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UFC 298 Post Fight Thoughts
UFC 298 is in the books, and it was a good one. I'll spare you all the preamble... here are some thoughts I have on the fights, and the future of some of the fighters.
Main Event:
What a shocker - Ilia Topuria is just that good. He was able to do the unthinkable and dethrone the dominant featherweight champion.
In watching the fight, this was no lucky right hand. He walked down the champ, got him right where he wanted him againts the cage, and took him out with a great combination. Ilia has a very, very bright future ahead of him as he remains undefeated and is now the featherweight champion of the world.
Volk Future:
To me, getting KO’d does shorten a fighters longevity and maybe thier confidence... but not always. I think loosing a five round fight by unanimous decision is far worse from the perspective of the loser, as they will know they were “beaten” versus “got caught”.
Let me ask you this, what was worse for Isreal Adesanya overall. getting knocked out by Pereira? Or getting dog walked by Sean Strickland for 5 rounds (dog joke pun not intended)? He was knocked out by Pereira twice in his fight career and still was able to avenge those losses and get his title back. He even avenged Alex's son's taunt from the first KO.
I tell you all this to say, Volk got caught two fights in a row, and I don’t think anyone (including Islam) can win going 5 rounds with him. He will be back to reclaim his belt just like Izzy after his knockout loss.
Speaking of Volk and Izzy, I do have comments about being as active as those two are. I feel like these back to back to back fights are hard on them and are contributing factors in their title reigns ending shorter than it could have.
Everyone loves an active fighter, and a champion that will fight “anyone, anytime”. I don’t think anyone would have blamed Volk if he wanted to take a minute after stepping in againts the pound for pound best in Islam on short notice, saving the Abu Dahbi card last fall. Volk took it a step further and said once he dispatches of Tuporia, he wants to fight on UFC 300 in April.
He has been pretty open about his desire to fight as much as possible, but I think Volk fans would love to see him slow down like Izzy has for a little while and take some well deserved rest.
("Old Volk") gets woken up by nice young man Paulo Costa at UFC 298 press conference)
Other Thoughts:
I’ll keep this pretty short. Merab is the real deal and is an absolute matchup nightmare for current champion Sean O’Malley, and potential champion Chito Vera. No wonder why O’Malley wants to jump up and fight Tuporia, he’s got a list of bantamweight killers lined up after Chito.
Henry Cejudo sort of screwed up his retirement and comeback. Obviously we would be singing a different tune if he woke either of his two fights when he returned, but he didn’t. Instead he took off his gloves and wasn’t even getting the microphone to adress it officially. He is a legend of the game but now has gone out with a bit of a whimper. I wouldn’t be shocked if he changes his mind again as he’s a bit of a troll with the community.
Ian Garry couldn’t be more wrong about how he’s perceived by the fans. He used his length to keep Neal at bay in this fight, which is great, but did nothing exciting, certainly nothing superstar worthy. But you wouldn’t know it but his shushing of the audience and comments after the fight. I personally hope he gets his wish and Colby Covington takes the wind out of his self propelled sails. What could go wrong getting these two together?
So that’s it - my thoughts on UFC 298. I am very much looking foward to what’s on the horizon for the next few cards, as we continue a very strong start to the year.
