Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title against top contender Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 on Feb. 17, with the location and whether it will be the main event still pending.
Alexander Volkanovski has a date set for his next title defense, with the reigning featherweight champion scheduled to face top contender Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 on Feb. 17. The promotion announced the fight, which will take place on Feb. 18 in Volkanovski’s native Australia, on Wednesday. The location for UFC 298 is still pending, and it is not yet known if Volkanovski vs. Topuria is the finalized main event.
Originally rumored to be competing at UFC 297 in January in Toronto, Volkanovski instead jumped on a short-notice opportunity this past October to rematch lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. Despite setbacks, Volkanovski (26-3) remains the man to beat at 145 pounds. The Australian star has never lost at featherweight and looks to defend his UFC title for a sixth consecutive time when he fights Topuria in February. Volkanovski currently sits at No. 2 in Pound-for-Pound rankings.
Topuria (14-0) has won all six of his UFC outings, with four of those fights ending inside the distance. In his most recent bout, Topuria earned a lopsided decision win over Josh Emmett to cement himself as the next man in line to challenge Volkanovski. He is tied with Rodriguez for the No. 3 spot at 145 pounds in the Global Rankings. The matchup was previously announced to take place sometime in February by UFC CEO Dana White, with a date yet to be determined.