UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

Woodburn vs. Elliott
Val Woodburn, TKO
185 is crazy😭😭

Oban was trolling. Just made 170, looks ******* gigantic tho

* Edited at 02.16.2024, 12:07 PM ET *

Honestly, months ago I made a comment about how Volkanovski belonged to that group of UFC Champions that in general consensus was not usually given the merits it deserves. While other champions had boring decisions or had defenses against challengers that were Top 5 but of questionable quality, Volk has not only put up great defenses but has put real beatings (MMA Masterclass) on Korean Zombie, Brian Ortega, Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez everything in back to back (not counting the 2 fights against Islam) but people always come up with some excuse to doubt Volk: what if the level of striking of his opponents, the head kicks, pressure pace, subs attemps and passing all that Volk has looked untouchable in 4 of 5 title defenses.

But none of that takes away from Topuria, who is honestly a real well-rounded fighter and honestly one of the smartest guys in the fight game. Before the fight against Emmett he was building a large fanbase in Europe based on great performances and not on being a clown on social media. Much of what he has said in recent weeks may be a combination of meaning and nonsense. He trash talking against Volk has been really smart: he says Volk is old since that is literally what UFC Fansbase parrots, he says that Volk is a small guy since that is the argument that MMA fanbase has always used to discredit him (even though Topuria is only about 2 cm taller than Alexander), he says that he is going to knock out Alex in the first round since, in addition to the confidence in his skills, MMA Fans and Media keep repeating that it is too early to May Volk return and not be recovered from the KO loss in October.

Topuria saying that he will not give Brian Ortega, Yair and Holloway a chance for the title. Maybe it doesn't make sense because even if Ilia wins against Volk on Saturday, the defenses are not transportable anyway, but the truth is that people are tired of seeing the same guys fight, having a lot of title shots with short winning streaks fighting each other. the same against the same when in the #5, #6 or #7 spot are fighters undefeated or on streaks of 6+ wins streak. Giving Brian Ortega a chance over Evloev would be disrespectful to common sense.

From my point of view Topuria's mental strength and convictions are being put to the test especially because Volk has shown intelligent reactions to all of Ilia's attempts to get into his mind. I don't see Volkanovski going crazy during the start of the fight. and on the contrary, I think that if Topuria does not manage to finish in the first 7 minutes of the fight, he will begin to get desperate and make defensive errors.

The thing about the 15 roses, putting the title on your waist before winning it, practically already having a movie ready about his path for the title and other antics are a sign of security and not believing in superstitions but at the same time it is still being one step away from disaster.

Why they don't use digital scales, **** commissions

@NCPC23 

I imagine because watching led screens on weigh ins aren't as profitable as looking at hair lines.

* Edited at 02.16.2024, 12:15 PM ET *

Is Quinlan cooked without his juice?

Alex Volkanovski vs Ilia Topuria
#And New, Topuria KO/TKO R2
Estamos apoyando para ti, q regresas con el titulo en la casa UFC SPAIN 🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🏆🏆🙏

Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa
Bobby Knuckles Rob the Reaper DEC
Sober Costa/ Secret Juice 🧃 will fumble

Geoff Neal vs Ian Machado
Geoff Neal DEC

Merab Dvashvili vs Henry Cejudo
Merab Dvashvili DEC
Even the Mexicans are supporting for you
Viva la raza wey 🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽

Anthony Hernadez vs Roman Kopylov
Anthony Hernandez DEC
I'm not confident on this one, Kopylov has some lethal hands

Amanda Lemos vs Mackenzie Dern
Amanda Lemos KO R2
It's crazy to me that still to this day, Dern can't even pull off a successful takedown without pulling guard. She has bjj but without wrestling she's very limited.

Marcos Rog de Lima vs Junior Tafa
Jr steps in for Big bro KO R1

Rinya Nakamura vs Carlos Vera
Rinya Nakamura TKO or Sub R2

Mingyang Zhang vs Brendson Ribeiro
Ribeiro KO R1

Josh Quinlan vs Danny Barlow
Barlow KO R1

Val Woodburn vs Oban Elliott
Elliott DEC

Andrea Lee vs Miranda Maverick
Lee DEC

* Edited at 02.16.2024, 3:23 PM ET *

@osusnp 

Makes sense

Just heard the Tafa vs de Lima fight is off due to injury. That sucks! That would have been a banger. 

Impressed Val slimmed down for 169.5, don't know if he'll have more movement though.

Laura is basically telling fighters to touch grass lmao

Volk’s face looks drained

@codyst789 

He really looks like it was a tough cut

@Durbs41 

yep Merab too

@osusnp he looked like he had no energy at all. Must’ve been a tough cut with all that muscle he carries 

* Edited at 02.16.2024, 12:52 PM ET *

@AyyLmaonnaise 

hopefully doesn't get stunned off the rip again so we can actually see him fight this time, but I didn't like his movement in the fights I found.

Could be my own perception, but Volk always has looked drained during official weigh ins. For a little dude, he can carry weight.

Now the card won't start til 7pm. Rough 

Don't say this often, but I was looking forward to that heavyweight bout