They were quick to laugh and rubbish his perceived arrogance during the build-up to the biggest fight of his career, but Ilia Topuria made good on his promise by securing a stunning second-round knockout win over long-reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and snap the Australian’s unbeaten 145lb streak, becoming the new divisional king in their PPV headliner.
Topuria on top of the world, just as he promised
R2, 3:32 — Ilia Topuria [3] bt. Alexander Volkanovski (c), crowned new UFC featherweight champion, improves to 15-0 and 7-0 in the promotion
- Topuria’s post-fight interview: “I feel so happy, they’re gonna knock you down and doubt you. Only person you need to achieve anything is yourself, work tirelessly, have faith and you’ll see. I just know my skill, I’ve worked so hard for this and knew one day I’d become UFC world champion – it doesn’t matter where you’re coming from, it matters where you’re going.”
- “It’s showtime,” 27-year-old Georgian, who moved to Spain aged 15, urges Hunter Campbell to take the promotion to European nation before calling out former two-division champion Conor McGregor on the microphone
- Volkanovski, now 1-3 in his last four fights, reveals openness to run it back in Spain: “We knew he had the power in those hands, credit to him. He’s obviously a hard-hitter, wasn’t meant to land on me like that… I’ve obviously been championn a long time, maybe we do a rematch over there.”
- “Pretty sure we were up [on the scorecards], but that’s the game. No matter who you are, let him catch you on the chin like that… you’re going down,” Volkanovski says in post-fight presser as he reiterates desire for rematch
Ilia Topuria came and produced exactly as he said he would, dethroning Alexander Volkanovski with a vicious right hand serving as the hammer blow – the UFC’s featherweight division crowned its first new champion in four years and three months after a stunning end to an exciting PPV card from Anaheim, California.
Volkanovski started by throwing a flurry of kicks while Topuria took centre ring, ominously waiting for his opportunity to explode into an action and patiently probing as he did against Josh Emmett eight months earlier.
A low calf kick threatened to floor the Australian, already looking defensively suspect with his head unnecessarily high whenever the challenger charged forwards.
The champion landed a few left hands catching Topuria’s attention at the end of a competitive first round that could’ve gone either way and jabbed well enough, but Topuria landed a left-hand right-hook combination early in the second which briefly stumbled him back before the pair settled into a rhythm.
Volkanovski wasn’t biting on feints as much anymore, but soon enough it didn’t matter. Topuria blitzed forward with Volk’s back against the fence and caught him clean, with a looping right in a five-punch combination sending him unconscious before you could finish blinking and the championship changed hands, just like that.
Heel kick scare aside, Whittaker back in the win column
29-28, 29-28, 30-27: Robert Whittaker [3] bt. Paulo Costa [6] via UD3
- Whittaker’s post-fight interview: “This was the exact fight I wanted, he’s a tough dude… I put a lot of pressure on myself after last time… I want Dricus [du Plessis] again, not going anywhere… I’m back!”
- Moving pieces: South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis scored a second-round stoppage win over the former champion last July, then won championship gold six months later against Sean Strickland at UFC 297
- Costa is now 1-3 in his last four fights, dating back to two-time champion Israel Adesanya snapping the Brazilian’s perfect 13-0 streak in Sept. 2020
Absorbing a beautiful spinning right heel kick to the face in the final seconds of round one threatened to end it early, and ruin all of Robert Whittaker’s earlier encouraging work against Paulo Costa – whose left leg was increasingly chewed up and suddenly this duel had a different feel through five minutes.
Whittaker recovered well enough to go back to basics early in the second, unloading his jab periodically and one-two combinations followed to the head as Costa found himself outboxed during their exchanges in the pocket.
The threat of those high kicks remained, but the former champion needed a better second frame as his stand-up skills paved the way for one.
The frenetic pace slowed slightly as both were visibly tired in the third, Costa imploring Whittaker to meet him in the centre and trade yet the Aussie stuck to the gameplan and that worked a treat, picking his shots smartly and landing low kicks too with the Brazilian wincing with every kick connection.
I wouldn’t go as far as Jon Anik did immediately afterwards declaring it an instant classic, but a fun firefight nonetheless between two contenders eager to seize an advantageous position at 185lbs, where the waters remain murky at the top.
Grit needed as Garry gets by Neal test
30-27, 28-29, 30-27: Ian Machado Garry [10] bt. Geoff Neal [8] via split decision, improves to 7-0 in the promotion
- 26-year-old credits veganism with ability to recover from big shots and stay fresh in round three, as he did against a powerful customer in Neal
- Ireland international wants to be more active, after pneumonia saw him withdraw from original Vicente Luque matchup at UFC 296 on Dec. 16
Ian Machado Garry will be ranked inside the top-10 at welterweight next week and made sure to call out former interim champion Colby Covington post-fight, after outpointing longtime contender Geoff Neal over 15 closely-contested minutes.
Neal’s discipline proved key early on, as the Irishman appeared to be expecting a wild, error-laden aggressive approach charging at him from the opening horn.
Instead, Neal was content to follow him around the cage and land subtle shots, whether low leg kicks or short straight punches, as well as dirty boxing in the clinch.
Garry almost consciously stepped on the accelerator in the final minute or so, aware the first stanza was closely-contested and trying to finish the busier.
Neal’s corner stressed the importance of not being lazy between rounds – Garry timed knees and body kicks well as it seemed Neal was stalling when he had opportunities to establish clinch control against the fence.
Neal’s wild combinations found a home but he was overthinking his entries and that allowed Garry to control distance well, landing single shots and letting kicks fly
More than three minutes’ control time but little to show for it, the Anaheim crowd weren’t impressed and neither was Neal’s corner.
He landed a good left with half-a-round left but didn’t follow it up with further striking combos, instead waiting and absorbing a big knee up the middle.
Neal’s inability to cut off the cage and nullify Garry’s movement was frustrating, so spare a thought for Handz of Steel once he watches back the film from this one.
Title-hunting Dvalishvili breaks down Cejudo in style
29-28, 29-28, 29-28: Merab Dvalishvili [2] bt. Henry Cejudo [3] via UD3 in bantamweight title eliminator
- “Hard work pays off,” Dvalishvili reiterates during passionate post-fight interview, says he quit his job five years ago to focus solely on being a full-time fighter and wants to be UFC champion at 135lbs
- Georgian says he’s ready to step in on short-notice or be the back-up fighter… new bantamweight titlist Sean O’Malley vs. Chito Vera 2 takes place on March 9 (UFC 299), Merab will face the winner later this year having refused to fight close friend and former champ Aljamain Sterling
- 33-year-old extends division’s longest active win streak (9) after passing Clay Guida for third-most takedowns landed in promotional history (79)
Merab Dvalishvili responded to an unspectacular start by doing what he does best, taking the contest down to the mat and using suffocating pressure against former two-division titlist Henry Cejudo en route to a deceptively impressive win.
Having undergone invasive surgery on an injured right-hand last May, which is said to still not be at 100%, you can only wonder what he’d look like in a championship matchup against either Sean O’Malley or Chito Vera later this year.
Both fighters wished this was scheduled for five rounds and you could tell from their tense start, Dvalishvili trying a few spinning attacks before Cejudo stung him clean with a left hook to quickly deter the Georgian from persisting with that tactic.
Instead, he secured a takedown after a nice leg sweep before Cejudo quickly returned to his feet, momentarily as a right hook stumbled him back down to the mat where they scrambled.
Dvalishvili had wrist control from bottom position, though Cejudo stayed composed as they engaged in handfighting and the former two-division champion pinned him back against the fence before landing a sneaky knee to the body.
A solid first stanza, but one he needed to build on as Dvalishvili nodded knowingly when the horn sounded.
“Slow down, don’t rush in, he’s tired now…” was the encouragement given to Dvalishvili who came out more aggressively to start the second-round.
They exchanged furiously in the pocket, Merab was enjoying the better of their stand-up exchanges before timing a nice single-leg takedown midway through round two and showcasing his overwhelming wrestling to keep Cejudo second best.
Dvalishvili threatened a guillotine choke in the final minute and felt comfortable enough to showboat too, as Cejudo looked physically compromised. That would only worsen in the final round, commentators speculating whether he’d broken his left forearm as he was pressed against the cage again and defensively vulnerable.
Cejudo’s encouraging start was a long time in the rearview mirror as Dvalishvili carried him across the cage before completing a slam, during a one-sided round where any jeopardy disappeared, such was Cejudo’s increasingly slow movements.
It wasn’t for want of trying, though he quickly proved second best against a contender whose relentlessness wore him down rather drastically. If this was scheduled for five rounds, it certainly wouldn’t have gone the distance.
Other results
Since suffering a first-round defeat by Kevin Holland in the promotion’s three-card return from coronavirus-enforced lockdown, Anthony Hernandez [15] has logged a five-fight win streak and defended his top-15 ranking against Roman Kopylov with a second-round submission win (rear-naked choke, 3:23) to kick off the main card.
Prelims
Women’s strawweight: Amanda Lemos [3] bt. Mackenzie Dern [7] via UD3: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
Heavyweight: Marcos Rogerio de Lima bt. Junior Tafa via TKO, leg kick and punches (R2, 1:14)
Bantamweight: Rinya Nakamura bt. Carlos Vera via UD3: 30-27 x 3
Light-heavyweight: Zhang Mingyang bt. Brendson Ribeiro via KO, punches (R1, 1:41)
Early prelims
Welterweight: Danny Barlow bt. Josh Quinlan via TKO, punches (R3, 1:18)
Welterweight: Oban Elliott bt. Val Woodburn via UD3: 30-27 x 2, 29-28
Women’s flyweight: Miranda Maverick bt. Andrea Lee [15] via UD3: 30-27 x 2, 29-28
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via UFC broadcast
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