Alexander Volkanovski to Face Ilia Topuria in UFC 298 Main Event

While it won’t come quite as early as he wanted, Alexander Volkanovski will still get a relatively quick return to the Octagon.

The reigning featherweight king will defend his belt against Ilia Topuria in the UFC 298 headliner, UFC CEO Dana White announced on Monday. A date and venue for the event are currently unknown, though the card will take place sometime in February.

Volkanovski is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Islam Makhachev in his second bid to become a two-division champion at UFC 294 this past October. The City Kickboxing accepted the bout on short notice when Makhachev’s original foe, Charles Oliveira, was unable to compete after suffering a cut in training. An emotional Volkanovski requested a quick return in the aftermath of the defeat, targeting UFC 297 in January. Instead, his first 145-pound title defense since July — a third-round TKO of Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 — will occur the following month.

Topuria, meanwhile, has been victorious in his first 14 professional outings — including six within the Las Vegas-based promotion. “El Matador” was successful in his first headlining endeavor at UFC on ABC 5, where he outpointed former interim title challenger Josh Emmett on June 24. The 26-year-old Spaniard has finished 12 of his 14 victories inside the distance.