18th of February,<\/strong> is a really rather special clash between UFC Featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski of Australia and Georgia\u2019s unbeaten contender Ilia Topuria.<\/p>\n\n\n Volkanovski will be defending his title against a dangerous opponent, in what looks like being a close thing with next to nothing between them in the UFC betting odds.<\/p>\n\n
\n Volkanovski will be returning to what is undoubtedly his best weight class, and also one where he is not only the champion, but also where he is making his sixth defence of a title. This experience at this level gives him a huge advantage over the relatively less experienced Topuria.<\/p>\n\n
\n Not everyone sees Volkanovski as the favourite. The 27-year-old Georgian will be huge handful, with all but two of his wins having come by stoppage.<\/p>\n\n
\n That being said, Topuria has never faced an opponent such as this before, and won't know what to expect when he steps into the cage in Anaheim. Volkanovski hits hard and defends himself well. He is also patient and calm, boasting phenomenal reflexes, and has invaluable experience.<\/p>\n\n
\n With all this in mind, it's little wonder that BetVictor has made Volkanovski <\/strong>the slight favourite at 10\/11.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa\n <\/h3>\n \n\n
\n On the same card as above, there should be a clash between Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker and “The Eraser” Paulo Costa.<\/p>\n\n
\n 33-year-old Whittaker is a New-Zealand-born Australian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. He is ranked number three in his division and is also a former undisputed middleweight titleholder.<\/p>\n\n
\n However, he hasn\u2019t won a bout since a 2022 UFC Fight Night in Paris. In fact, the Reaper has been on the sidelines ever since he featured on the UFC 290 main card back in July 2023 during International Fight Week, where he suffered a shocking second round TKO loss to UFC 297 headliner, Dricus du Plessis.<\/p>\n\n
\n As for Brazilian Costa, he is a former title chaser and the current number six ranked challenger. Still, he hasn\u2019t set foot in the Octagon since 2022, where he most recently beat the former undisputed middleweight, Luke Rockhold, in a unanimous decision.<\/p>\n\n
\n The pair were expected to fight at UFC 294 last year, but Costa failed to sign the necessary documents to agree a middleweight clash. This was all before he pulled out of a scheduled match against unbeaten middleweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev, after suffering a nasty bursitis infection in his elbow.<\/p>\n\n
\n Whittaker <\/strong>is the heavy favourite with the bookies, and can be picked at a best price of 1\/2<\/strong> at William Hill.<\/p>\n\n
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