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The UFC is headed to Anaheim, California, for its next pay-per-view card, UFC 298. Brace yourself for a night of epic battles as we look at the exciting fighters gracing the card tonight.
The main event of UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria will feature a thrilling featherweight title showdown between defending 145-pound king Alexander Volkanovski and the No.3-ranked contender Ilia Topuria. Taking the co-main event honors at UFC 298 will be a thrilling middleweight battle between former divisional champion Robert Whittaker and the No.6-ranked Paulo Costa.
Watch UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria fight preview below:
Let's take a look at all the main and prelim fighters competing on the UFC 298 card tonight.
UFC card tonight: UFC 298 main card fighters
Here is a list of all the main card fights for this weekend's UFC 298 event:
Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Ilia Topuria (featherweight title)
Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa (middleweight)
Ian Machado Garry vs. Geoff Neal (welterweight)
Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili (bantamweight)
Anthony Hernandez vs. Roman Kopylov (middleweight)
Alexander Volkanovsk (26-3)
Alexander Volkanovski successfully defended his featherweight throne for a fifth time with a TKO of Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 in July. However, 'The Great' suffered a vicious first-round knockout against Islam Makhachev in his second attempt to join the vaunted double-champ club last time out at UFC 294 in October. The Aussie will return to the featherweight this Saturday hoping to continue his dominance in the division.
Ilia Topuria (14-0)
Ilia Topuria battered UFC veteran Josh Emmett to win a dominant decision in their main event battle last June. The undefeated Spaniard now looks to end Volkanovski's legendary title run and keep his perfect undefeated record alive.
Robert Whittaker (24-7)
Robert Whittaker is looking to get back on track after suffering a vicious second-round TKO loss at the hands of Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290 last July. 'Bobby Knuckles' is currently 1-2 in his last three outings and will hope to get back into title contention with a statement win this Saturday.
Paulo Costa (14-2)
After suffering back-to-back losses to Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori, Paulo Costa rebounded by edging out former 185-pound champ Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 in August 2022. 'Borrachinha' will hope to put together another win streak when he takes on another former titleholder on the card tonight.
Ian Garry (13-0)
Ian Garry will look to continue his ascent in the 170-pound division when he faces a higher-ranked opponent this weekend. The undefeated Irishman outpointed Neil Magny last time out in August and hopes to take another step towards the title with a UFC 298 win this Saturday.
Geoff Neal (15-5)
Geoff Neal looks to get back into the win column after getting submitted by undefeated standout Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 285 last year. The Texan is currently 2-3 in his last five trips to the octagon.
Henry Cejudo (16-3)
After a three-year retirement, Henry Cejudo made an unsuccessful return to the octagon last May, suffering a split decision defeat to then-bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling. The former two-division champion will look to get back on track as he faces a streaking Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 on Saturday.
Merab Dvalishvili (16-4)
Merab Dvalishvili outpointed former divisional champion Petr Yan last March to extend his win streak to nine. 'The Machine' now looks to earn a crack at the title with a convincing win over a decorated opponent.
Anthony Hernandez (11-2-1NC)
Anthony Hernandez is riding a four-fight win streak into this bout, with three of those victories coming via stoppage. In his latest outing, the Californian dispatched Edmen Shahbazyan via third-round TKO in May.
Roman Kopylov (12-2)
Much like his opponent, Roman Kopylov is also on a four-fight win streak, with all of those wins coming via finish. The Russian most recently knocked out Josh Fremd in September.
UFC card tonight: UFC 298 preliminary card fighters
Here is a list of all the prelim card fights for this weekend's event:
Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Lemos (women's strawweight)
Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Justin Tafa (heavyweight)
Rinya Nakamura vs. Carlos Vera (bantamweight)
Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro (light heavyweight)
Mackenzie Dern (13-4)
Mackenzie Dern has alternated losses and wins in her last five outings. In her latest trip to the octagon, the Arizona native suffered a technical knockout defeat at the hands of Jessica Andrade in November.
Amanda Lemos (13-3-1D)
Amanda Lemos is looking to get back into the win column after getting outpointed by Weili Zhang in their title fight at UFC 292. The Brazilian is currently 2-2 in the last four fights.
Marcos Rogerio de Lima (21-9-1D)
Marcos Rogerio de Lima is coming off a vicious first-round TKO loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC 291. The Brazilian is 3-4 in his last seven trips to the octagon.
Justin Tafa (7-3-1NC)
Justin Tafa is unbeaten in his last four outings (including a no-contest). All of those wins came via first-round knockout with his latest triumph coming over Austen Lane at UFC 293 in September.
Rinya Nakamura (8-0)
Rinya Nakamura is coming off a unanimous decision win over Fernie Garcia Fernie Garcia in August. Six of his eight wins came via stoppage.
Carlos Vera (11-3)
Carlos Vera is set to make his UFC debut this weekend on the strength of a four-fight win streak. The Louisiana native's last two wins came via guillotine submission.
Zhang Mingyang (16-6)
Zhang Mingyang will be seeking his 10th straight first-round finish in his promotional debut this Saturday. The Chinese sensation most recently knocked out George Tokkos at UFC - Road to UFC: Singapore Quarterfinals in June 2022.
Brendson Ribeiro (15-5-1NC)
Brendson Ribeiro is riding a three-fight win streak into his octagon debut, with all of those victories coming via first-round stoppage. The Brazilian's latest win came over Bruno Lopes via KO at Dana White’s Contender Series in September.
