sports are, to paraphrase the late Yogi Berra, 90% mental and the other half physical. If this equation doesn't make sense to you, it's either because you're not as wise as Yogi or because the mental game is shrouded in mystery. Fighters have always sought to gain an advantage by poking their would-be opponents with unkind words, and only sometimes do they land as a clean punch.

When this fight was originally scheduled for last summer, Garry let his wardrobe talk trash, wearing a T-shirt that featured a photo of Neal during a drunk driving arrest. The gamesmanship seemed unnecessary, however, after the fight was called off due to Neal's illness. Now it's back. “He’s dead,” Neal said.

Between the cancellation and the rebooking, the laws of karma placed Machado Garry under personal attacks from other fighters. And the undefeated Briton appeared to shrink in the face of all the unkind words before pulling out of a fight in December due to pneumonia. How will Garry's mental game hold up?

It's unfortunate that this is the narrative surrounding a fight that could propel the winner into contention. But that’s where the sport now resides.

If you wear fancy clothes to a puck drop, Henry, bring a valet.

Men's Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo

Dvalishvili is an entertaining showman, from his quirky social media videos to his jacket-stealing prank on Sean O'Malley. But while in his public appearances he can be a prankster, as a fighter, Merab is far from a joke.

Dvalishvili wins his fights through fierce fighting. How relentless? In his last fight, he knocked out Petr Yan 11 times. Yan actually held up well to Dvalishvili's shots, stopping 38 of them. (Yes, Dvalishvili shot for 49 takedowns in five rounds.) But the nonstop takedown defense wore Yan down. The same thing happened to José Aldo in Dvalishvili's previous fight. Aldo stopped all 16 takedown attempts, but Merab never stopped coming.

What this means is that Cejudo's Olympic wrestling experience may not be the X-factor that swings this fight in his direction. He will surely stop many takedowns, but that won't slow down Dvalishvili. Will Cejudo, 36 years old and with just one fight in nearly four years, have the stamina to cross the finish line?

The pile of straw is deep

Strawweight: Amanda Lemos vs. Mackenzie Dern

Originally, this fight card was supposed to feature a fight between Lemos and Tatiana Suarez, both top-10 contenders at 115 pounds. After losing that match due to Suarez's knee injury, what did UFC 298 end with? Another top 10 matchup.

Dern isn't undefeated, like Suarez, but she's a fighting ace with more submission wins than any other strawweight, active or otherwise. This speaks to the depth of this weight class, which also includes the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in women's MMA, Zhang Weili.

Here's a chance for the UFC's smallest fighters to put on a big show.