UFC 298: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria odds, picks & predictions

In a 5-round featherweight championship bout in the main event, Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria meet Saturday at UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.

The early prelims begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, and can be viewed on ESPN/ESPN+. The prelims begin at 8 p.m. ET, and can be viewed on ESPN/ESPN+, while the main card starts at 10 p.m. ET, and is on Pay-Per-View.

Records: Volkanovski (26-3-0) | Topuria (14-0-0)

Volkanovski puts his featherweight strap on the line as he looks to bounce back from a loss against lightweight title holder Islam Makhachev in a bid to become a 2-division champ. Volkanovski was knocked out in just 3:06 of the 1st round at UFC 294, and it’s doubtful we’ll see him move up again.

In the featherweight division, Volkanovski has killed it, though. He is 13-0-0 in his 13 bouts, including a 3rd-round KO/TKO win over Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 to defend his featherweight title for a 5th consecutive time.

Topuria presents a huge challenge to Alexander The Great. The Georgian featherweight is a perfect 14-0-0 in his pro career, including 6-0-0 since arriving at the UFC level. He hasn’t faced tomato cans, either, disposing of veteran Josh Emmett in a unanimous-decision win last time out in the main event in late June. He also submitted Bryce Mitchell prior to that at UFC 282.

Topuria is 8 years younger, so will youthful exuberance outweigh experience? Volkanovski has a 2.5-inch reach advantage while holding a 6.19-to-4.44 significant strikes landed per minute advantage. He lands 60.18% of those strikes, too, with Topuria landing just 49.78%. The ground game is good for both fighters, so each might be keen to keep it upright.

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UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria odds

BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:05 a.m. ET.

UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria picks and predictions

It’s tempting to play against VOLKANOVSKI (-125), but he has done nothing to cast doubt at the featherweight division. He is more dominant than ever. Now, if Topuria (+105) wanted to fight him at a heavier weight than 144, that’s where we’ve seen Volkanovski out of his element.

The veteran Volkanovski is a punching machine, and he is super accurate with those strikes. Topuria has fought some big-time guys, but no legends like Volkanovski. It’s not his time just yet.

OVER 3.5 ROUNDS (-140) is a strong play. Topuria isn’t going to go quietly into the night in his 1st title bid, but Volkanovski isn’t going to get surprised early by the challenger, either.

YES (+120): WILL FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE? is actually a pretty good value at plus-money. These are 2 fighters that are tough as nails, and each have tremendous wrestling ability. We could see long stretches on the ground where nothing happens. Unless we get a surprise KO/TKO early on, this one should go to the judges to decide a winner.