UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski puts his belt and unbeaten streak at 145 pounds on the line when he takes on Ilia Topuria in the main event at UFC 298 on Saturday (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV, with prelims at 8 p.m. ESPN/ESPN+ and early prelims at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+).
Volkanovski, ranked No. 3 in ESPN's pound-for-pound rankings, has lost two of his last three fights, but both losses came in challenges for Islam Makhachev's UFC lightweight title. Topuria, ESPN's No. 5 ranked featherweight, enters the fight following a unanimous decision win over Josh Emmett at UFC Fight Night in June 2023.
In the co-main event, Paulo Costa makes his anticipated return to the Octagon after a near two-year layoff when he faces former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Costa beat Luke Rockhold by unanimous decision in his last fight at UFC 278 in August 2022. Whittaker's last fight ended in a second-round knockout loss to Dricus Du Plessis.
Andres Waters spoke to Syndicate MMA coach John Wood to get his perspective on the main event while ESPN's betting experts Reed Kuhn and Ian Parker examine the main event and highlight other intriguing bets on the card.
Editor's note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.