UFC 298: Next Gen Georgians

The Georgians are Taking Over

What a sensational event. The next generation of great MMA fighters was catalyzed at UFC 298. Rinya Nakamura proved himself against a scramble grappler intent to force leg entanglements. Fluffy Hernandez showed he belongs with the best and continues to be one of my favorite fighters (Check out Open Note Grappling’s video to break down his finish). Robert Whittaker proves he’s not yet done in a banger fight with Paulo Costa, who himself seems to be improving.

The men of the hour at Bantamweight and Featherweight were those I covered in last week’s article: Merab Dvalishvili and Ilia Topuria.

Merab vs Cejudo went exactly how I expected. Cejudo came in with salient ideas to punish Merab on the feet and sting him, but without a flush KO he could not stifle the pressure of his Georgian adversary.

Ilia Topuria illustrated his evolution by starching one of the greatest fighters of all time. The first round was marked by them looking for reads and seeing what tools would work. The interplay between them was lovely to watch and Thick, our buddy, and I were excited for what looked to be an exciting bout of adaptations over five. Topuria had a different idea. Though competitive throughout Topuria executed his game plan to perfection.

Disclaimer: The video clips included in this article are not owned by the author. They are included for educational purposes only to illustrate key moments in the fighter’s career and demonstrate aspects of mixed martial arts techniques and strategies. All rights to the video content belong to their respective owners.

¿El Matador, o El Toro?

Volkanovski may have been lacking defensively in areas of the fight but his approach to damaging Topuria was brilliant. He and his team keyed in on Topuria’s weakness to kicks as I expected, starting the fight with a high kick. I wrote about this in last week’s article as Volk showed a similar love for high kicks against Chad Mendes, one of his few opponents with a similar stature.

Though the high kick was a good weapon to capitalize upon later, Volk utilized the low kick and body kick as consistent parts of his offense. Topuria stayed composed while getting peppered with kicks but Volk is a fighter whose success is built on traps and accumulation. Keep damage consistent to punish them with more damaging strikes later.

Topuria’s main idea to counter Volk’s kicking was to throw punches. I did not think this strategy would yield results, as most who try to punch while the opponent kicks (as their only option) simply end up getting kicked a lot.

Rather than desperately punch after the kick was thrown, Topuria anticipated Volkanovski’s kicks and punched before Volk began his movement. Volkanovski was focused on attritive kicking damage while Topuria stayed patient looking for moments to land heavy offense.

The different approaches they took in this fight were even exemplified by their low kicking game. Volkanovski was providing a steady stream of kicks to the inside and outside of Topuria's calf. Topuria opted to punish Volkanovski’s lateral movement with strong, committed kicks.

The moment Volkanovski put his lead foot down Topuria was there to meet him with his shin. Topuria’s timing was a real standout in this performance as each of his low kicks spun Volkanovski around and did much more apparent damage than Volk’s own.

The other purpose of Volkanovski’s kicking was to generate a response from Topuria. The first round was used by each man to test their tools against the other and force openings. Volk’s fading left hook was meant to catch Topuria as he came in with punches.

Volkanovski was seeking to generate counter opportunities through his low kicks but he could have done the opposite as well. Topuria’s primary form of punch defense is head movement. Volkanovski’s jab often hit air because of this but look at Topuria’s lower body. While the head is moving the lower body does not. Had the fight progressed Volk could have used this to his advantage, using the jab to land authoritative kicks on Topuria’s calves.

Volk’s jab was incredibly active throughout the fight, often hitting air while Topuria looked for opportunities to counter the jab.

Topuria attempted to cross counter Volkanovski’s jab but was met with a retreating left hook instead. Hooking off the jab is a great way to anticipate an opponent’s jab counter and preemptively respond.

Topuria utilized the cross counter in the Emmett fight to great effect. Though it was not doing any immediate damage due to Volkanovski’s left hook, Topuria was able to pick up on a defensive liability.

Volkanovski displayed moments of brilliant cage craft, pivoting around Topuria to land left hooks, but was more often backing up on straight lines with his chin quite high. Topuria’s previous cross counters only paved the way for him to extend his combinations.

Rather than run at Volkanovski like a bull from the opening bell The Matador took note of Volkanovski’s response to the cross counter. Topuria slowly built his offense, extending his combinations past the rear straight to catch Volkanovski moving backwards until he hit the cage.

Volkanovski began circling once he got close, but it was too little too late. Topuria stayed patient in the center of the cage throughout the fight, finding moments to land his shots and stay defensively sound. As he increased the pressure, so too did his success.

Topuria opened up once he pressured Volk to the fence. While Topuria threw a simple yet powerful combination, Volk extended an arm and grabbed a collar tie to drag Topuria in. Volk’s knees swung the momentum back in his favor but Topuria needed but an adjustment to assure victory.

With a minute and a half left in the second round Volkanovski again found himself with his back against the wall. Topuria opted to throw heavy combinations yet again, starting with a straight to the body this time, forcing Volkanovski backwards as he had been doing the entire fight. After Topria’s combination, Volk did the same as he had two minutes before and stuck out his arm to pull Topuria into a clinch.

Topuria was anticipating this. Earlier, Topuria continued to move forward and crash in with ineffective punches. Now that Topuria knew Volk would look to clinch along the cage again he took a moment of pause. Topuria opted to frame with his lead hand off of Volkanovski’s face than continue his bull-rush. Topuria stepped to the right and threw his right hand over the top of Volkanovski’s lead, knocking him out instantly.

He followed up with a left hook but Volkanovski was done.

Though Volkanovski did well in kicking Topuria and looking to counter, he was being read by Topuria the entire fight. Topuria first established that Volkanovski would move backwards in response to forward pressure, making this a more desirable option as Volk’s lateral movement was punished with hard low kicks.

Topuria then gauged how Volkanovski responded wile moving backwards. Kicking or jabbing, Topuria looked for a rear hand lead to start his assault. Topuria realized Volkanovski would continue to move backwards with an active lead hand when met with Topuria’s punches.

Topuria extended his combinations to bring Volkanovski to the cage and read his reactions there. Once Volk used his lead hand again to clinch up, Topuria had the timing of Volk’s outstretched lead hand to throw one of the more artistic shots I have seen in quite some time. A beautiful, well-read, perfect punch to crown a new Featherweight champion. I have been a fan of Topuria’s style since 2021, and hope to see him put on more devastatingly intelligent performances within the octagon.

Merab’s TDs

Ilia Topuria stole the show, but another Georgian made himself undeniable. Merab’s pace wore down the former champion over 3 rounds to punctuate a 10-fight unbeaten streak. Cejudo certainly had more craft on the feet but the engine on Merab evened out any technical disparity between the two.

Thankfully, I was right assuming Merab would force his wrestling. Both men had success but The Machine ultimately forced Triple C to succumb to his endless chains and transitions.

Merab’s absolute best work comes off the single-leg. His entries aren’t exceptional but they are well-timed. Merab drops on the single as Cejudo throws a heavy shot. Even with Henry trying to turn out and look for underhooks, Merab maintains a TIGHT grip on the leg with no openings to obtain hooks.

Merab IS a truly special grappler in the variety of ways in which he is able to chain and finish his takedowns. A post on the far shoulder and a trip are able to slam the Olympic champion on his back.

Merab’s craft is not exclusive to the single leg though it is his favorite. One of my absolute favorite ways to finish from the back body lock: hook your opponents leg and drag it out while you drive them down. Though Merab’s cardio is second to none, his actual finishes are often quite low effort. He loves sweeping his opponents once he has a hold of them.

Merab’s entry here was gorgeous. Shooting in with an outside trip, Merab drove Cejudo to the side, but stood up with the single as Cejudo maintained his balance. The single leg and back body lock work in tandem with one another. As in his fight with Ricky Simon, Merab often lifts the single high to encourage his opponent to turn their back to escape. Before driving into Henry to force back exposure, Merab throws some lovely punches and leg kicks that go undefended as Cejudo is on one leg.

Once Merab had solidified his ability to take down Cejudo without issue, he began to showboat. Lifting Cejudo up like a child and barking at Mark Zuckerberg, Merab was truly a dominant grappler throughout the second two rounds.

Though Merab had some lovely takedowns, I would be remiss not to mention this lovely sequence by Cejudo. Cejudo drops on a single forcing Merab to sprawl. Rather than finish the single, Cejudo steps to the side to avoid Merab from bearing down on his neck, opening up a perfect path to the back. Just a wonderful little back take from Triple C.

The Georgians stood out on this card. Ilia Topuria is poised to be the next big thing in the sport (as every other Featherweight champion has been), and the top end of Bantamweight will be hard pressed to deal with a durable cardio grappler like Merab. A study on Topuria is sure to follow before his next fight, and I hope to learn even more about his game. Thank you as always for the support, and let me know if theres anything I missed!

-Kick