+*StrEAM!ufc@ESPN+> 298 UFC Live Free TV Channel 18 February 2024
UFC 298 start time -- Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria: Live stream, PPV price, prelims, TV channel
Here's everything you need to know to catch the UFC 298 event on Saturday in Anaheim, California
UFC 298 is looking like the first great UFC pay-per-view of the year. UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski defends his title against a hungry contender in Ilia Topuria in Anaheim, California on Saturday on a main card that features two former champions and other rising contenders.
Volkanovski vs. Topuria is nearly a pick'em. It's surprising at a glance considering Volkanovski's dominant reign as featherweight champion. But there are a litany of things working against the Aussie, including age and a knockout loss in October against Islam Makhachev. Volkanovski has leaned into the concerns about being physically past his prime, attending the UFC 298 press conference dressed as an old man. An all-time great champion vs. a dangerous rising contender makes for a spectacular main event.
Saturday's main card features former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and former two-division champion Henry Cejudo, fighting Paulo Costa and Merab Dvalishvili respectively. The winner of the middleweight fight should be in the loose title mix. Dvalishvili vs. Cejudo should produce the next title challenger at bantamweight. Another bright spot on the card is Geoff Neal vs. Ian Machado Garry in a battle of sublime strikers.
Below is all the information you need to catch UFC 298 on Saturday night.
How to watch UFC 298 prelims
Date: Feb. 17 | Location: Honda Center-- Anaheim, California
Time: 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. ET for early prelims)
Channel: ESPN
How to watch UFC 298 main card
Date: Feb. 17 | Location: Honda Center -- Anaheim, California
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Stream: ESPN+ PPV | Price: $79.99
Now, here's a look at the UFC 298 main fight card and betting odds.
UFC 298 main card, odds
FAVORITE UNDERDOG WEIGHTCLASS
Alexander Volkanovski (c) -125 Ilia Topuria +105 Featherweight title
Robert Whittaker -250 Paulo Costa +205 Middleweight
Ian Machado Garry -230 Geoff Neal +190 Welterweights
Merab Dvalishvili -230 Henry Cejudo +190 Bantamweights
Anthony Hernandez -250 Roman Kopylov +205 Welterweights
Ian Machado Garry is different
When you speak to a lot of fighters, it’s easy to forget that they are more than just fighters and that they are pro athletes, too. It’s because often fighters actually forget they are pro athletes. They think of themselves as fighters, warriors, soldiers, first and foremost, maybe — in some cases — as martial artists, too. But many don’t acknowledge the professional side of their sport. And why would they? The UFC, and the MMA industry that follows it, have worked hard to make fighters believe they are second billing to whatever letters are written on the inside of the cage.
The UFC tells fighters they will handle the promotion. The UFC tells fighters “Jump!” and the fighters say “How high?” The worst thing that could happen for the UFC is if every fighter woke up this morning, looked in the mirror and said “I’m a professional athlete and I deserve to be treated like one.” What comes next might be a fighters’ association, collective bargaining, 50-50 revenue splits, equity… Dana White’s nightmares come true.
However, not every fighter is stuck thinking of themselves like a gladiator in a pit or a Samurai honour bound to their Shogun; who will fight and die at the pleasure of their retainer. Some of these guys and girls actual see themselves as pros and, despite the promotion doing their best to deprive of them of the benefits reaped by other mainstream pro athletes, these few don’t just take their craft seriously, but also their brand. And, love him or hate him, Ian Machado Garry is one of those cats.
“I call it the ‘Blonde Bond’,” smiled Garry as he discussed the Sean Connery inspired suit he plans to wear at this weekend’s UFC 298; an event where he is due to fight Geoff ‘Handz of Steel’ Neal. “It’s super clean, super efficient, but I’m deadly and I’m ready to go to work type of vibes”
“And I think that, to me, when you dress for business you show up in a suit, you’re ready to perform. Sir Alex Ferguson made all the Manchester United players wear suits, he said this is a job, show up, dressed and ready for work. And I feel very similar to that. So for me, I’m just going to go in there, clean and know that I have a job to do and I’m not going to stop until the job gets done.”
Garry, who recently appeared in the NHL All-Stars Game program advertising a vegan protein product, is a student of mainstream sports and thinks big league stick and ball games are the examples he needs to follow if he seeks to transcend beyond the confines of a cage — much like his notorious countryman Conor McGregor once did.
“I am aware of all the mental strategies that other sports offer,” he said. “And I think it’s important that we look at other sports to evolve our sport. My entire social media platform, and everything that I do, is designed around Premier League footballers and the way they work because they are the most lucrative athletes on the planet. And the way they operate and the way they do their social media, and the way their clubs operate, is through such a high standard that you can’t not look at that and take from it all of the possible positives to add to this business.”
Garry talks like a Lebron or a Messi. And his dream is to become a name mentioned in the same breath of those megastars. However, the 26-year-old 13-0 fighter still has plenty to prove before he can claim being one of the biggest names in MMA, let alone mainstream sports.
Prospect doesn’t cut it anymore
Garry has enjoyed the reputation that comes along with being a young undefeated fighter who has set tongues wagging with performances on smaller shows and, thus far, against a gentle climb in opponent quality within the UFC.
He was listicle fodder for ‘Best fighters outside the UFC’ and ‘Best fighters on the European scene’ long before he signed with the UFC in the summer of 2021.
Since entering the Octagon he hasn’t put a foot wrong and advanced to listicles like ‘Best UFC prospects’. After his hot start under the big lights, Garry was given his first real tests in the shape of gatekeepers Daniel Rodriguez and Neil Magny. Despite their best efforts, Garry was able to pass them and open the doors onto the top ten rankings in the UFC’s welterweight division.
Entering his athletic prime, and positioned among the elites of his weight class, Garry knows being a ‘prospect’ isn’t good enough anymore.
“It is a change in the mind set when you do enter the UFC you have to prove you are of that level,” said Garry of his career trajectory to date. “When you become a hot prospect that everybody is watching, you have to back it up. Because the hype doesn’t get generated unless you put the performances in. Now, what we’ve been saying to everyone in the team is, that we are committing to a title run. Committing to going out there at every opportunity that I have and showing the world just how talented I am.”
Garry speaks of his title run like someone who genuinely believes there is no other possible outcome than him beating Neal, and whomever else is next, on route to hoisting a UFC title in the air, with his wife by his side and his child on his hip.
He talks as if this has already been written. Whether this is bravado, delusion or absolute confidence, only the man himself can answer. The conviction in his voice, certainly had me leaning towards the side of absolute confidence.
Find Start Times And Fight Card Info For UFC 298 Live From Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on February 17.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship or UFC 298 Featherweight Main event is taking place this weekend on Sunday, Feb. 18.
Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria will face off in the main event of UFC 298 for the featherweight championship.
Find a live PPV feed to livestream the UFC 298 fight online on ESPN+: How to watch the Volkanovski vs Topuria, early prelims, and more...
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Watch the UFC 298 main card with MMA Fighting, which will be headlined by Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria for the featherweight
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Defending UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski will put his title on the line against challenger Ilia Topuria in the headline.
Here's everything you need to know to catch the UFC 298 event on Saturday in Anaheim, California.
UFC 298 takes centre stage in California this weekend. Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight title once again as he seeks to.!@31asdfsfsdfsdfsdf