Coming in as the betting favorite against undefeated WBA super world cruiserweight title holder Arsen Goulamirian, who prior to his appearance at the YouTube Theater had not fought outside of a French-speaking locale, Ramirez took the Armenian-born champion’s title and undefeated status with a well-earned unanimous decision

Judges Zachary Young, Fernando Villarreal and Carla Caiz were lock-step for Ramirez, delivering scores of 118-110 across the board.

The victory made Ramirez a two-time world champion, adding to his legacy as the first and only Mexican to hold a super middleweight title at 168 pounds, which he won in 2016.

Two years ago, the southpaw Zurdo fell short in his attempt to match his countryman Julio Cesar Gonzalez as a light heavyweight champion, but was out-classed against the unbeaten Dmitry Bivol.

“The hardest fight is with myself,” Ramirez said. “Sometimes I didn’t believe in myself but I had to continue. Even for my loss, everyone thought ‘Zurdo’ is done. But I am not done yet. I want to be a champion. Now I’m a champion. I want to be a legend. I want to be a cruiserweight undisputed world champion, and I will prove to myself that I can.”

Referee Jack Reiss had little to do throughout the 36-minute tussle, which brought an announced crowd of 3,200 to the SoFi Stadium-adjacent venue.

Opening with a pace usually reserved for lighter weight classes, the dethroned champion responded when he could close the gap, cracking Ramirez with rights to the body and left hooks to the head, but as the fight unfolded it was the Mexican’s slick work on the inside that paid the most dividends, surprising Goulamirian and his trainer Abel Sanchez.

Ramirez shook off numerous power punches, and kept up his pace against the economical 36-year-old Goulamirian, who said he felt ring-rust into the latter stages of the fight.

“It affected me a lot,” said Goulamarian, who had not fought since November of 2022. “The hands, I didn’t throw them as much as I’d like to.”

The uppercut up the middle was Ramirez’s best weapon of the fight, repeatedly connecting against Goulamirian (27-1, 18 KO) as he staked out the center of the ring or worked against the ropes.

Goulamirian’s straight-ahead approach played into Ramirez’s plan. The Mexican stepped in and out, stuck and moved, and flirted with danger with his back to the ropes. But he found room to circle away and create space when he wanted, en route to compiling lopsided punch stats in his favor.

Despite never fighting at the 200-pound cruiserweight limit, Zurdo, who walks around at 215, felt, correctly, that the division would suit.

Goulamirian may have carried more power into the ring, but could not answer the varied approach offered by the new 32-year-old champion from Mazatlan, who also showed a stout chin during numerous exchanges as the fight unfolded.

“He took my punches really well,” Goulamirian said.

Goualamirian was able to defend the title against Ramirez thanks to a special permit granted by the WBA, which assigned him a mandatory title challenger last October.

Ramirez (46-1, 30 KO) must now fight the 38-year-old Cuban Yunier Dorticos within 120 days.

“I’m so proud of myself, of my team, for everyone,” Ramirez said. “We did a great job.”

In the co-main event of the six-bout undercard, former WBO welterweight champion Alexis Rocha (24-2, 16 KO), a 26-year-old fighter from Santa Ana, avenged his first defeat in four years, a sixth-round, title-losing effort in October, to tear through Fredrick Lawson (30-5, 22 KO) with a seventh-round stoppage.

Rocha dropped Lawson, 34, early in Round 6 with a left cross before upping his pressure while unloading a slew of punches to close out the following round, after which the Ghanian’s corner stopped the fight.

“I refuse to lose sight of my dream,” Rocha said, “and I urge you all to do the same.”

Also, Ricardo Sandoval (24-2, 17 KO), a Rialto-based super flyweight, traded blows with Nicaraguan Carlos Buitrago (38-13-1, 22 KO) en route to a stoppage by the ringside physician following eight of their 10 scheduled rounds.

The best ones linger forever like it was yesterday. That’s because they don’t come around so often – not in the way that memorialized sights and sounds of Arturo Gatti fighting Micky Ward for the first time, or Mike Tyson chomping on Evander Holyfield still feel vibrant years later.

There are many circumstances under which boxing delivers these charged moments. It can manifest during wall-to-wall, toe-to-toe action. The sport still finds ways to shock the conscience. From a crowd roaring comeback, blood lustful destruction, to whatever the story is, certain matchups stick well beyond the next weekend.

As rare as these instances are, Oscar de la Hoya is teasing such a night for the WBA cruiserweight world championship on Saturday at the YouTube Theater.

“I can assure you it’s going to be one of those fights where you will probably remember where you were at when you were watching it,” said the head of Golden Boy Promotions, who won 10 world titles in six divisions.

“Probably” is doing a lot of heavy lifting, but not as much as Arsen Goulamirian and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez have to do to make De La Hoya a prophet.

Undefeated at 27-0, with 19 knockouts, the 36-year-old Goulamirian enters his debut fight in the U.S. as an underdog to the challenger, Ramirez, who in 2016 became the first Mexican to win a world title at 168 pounds, which he retained five times.

In 2022, Ramirez (45-1, 30 KOs) fell short on points at 178 pounds against undefeated WBA light heavyweight title-holder Dmitry Bivol.

Walking around at 215 pounds, the cruiserweight limit of 200 suits the 32-year-old native of Mazatlan.

“It will be an amazing fight,” said Ramirez, who is attempting to become the heaviest Mexican-born champion of all time. “I am ready. He is ready. We will bring a really good show.”

Born in Armenia and raised in France, Goulamirian’s journey to his American debut features in his only other trip to Los Angeles, in 2016, when he started training with Abel Sanchez, the respected boxing coach who worked Gennady Golovkin’s corner for nine years.

Sanchez taught Goulamirian to control his temper in the ring.

“When I came to Big Bear the first time I wanted to just punch, punch, punch but he gave me correction in the ring,” the WBA champion said. “My style. My position. Everything. He changed me. I am a warrior in the ring. I want war. But more intelligent.”

The long road also took him to Cuba in 2008, where he received the nickname “Feroz” – “ferocious” – while sparring.

The path to the New World saw opponents retire on him or walk away from their titles for health reasons. He had three dates on a Don King promotion that fell through. He lost a fight after testing positive for COVID in 2021. A title defense against Ireland’s Tommy McCarthy, set for last September, was canceled due to a lawsuit between the promoter and the French mass media company that was supposed to televise the event.

“Nobody knows cruiserweight in America,” said Goulamirian, who has not fought outside a French-speaking part of the world.

Proficient in five languages (English, French, Armenian, Russian and German … plus a little Spanish, at least enough to understand Sanchez in the gym), Goulamirian is intent on proving something to everyone no matter where they are.

Eventually, the entirety of the WBA cruiserweight championship belonged to one man, Goualamirian, who can add to his status in Inglewood.

“Defending your world title and fighting for the first time here in the U.S. is a big deal,” De La Hoya said. “And fighting against Zurdo, who has been inside that ring against world champions, who has been in the limelight in world title fights, will be a great experience for both guys.”

And anyone watching, too, probably.

WBA CRUISERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

When: Saturday, 8:30 approximate ring walk

Where: YouTube Theater, Inglewood

TV: DAZN

• 

  Sean O’Malley celebrates after retaining his UFC bantamweight title against Marlon Vera at the UFC 299 mixed martial arts event, early Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

• 

  Sean O’Malley, right, lands a blow against Marlon Vera during a bantamweight title bout at the UFC 299 mixed martial arts event, early Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

• 

  Sean O’Malley celebrates after defeatting Marlon Vera in bantamweight bout to retain his title, at the UFC 299 mixed martial arts event early Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

• 

  Sean O’Malley tries to kick Marlon Vera during a bantamweight title bout at the UFC 299 mixed martial arts event, early Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Miami. O’Malley retained his title. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

• 

  Sean O’Malley hits Marlon Vera during a bantamweight title bout at the UFC 299 mixed martial arts event early Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Miami. O’Malley retained his title. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

• 

  Sean O’Malley hits Marlon Vera during a bantamweight title bout at the UFC 299 mixed martial arts event early Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Miami. O’Malley won the bout. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

• 

  Former President Donald Trump, left, talks to his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner as they wait for the start of a UFC 299 mixed martial arts bout, early Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

By ALANIS THAMES (AP Sports Writer)

MIAMI — Sean O’Malley emphatically defended his bantamweight belt Saturday night, unanimously outpointing Marlon “Chito” Vera in UFC 299.

In a fight that he controlled from the opening round, O’Malley (18-1) outclassed Vera with his quickness, precision striking and footwork.

The champion threw 344 punches, landing more than 50% of them. He was the more active fighter throughout, hurting Vera (23-9-1) with shots to the body, knees to the face, and countering nearly every one of Vera’s connections with one of his own.

It was O’Malley’s first defense of his bantamweight title after stopping former champion Aljamain Sterling 51 seconds into the second round at UFC 292 last August.

UFC CEO Dana White called the performance a “clinic” by O’Malley, who is fast becoming one of the biggest stars in the sport. White added that the card was the fourth-highest grossing UFC event ever, with a gate of $14.14 million.

“He’s on his way,” White said of O’Malley, who some believe has star power of Conor McGregor. “He’s the biggest star ever in bantamweight history. You can say that right now.”

Vera handed O’Malley the only defeat of his career nearly four years ago by landing a leg kick that caused O’Malley’s right foot to go numb in the first round of UFC 252.

O’Malley has often downplayed that loss — the kick shut down the peroneal nerve in his lower leg, causing temporary loss of feeling — and vowed to dominate in the rematch.

“That one feels good getting that one back,” O’Malley said. “I’m guessing we can all agree that I’m undefeated still.”

He added that he wants to fight featherweight champion Ilia Topuria next.

“Dana,” he said, “Give me a jet to Spain, baby.”

Immediately after the five-round fight, O’Malley sat down on the canvas after Vera hurt him late with a shot to the body — one that could have been much more significant if it was landed earlier in the match.

“I tried to stay toe to toe with him and catch him,” said Vera, the Ecuadorian fighter who received a massive amount of cheers from the fans at Kaseya Center.. “At the end of the fifth round I landed a nice body that hurt him, but I ran out of time.”

Former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier knocked out up-and-comer Benoit Saint Denis with a right hand in the second round of their lightweight match. Saint Denis had hurt Poirier with punches in the early round before the veteran dropped him with a right hook at 2:52 in the second round. The victory moved Poirier into a tie for the fourth-most wins in UFC history with 22.

Jack Della Maddalena stretched his winning streak to 17 with the biggest victory of his career. He stopped Gilbert Burns in the third round of their bout with a crushing knee to the head, moments after it appeared Burns had secured a fight-clinching takedown. Della Maddalena followed the knee with a series of elbows on the ground for a TKO victory at 3:43 in the final round of the 170-pound fight.

Joshua floored Ngannou in the first round and again in the second with right hands at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. He finished the fight with one punch immediately after the second 10-count, apparently knocking Ngannou out cold with an unblocked right hand.

The 37-year-old Ngannou eventually got up to his stool, but the mixed martial arts star was dazed and clearly hurt after his encounter with Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) in only his second pro boxing match. Joshua and Ngannou embraced and talked afterward.

“I told him he shouldn’t leave boxing,” Joshua said. “He can do well. Remember, he’s two fights in, and he’s fought the best. He can go a long way if he stays dedicated, but it’s up to him.”

The fight world had optimism for Ngannou after he gave an impressive performance in a near-upset of Tyson Fury last October, losing by a narrow split decision. Joshua quickly proved there’s no substitute for years of boxing experience – and possibly revealed just how lightly Fury treated his bout with Ngannou last fall.

Joshua came out to control the distance with his famously sharp jab, but Ngannou got in a few good shots early. Joshua abruptly floored Ngannou with less than a minute left in the first round, firing a straight right hand through Ngannou’s patchy guard.

Ngannou went down again from an unblocked right hand in an exchange early in the second. He got up shakily, and Joshua quickly ended the punishment.

Joshua has held multiple world heavyweight titles in a successful professional career following his gold medal-winning performance in the London Olympics, but the Englishman had to rebuild his reputation after losing his three title belts in the first of consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022.

Now 34, Joshua won his last three fights before accepting this meeting with Ngannou, whose talent and name recognition turned it into a big-money matchup.

Ngannou began his pro boxing career last year after a mixed martial arts career in which he claimed the UFC’s heavyweight belt in 2021 and defended it in 2022.

The Cameroon native then walked away from the UFC due to contractual disagreements and signed an innovative deal with the Professional Fighters League. Although he has yet to fight for the rival promotion, Ngannou is expected to take on PFL heavyweight champ Renan Ferreira later this year.

But Ngannou was enticed by the big paydays of pay-per-view boxing, and he put on an outstanding performance in his ring debut while fighting heavyweight kingpin Fury to a split-decision loss in Saudi Arabia. Ngannou knocked down Fury in the third round and challenged him throughout a defeat that showed Ngannou was much more dangerous than any other MMA fighter who has made the recently fashionable move into boxing.

The result sparked interest in Ngannou as a legitimate contender in the heavyweight division, which has been repeatedly hurt by promotional clashes and ego-driven disputes during an era featuring impressive talents who haven’t fought each other as often as they should.

The main event didn’t begin in Riyadh until after 3:30 a.m. – even an hour later than the planned start time, which was set in deference to the European and North American viewing markets.

On the undercard, heavyweight Joseph Parker rebounded from getting knocked down twice to claim a majority decision over Zhilei Zhang. WBC featherweight champion fought to a split draw with Nick Ball.

He has traversed more than 3,500 miles, leaving his family and homeland of Ecuador in pursuit of a dream of fighting in the UFC. November will mark 10 years since becoming the first Ecuadorian fighter in the premier MMA promotion.

And Saturday will mark the culmination of his career, a chance to rematch with Sean O’Malley and try to wrench the bantamweight title from the colorful fan favorite in the UFC 299 main event in Miami.

“I’m strong and ready to go and life is good, man,” Vera, 31, said in a recent interview with the Southern California News Group. “Everything is there, in the right direction, and good things are happening here.”

It has been a remarkable journey for “Chito,” who was 23 when he arrived in Orange County, living with his manager, teaching several classes a week and cleaning the gym – “I just wanted to make $1,000 a month,” he said – in hopes of making a living doing what he loved.

His wife and two young children remained in Ecuador as Vera chased what he admits now was “a gamble.”

“You get emotional thinking about just, like, the fact that 12 years ago, you were wandering around like … at some point, I need to figure something out for my life,” said Vera, who was able to move his wife and kids here and later have another child in 2018.

“And now things are like, well, my dreams have been becoming a reality. And slowly but surely, you just keep achieving things and opening new doors and getting bigger and better.”

Vera (23-8-1) has won five of his past six fights in the UFC, using devastating kicks to knock out former champions Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz in the process.

Overall in the UFC, he has won 15 of his 22 fights, the lone blip in the past three years a split-decision loss to title contender Cory Sandhagen. He has finished 11 UFC opponents – snatching submissions holds, pouncing on fallen opponents and dropping elbows, cracking heads and bodies with his hands and feet – doing whatever it takes while moving with alacrity.

And the UFC has noticed: Three bouts were recognized as Fight of the Night and five of those victories were deemed Performance of the Night, each of those coming with a $50,000 bonus.

But it’s the one victory not part of his recent string of success, nor deemed worthy of a bonus, that is why Vera will be O’Malley’s first title defense.

At UFC 252 in August 2020, Vera went toe to toe with the undefeated O’Malley, who had taken the UFC by storm with his eclectic style and winning his first four fights. About three minutes in, Vera cracked O’Malley with a kick to O’Malley’s right knee, which appeared to stun the upstart 135-pounder, who later said it caused his right foot to go numb.

Toward the end of the round, O’Malley’s right foot gave way and he collapsed to the mat. Vera jumped in and landed a crushing elbow and more strikes, the fight getting stopped with 20 seconds left in the round.

O’Malley (17-1), who was later diagnosed with drop foot as a result of a peroneal nerve injury, has brushed off the loss as a fluke.

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about that, right?” Vera said. “It’s not my fault, I mean, if you break down like that, right?”

As for what has changed in nearly four years, Vera says he has gained invaluable experience.

“I got all the big names I fought. I mean, the biggest names,” Vera said. “I’m the one fighting main events back to back, against former champions, top-five contenders, and I just started feeling like I did what I needed to get to this point and be ready. I mean, I have the spirit. I am way better than I was before. It’s the only thing I can do, right?”

O’Malley, meanwhile, came back seven months later and knocked out three consecutive opponents. After his UFC 276 bout in July 2022 with Pedro Munhoz was ruled a no contest because of an accidental eye poke to Munhoz, “Suga Sean” took home a widely disputed split decision over former champion Petr Yan less than four months later at UFC 280.

What is beyond dispute is what O’Malley did next, amid cries of favoritism from the UFC: O’Malley quieted the critics with a second-round TKO of champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August.

Vera has never been finished in 13-plus years of fighting. He says is not taking the 29-year-old champion, whose tattoos and colored hair and outlandish style are offset by a pair of quick and powerful hands, lightly Saturday.

“I’m not seeing the funny guy who talks (trash) when I’m there in the cage. I’m expecting someone really dangerous, really well prepared,” Vera said. “Because that’s what pushed me to just be better every day. So I’m expecting the hardest fight of my life, just like I do with every fighter I have in front of me.”

UFC 299

Main event: bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera

When: Saturday

Where: Kaseya Center, Miami

How to watch: early prelims (3 p.m., ESPN+); prelims (5 p.m., ESPNews, ESPN+); main card (7 p.m., PPV via ESPN+)

Facing an opponent with 35 professional MMA bouts and 18 pro boxing matches, the Bellator lightweight is willing to go toe to toe.

“I want to beat him at his game,” McKee said.

Antonio McKee understands why his son is looking forward to duking it out with former title challenger Clay Collard at the Professional Fighters League’s superfight event, pitting the best from PFL and Bellator against each other Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“I think that comes down to ego,” the father and lifelong coach said.

And while he’s leery of the idea, Antonio McKee is confident in his son’s skills – as long as A.J. can accept the consequences of trading and banging with a heavy hitter.

“I think we need to do it smart. We’re in a sport to hurt people,” Antonio McKee said. “So, you know, we’ll see where he’s at when he’s on his feet. I think I think no matter where he’s at, this is a great fight for him. I think he finishes him.”

Of course, it would be foolish for A.J. McKee to discard all the weaponry in his ever-growing toolbox against the 30-year-old Collard (24-11). In his nearly nine-year career, all with Bellator, McKee (21-1) has six victories by knockout and six via submission.

But since moving up to lightweight in October 2022, the former featherweight champion has won all three of his fights via unanimous decision.

Antonio McKee says it’s because his 5-foot-10 son is not a true 155-pounder.

“I think he just likes to eat whatever he wants. So he lacks a little discipline, he likes to eat whatever he wants,” he said. “But his skills, he can fight all the way up to 170 because he has the skill sets.”

A.J. McKee, 28, says the challenge is eating well and maintaining his weight. Other lightweights will routinely walk around north of 180 pounds while he is struggling to get past 170.

Once they’re in the cage, the Lakewood resident says he notices the added weight – versus fighting 145-pounders – if they wind up on top of him. That was illustrated in his last fight on Nov. 17 against Sidney Outlaw, who was able to take McKee down in each of the three rounds but did little to advance his position or attack.

“I was (ticked) off. I got laid on for 12 out of 15 minutes,” the former Long Beach Poly High wrestling star said.

Assessing his options from the bottom, McKee decided instead of “trying to get up for four of the five minutes,” he’d go on offense. Using his elbows and fists, McKee sliced and diced Outlaw to win every round in a gory victory in November in Chicago.

“That was honestly probably the bloodiest fight I’ve ever been in. I took two showers and blood was still coming out of my hair,” McKee said. “I was like, ‘This is gross.’ I could smell it, I could taste it. I was literally spitting his blood up after the fight.”

McKee is willing to see red again if it results in more green and gold. He says he can envision two paths to claiming another championship, only the road to ruling at 155 pounds is bumpy, to say the least after an unsteady November.

On Nov. 11, Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov was suspended six months after testing positive for a banned substance. Nine days later in an industry-shifting move, PFL acquired Bellator from Paramount Global. And on Nov. 24, PFL lightweight champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier retired after beating Collard via unanimous decision.

The uncertainty leaves McKee with a possible return back to featherweight, which would be doubly enticing if Patricio Pitbull were still the champion.

In April 2022, McKee suffered his first defeat and lost his featherweight title via unanimous decision to Pitbull, nearly nine months after winning $1 million and becoming the 145-pound champion with a first-round finish of Pitbull in the finals of the 16-fighter Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix on July 31, 2021, at The Forum.

“You know there’s a trilogy that’s … I’ve been feeling for that. I’m not going to go out of my way to push and pursue,” McKee said. “If it’s something to happen, you know, if … he’s reigning as one of the best 145-pounders in the world. So I wouldn’t mind going back down to 45 to prove once again that I am the best 145-pounder in the world.”

PFL vs. Bellator: Champions

When: Saturday

Where: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

How to watch: prelims (9:30 a.m., ESPN+); main card (noon, PPV via ESPN+)

The UFC featherweight has competed close to his South Bay home in arenas like The Forum and Honda Center, flown into big cities like Las Vegas, Toronto and New Orleans and impressed overseas in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

But on Saturday, Ortega’s bucket list gets another check mark when he takes on Yair Rodriguez in a rematch in Saturday’s co-main event in Mexico City.

“Dream come true. There has always been a vision, now it’s going to come true,” said Ortega, whose parents are from Sonora, of fighting in Mexico’s capital. “I’ve always pictured me fighting in Mexico. I’ve always pictured when this is going to happen.”

His fighting career has also taken him to the mountaintop twice, only to come up short in both title fights. His first loss, after a doctor mercifully stopped his beating at the hands of Max Holloway, at the end of 2018 sent him spiraling.

Battered and broken, Ortega celebrated his 28th birthday by disappearing with friends for a solid week of partying. He emerged from the chasm swearing off drinking, determined to never fall that far again.

Four years later, he found himself sinking to new depths. “I thought I’d hit rock bottom,” Ortega said, “and I found out you can go further.”

Finally knocked down

Ortega, who turned 33 on Wednesday, is as respected for his elite jiu-jitsu as his chin, tested ruthlessly first by Holloway and again by then-champ Alexander Volkanovski in what many regarded as the Fight of the Year in 2021.

While both opponents were probably icing their hands for days after, neither knocked him down.

Ortega took 10 months to recover from the second loss before taking on Rodriguez on July 16, 2022. Ortega learned his right shoulder wasn’t as durable as his jaw, dislocating it after trying to extract his arm from a submission attempt. The fight, after a little more than four minutes, was over. Ortega had lost for the third time in four fights.

Finally, life took him off his feet.

“I was thinking of not fighting anymore. I didn’t care about it. Yeah. I didn’t care about it,” the Lomita resident said. “Life has hands, man, and it worked my life more than any opponent has ever.”

The next few months were cruel and unrelenting. He underwent shoulder surgery – the same shoulder that suffered a torn labrum in 2016.

“The guy told me the threading on the original surgery, it was like dental floss,” Ortega said. “He goes, ‘I don’t know how you kept your shoulder intact doing what you did from 2016 till now.’”

Ortega was laid up, unable to take his Jeep four-wheeling, go surfing or just train. What were once outlets for him were now stolen from him.

He lost friends. He buried friends.

Then came a public breakup with fellow UFC fighter and fiancée Tracy Cortez, the end of a three-year relationship.

Then two more surgeries – one on each elbow after Ortega said three bones began to grow on the inside of each one, clashing with his nerves any time his arms got hit and causing his limbs to go limp.

“Literally, when I look at the X-rays, they’re like three big spikes,” he said.

And the final kick in the gut came when Ortega was training one day and said his right shoulder felt tired. His coaches advised him to get an MRI. Two weeks from being ready to fight, now Ortega was told he needed another surgery after one of the anchors had given way.

“The hardest one was the last one,” Ortega said. “Yeah, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, just everything.”

Ortega says he never felt so alone, so he made it his business to be alone. He holed up in his house and walled himself off from the world, save for DoorDash meals, and wallowed in his pain, numbing it with pain medication and alcohol for three or four weeks.

Isolated while coping with loss, betrayal and heartbreak, Ortega performed an autopsy on his life.

In the end, there was no one else to blame.

“I woke up and I was just like, ‘I have all my cars, my house, everything I always wanted, but I’m here alone,’” Ortega said. “And I said, ‘Congratulations, you (bleeping) idiot. You got everything you wanted, right? At what price?’ You left your family, I left the mother of my children, I found myself in another relationship that later on was just definitely not it … and then everything came pouring after that.”

Then a year ago, Ortega found his way out of his misery completely by chance: “I started going to church.”

Like a submission hold

Jeremy Johnson noticed Ortega when he and Cortez had attended his Fearless LA Church a couple of times on Hope Street in downtown Los Angeles.

“He was just a guy that came,” the Fearless LA lead pastor said. “You know that a lot of people come one time, you know, just to check off the box called ‘church.’”

The Christian church, which also has campuses in Santa Ana and San Diego, had a three-day conference coming up in February 2023 – “from morning to night, we have about 1,000 people come in and 100 pastors,” Johnson said – and Johnson reached out to Ortega via Instagram to invite him.

Ortega initially declined and said he probably wouldn’t be coming back. But then Ortega opened up.

“He said, ‘Man, I’m a mess. I need help,’” Johnson said. “And I said, ‘Well, how can I help?’ And he goes, ‘Can we meet up?’”

Johnson suggested maybe they could after the conference. Ortega pushed to meet that very day and said he’d be working out at one of his coaches’ gyms. So Johnson put on his gym clothes and drove for a workout and a meet-up.

“I think he was shocked when I didn’t show up in like a priest uniform or a pastor uniform,” Johnson said.

Ortega spilled his guts to this pastor he had just met, who told him he had a solution and asked Ortega to get on his knees and pray with him.

“There was something that happened that day. And it’s like, he not only gave his life to God, but it was like he said, ‘God, you’re gonna be the Lord of my life, you’re gonna be in charge,” Johnson said. “It was almost like a submission hold, you know? Like, I’m crying out for mercy, I need you. I can’t do this without you.”

Ortega then joined Johnson on Feb. 19 of last year at the three-day conference. He showed up at 6 p.m. and didn’t leave until 1 a.m.

The truth is, he didn’t want to leave. “I never broke down so much in my life. It felt good. I felt something, like peace, which is something I haven’t had in a long time,” he said.

Johnson described a moment when a pastor was calling people up to the stage who were in need of God’s love. Johnson made eye contact with Ortega, who was there with his family and shook his head. He didn’t want his two young sons to see him so vulnerable. In his mind, he was a proud warrior, fighting in the streets before and during his UFC career, and they were never to see him as soft or weak.

Once Ortega went up on stage, his life changed. “He said, ‘I just needed a hug from God, if I’m gonna stand up here,’” Johnson remembered. “And he said, ‘I felt like God’s arms wrapped around me.’”

But then Ortega felt two more hugs. His sons had run to the stage to embrace him, witnessing their father break down and cry for the first time.

“Getting close to God and getting to be in that environment, where things are different and they come to you in a different perspective,” said Ortega, who was also baptized that night. “Realizing I’m not the only one that’s in pain, seeing a church full of people who are in pain, seeing the pain in their eyes. I can relate to them when we all walk up to the altar. Again, I guess knowing that you’re not alone.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jeremy Johnson (@jeremyjohnsonla)

Johnson has watched Ortega commit himself to being better to his family, his sons as well as the mother of his children. And in the process, his once-shrinking circle has grown.

He has gained a spiritual family.

“We’re going to be with Brian and we’re going to be his family,” Johnson said. “You know, I’m going to be a fan of what God’s doing in his life, whether he’s the champion or he’s done, you know? So I think having that support system is different.”

Working on the inside

As bright as it all sounds, Ortega will be the first to tell you, as a person, that he is far from a finished product.

“I take accountability for myself, right? No more pity parties,” Ortega said. “No more than just acknowledging. Taking accountability and making efforts to change everything that I don’t like. Yeah, that’s the struggle.”

Ortega and Johnson have developed a close bond, their sons becoming good friends. Johnson recalled a moment at a Galaxy game with their kids last year when a fan in front of them asked Ortega, with just one victory in four fights in the past five years: What happened?

Said Johnson: “And Brian just said to him like, ‘Hey man, I have the outside right? But I didn’t have the inside right. And no matter how good and strong I got on the outside, if the inside wasn’t right, I wasn’t gonna win any more fights. Because I was losing on the inside.

“And he said, ‘I’m working on the inside now.’”

Paul Herrera, one of Ortega’s coaches at Huntington Beach Ultimate Training Center, says Ortega had been through “a whlrlwind” and worked through it.

This version of Brian Ortega, Herrera says, is the most balanced he has in the nearly four years Ortega has trained with him and manager Tiki Ghosn.

“This fight could be done quick. This might not be a five-round war,” Herrera said. “He can make it a war if he wants to, but he’s so, you know, where you have that natural ability in the beginning to come back and win and have that? He has that drive and those attributes mixed in with now solid, emotionally solid, technically sound, mentally sound structure.”

As a fighter, Ortega says he feels healthy and strong, with the scars to show for it. In his head, he felt like he was becoming a better fighter but had his doubts.

Then his team showed him video of his last camp. The improvements were glaring. They pulled up the data on his strengthening and conditioning. He is setting personal bests.

Volkanovski successfully defended his featherweight title against Ortega (15-3, 1 NC) and Rodriguez (16-4) – narrowly escaping a guillotine choke from Ortega in the third round before winning via unanimous decision at UFC 266 in 2021 and overwhelming Rodriguez for a third-round TKO at UFC 290 in July.

He says Saturday’s clash will be “an interesting one” after their first clash ended so prematurely.

“Yair looked great early in that one, but I mean, obviously, you’ve got that danger submission game from Ortega,” Volkanovski said three days before losing the belt via knockout to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 on Saturday at Honda Center. “And Ortega’s tough, so he can wear the shots. I think he’s going to wear the shots, but I think he can take it well.”

Topuria, who has fought neither, declared before he even won the title that as champion he wouldn’t give either fighter a title shot. To Topuria, it would be MMA’s version of the transitive property. If Volkanovski had vanquished Ortega and Rodriguez and he took out Volkanovski, why should he bother with either of them?

But that didn’t hinder the new 145-pound king from giving his assessment and throwing a verbal jab Rodriguez’s way.

“I think Brian Ortega is a better fighter than Yair and I think he gets the win,” Topuria said on Feb. 14. “Yeah, because Yair, he sucks. He’s a very bad fight for me in my eyes. He sucks. Brian is a better fighter, he’s a more complete fighter. Yeah, he has more possibilities against Yair.”

Johnson says Fearless LA will probably host a UFC watch party Saturday on the big screen in its 1,000-seat auditorium. He considers himself blessed to have made this connection and friendship and, as of Tuesday, was trying to find a way to get to Mexico City and see the fight in person.

Ortega has been in this situation before, in the Octagon prepared to go to battle and bleed for his pursuit of greatness.

This time, there’s more to it.

“He feels like he’s fighting for something now,” Johnson said. “Not just fighting for a belt, but fighting for his family and everything.”

Ortega is quizzical about whether the fans in Mexico City will support an L.A. native – “I’m a Chicano” – versus one of their own who hails from Chihuahua.

Not only does Ortega get to live out a dream and reconnect with his roots in his family’s homeland, it is with a welcome wave of support, a full heart and his newfound faith.

“Yeah. I’m curious. But I also put it in my head and I’m like, ‘If they boo, I’ll get you guys to cheer,’” Ortega said. “And if you cheer, I’m gonna get you guys to keep cheering.”

UFC Fight Night 237

When: Saturday

Where: Mexico City Arena

How to watch: ESPN+ (prelims, 4 p.m.; main card, 7 p.m.)

Returning to the Honda Center for the first time in more than two years, UFC 298 proved to be a record-setting night, highlighted by Ilia Topuria dethroning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski in the main event.

With an attendance of 18,186 and an announced live gate of $7,264,734, which included Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sitting front and center cageside, UFC CEO Dana White said UFC 298 was the highest-grossing live event in Honda Center history and the highest-grossing MMA event in California history.

“It’s good to be back. This arena has been very good to us for a long time,” White said. “We like the guys who run this place and we look forward to it. They have big plans for around here too, they’re building a good experience here. So, happy to be back with these guys.”

The UFC has been holding events at the Anaheim arena since April 15, 2006, when UFC 59: Reality Check featured Tim Sylvia winning the heavyweight title from Andrei Arlovski at the then-Arrowhead Pond.

The reign in Spain

Ilia Topuria professed all fight week that he would be the new featherweight champion Saturday night – a tall task considering Alexander Volkanovski was making his sixth title defense and had never lost at 145 pounds.

And with one punch, it all came true. Topuria, a German native who was raised in Georgia and has lived in Spain most of his life, blitzed the champ in the second round and connected with a right to the body and a left to the head. As Volkanovski backed against the cage, Topuria delivered a picture-perfect right to the jaw, putting Volkanovski down and out.

“I don’t need the judges,” Topuria, 27, said at a postfight press conference. “When I’m fighting, they can go and take their time to break and rest a little bit. The guy was really fast, very fast jabs. His movements, his kicks, he surprised me a little bit. It took me a little bit of time to study him and I had to knock him out in the second round.

“I was just waiting to find my timing. He caught me with a couple of punches and he was celebrating like, ‘Ha ha ha!’ I was waiting for my turn for that. The game plan since the first moment was to do long combinations, not just one or two punches, combinations of three, four, five punches because it’s more difficult to read.”

All week, one statistic loomed over, and was scoffed at by, the 35-year-old Volkanovski: UFC fighters 35 and older fighting for titles at 170 pounds and lighter were a shocking 1-21 against younger fighters.

And now that record is 1-22. Volkanovski made no excuses after the fight and shot down chatter that he had come back too soon after getting knocked out by lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in October.

“You can’t take anything away from Topuria,” said Volkanovski, who won the first round on all three judges’ scorecards. “If he puts a hand on you like that, you’re going to go down. I don’t care, that’s just that. That was a clean right hand and I think no matter who you are, you let one of those land on your chin while you’re caught there, you’re probably going down.”

Topuria says the UFC must now make its debut in Spain, where his popularity is surging as one of the UFC’s brightest European stars. White says Spain will happen and Volkanovski believes it’s where they should have his rematch, which Topuria said he’d acquiesce.

“I’ve been reigning champ for how long? I’ve been a bit of a company man,” Volkanovski said. “Went back up on short notice. I fought Max [Holloway] three times. You name it, I’ve done it individually for a long time, so I think I deserve that and it’s going to be different next time.”

Dvalishvili gets his shine

Topuria was joined in victory by bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili, a Georgian native who fights out of Long Island, New York.

Dvalishvili turned back the comeback quest of former two-division champion Henry Cejudo, dominating the second and third rounds en route to a unanimous decision.

The fight was considered a No. 1 contender bout, with the winner earning a shot at the winner of UFC 299’s headliner between champion Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera on March 9. White confirmed Dvalishvili would be next in line.

“That’s the only goal right now. Fight for the title and win the belt,” Dvalishvili said. “I believe in myself and I’m only getting better, as you guys see. Every fight, it looks so much easier, and really tonight I wasn’t even breathing heavy. I was very comfortable and this is only the beginning.”

Cejudo gets shined

Cejudo said all week he would retire for a second time if he had his quest for another bantamweight title deterred by Dvalishvili.

At 37, it was title shot or bust for the 2008 Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist. After the scores were read – all 29-28 in Dvalishvili’s favor – Cejudo removed his gloves, long a precursor for an in-ring retirement, as Dvalishvili gave his postfight interview.

However, after Dvalishvili’s interview wrapped up, the house music blared and Cejudo wasn’t provided an opportunity to address whether he was calling it quits. As of Sunday morning, the status of his career was still unknown

White on Saturday night said he wasn’t aware of Cejudo’s status and explained why the MMA great wasn’t given a chance to talk.

“Listen, Merab was in a position where he wouldn’t fight his friend. You know how we love that here when you won’t do that. So you know, I haven’t been thrilled with Merab, I don’t like that attitude. You fight everybody, so whatever,” White said in reference to Dvalishvili’s reluctance to fight training partner and former 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling.

“Merab went in there tonight and he beat the former champion, Henry Cejudo. Henry Cejudo already retired, OK? He did the whole ‘drop the gloves’ thing. Tonight was Merab’s night. Merab went in there and he fought the No. 2 guy in the world, former world champion. He won easily, won the fight. Tonight was Merab’s night. And if (Cejudo) wants to retire again, he can do that here or somewhere else. You don’t give the mic to Cejudo tonight. Tonight was Merab’s night.”

It’s safe to say White wasn’t thrilled with Cejudo’s first retirement. After his TKO victory over former titleholder Dominick Cruz to defend the bantamweight title at UFC 249 in May 2020, Cejudo shocked the MMA world and announced he was hanging it up in his postfight interview.

Some speculated it was a contract negotiating ploy. If it was, it played out for three years before Cejudo unretired in May and came up short in a split-decision title-fight loss to Sterling at UFC 288 in May.

Fight of the Night

Huntington Beach resident Mackenzie Dern and fellow strawweight Amanda Lemos brought the crown to their feet with their entertaining, back-and-forth fight, each scoring at least one knockdown and takedown.

Their efforts, which ended with Lemos winning via unanimous decision, resulted in a Fight of the Night bonus for each to the tune of $50,000.

At one point, Dern got dropped twice in the second round, the second one appearing to break her nose as she grimaced and tried to cover her face.

White says he was convinced Dern, who took the fight on a month’s notice in place of the injured Tatiana Suarez, also had a broken orbital. He said he was “shocked” she didn’t get transported to the hospital Saturday night.

“She’s so (bleeping) tough, man. She’s so tough,” White said. “She’s awesome.”

Performance bonuses, also for $50,000, were handed out to Topuria, Anthony Hernandez for his second-round submission of Roman Kopylov, and Zhang Mingyang for his first-round knockout of Brendson Ribeiro.

• 

  Ilia Topuria (blue gloves) defeated Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) to win the Featherweight Championship at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Ilia Topuria celebrates after knocking out Alexander Volkanovski to win the Featherweight Championship at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Anthony Hernandez (red gloves) defeated Roman Kopylov (blue gloves) by rear naked choke during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Ilia Topuria (blue gloves) defeated Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) to win the Featherweight Championship at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Ilia Topuria (blue gloves) defeated Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) to win the Featherweight Championship at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Robert Whittaker (red gloves) defeats Paulo Costa (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Robert Whittaker (red gloves) defeats Paulo Costa (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Robert Whittaker (red gloves) defeats Paulo Costa (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Robert Whittaker (red gloves) defeats Paulo Costa (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Anthony Hernandez (red gloves) defeated Roman Kopylov (blue gloves) by rear naked choke during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Ilia Topuria (blue gloves) defeated Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) to win the Featherweight Championship at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Ilia Topuria celebrates after knocking out Alexander Volkanovski to win the Featherweight Championship at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Robert Whittaker (red gloves) defeats Paulo Costa (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Robert Whittaker (red gloves) defeats Paulo Costa (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Robert Whittaker (red gloves) defeats Paulo Costa (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Anthony Hernandez (red gloves) defeated Roman Kopylov (blue gloves) by rear naked choke during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) and Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) react after Lemos defeated Dern by judges unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Ilia Topuria (blue gloves) defeated Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) to win the Featherweight Championship at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Ilia Topuria (blue gloves)has his hand raised after knocking out Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) to win the Featherweight Championship at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Ilia Topuria (blue gloves) defeated Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) to win the Featherweight Championship at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Ilia Topuria (blue gloves) defeated Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) to win the Featherweight Championship at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) reacts after being knockout by challenger Ilia Topuria (blue gloves) during their Featherweight Championship bout at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Ilia Topuria (blue gloves) defeated Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) to win the Featherweight Championship at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) reacts after being knockout by challenger Ilia Topuria (blue gloves) during their Featherweight Championship bout at UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Merab Dvalishvili (red gloves) defeated Henry Cejudo (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday February 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Robert Whittaker (red gloves) defeats Paulo Costa (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Robert Whittaker (red gloves) defeats Paulo Costa (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Robert Whittaker (red gloves) defeats Paulo Costa (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Robert Whittaker (red gloves) defeats Paulo Costa (blue gloves) by judges decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) and Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) react after Lemos defeated Dern by judges unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Anthony Hernandez (red gloves) defeated Roman Kopylov (blue gloves) by rear naked choke during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

ANAHEIM — The reign in Spain started mainly Saturday in Southern California.

Undefeated challenger Ilia Topuria, who had been supremely confident leading up to challenging one of the most dominant bantamweight champions in UFC history, backed up his bravado with a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski in the UFC 298 main event at Honda Center.

Topuria tagged Volkanovski with a right to the body and a left to the head that had the champ backing against the cage, then planted a picture-perfect right on the jaw that crumbled Volkanovski. Referee Jason Herzog jumped in to stop the fight at 3:32 of the second round.

Topuria, who was born in Germany, raised in the Republic of Georgia and moved to Spain at 15, improves to 15-0 with 13 finishes (eight submissions and five knockouts).

A methodical first round saw each fighter measuring leg kicks and jabs, Volkanovski (26-4) landing more strikes, 20-15, and landing a well-timed left in the final minute and also appearing to open a small cut on the left of Topuria’s hairline.

Volkanovski appeared to open a small cut on the bridge of Topuria’s nose in the second round before the shocking finish.

The Australian champion was making his sixth title defense after winning the title via from Max Holloway more than four years ago at UFC 245.

In fact, Volkanovski had never lost at 145 pounds, going 16-0 since October 2014 and 11-0 since his UFC debut June 11, 2017.

Dvalishvili beats Cejudo

For what seemed like an eternity, Henry Cejudo’s career hung in the balance Saturday night at Honda Center.

After saying he would retire if he couldn’t beat bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 at Honda Center, the former Olympic gold medalist and UFC double champion spent several seconds up in the air. Literally.

In the third round, Dvalishvili scooped up the 37-year-old Cejudo, carried him across the Octagon and dumped him, an exclamation point on a unanimous-decision victory that appeared to end Cejudo’s career.

While Dvalishvili celebrated his victory that was scored 29-28 by all three judges with his in-ring postfight interview, Cejudo removed his gloves – typically a harbinger for hanging them up – and paced. The only problem was everyone was left hanging as the music played after Dvalishvili’s interview and Cejudo wasn’t offered an opportunity to address the crowd and his possible retirement.

Dvalishvili’s last three victories are over former champions Cejudo, Petr Yan and Jose Aldo. He has now won 10 in a row since April 2018, nine via decision, and called out 135-pound champion Sean O’Malley, who was in attendance and has a title fight with Marlon Vera next month.

The fight opened with Cejudo having more success, often faking to shoot but rising up to pop Dvalishvili. The second round was the opposite, Dvalishvili finding a home for his hands. At one point, Cejudo swung wildly and Dvalishvili ducked under it for a single-leg takedown. The round ended with Dvalishvili cranking Cejudo’s neck and hamming it up for the fans, most notably Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sitting cageside.

With the crowd clearly supporting him, Dvalishvili appeared the fresher fighter in the third, connecting with rights and pushing the pace. When the horn sounded to end the fight, their reactions were telling: Cejudo walked over to his corner and sank toward the fence, Dvalishvili ran to his corner and scaled the cage.

Whittaker rebounds

Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker made an emphatic statement in his push for another crack at the belt.

The Australian barely survived a Paulo Costa head kick at the end of the first round to come away the unanimous-decision winner in co-main event.

The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 for Whittaker (26-7), who had lost two of his past three fights.

Whittaker outlanded Costa 93-59 and largely dictated the action, attacking Costa’s lead leg early and frequently finding a home for his left hand.

But after a good showing in the opening round, Whittaker was staggered by a spinning heel kick in the closing seconds, which he later referred to as “a flesh wound.” Costa (14-3) tried to put him away but ran out of time, holding up his thumb and finger to show Whittaker how close the fight came to ending.

Garry edges Neal

It was a split decision in the judges’ eyes, but not the fans’.

Undefeated Irish welterweight Ian Machado Garry was on the move all fight in an effort to avoid the power of Geoff Neal and he did just enough to earn the split-decision victory.

The judges scored the fight 30-27 28-29 30-27 for Garry (14-0), who was soundly booed after the decision was read and during his postfight interview.

Garry spent much of the fight dancing around the outside while Neal (15-6) plodded after him. Garry would occasionally settle in for a 1-2 combination or a knee or a kick, then it was back on his bicycle. By the time there was a minute left in the fight, the crowd was voicing its displeasure.

Afterward, Garry called out Colby Covington, saying he wanted to retire the former interim 170-pound champion whose last three losses have all been for the welterweight belt.

Hernandez gets the tap

Anthony Hernandez’s persistence could not be stopped as the Northern California middleweight stopped Roman Kopylov with a second-round submission in the opening fight on the main card.

Hernandez (12-2, 1 NC) fought for the takedown in the first round, but could never take advantage. After eating a couple punches and a head kick early in the second round, Hernandez smiled and stuck out his tongue at the Russian.

Before long, Hernandez got Kopylov down and got his back, toiling to get his arms locked under his neck. After one attempt was thwarted, Hernandez patiently went for it again, this time squeezing until getting the tapout at 3:23 of the second round.

• 

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) defeated Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) by unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Amanda Lemos (red gloves) and Mackenzie Dern (blue gloves) react after Lemos defeated Dern by judges unanimous decision during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Anthony Hernandez (red gloves) defeated Roman Kopylov (blue gloves) by rear naked choke during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Anthony Hernandez (red gloves) defeated Roman Kopylov (blue gloves) by rear naked choke during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Anthony Hernandez (red gloves) defeated Roman Kopylov (blue gloves) by rear naked choke during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Anthony Hernandez (red gloves) defeated Roman Kopylov (blue gloves) by rear naked choke during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Anthony Hernandez (red gloves) defeated Roman Kopylov (blue gloves) by rear naked choke during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Anthony Hernandez (red gloves) defeated Roman Kopylov (blue gloves) by rear naked choke during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• 

  Marcos Rogério de Lima (red gloves) defeats Junior Tafa (blue gloves) via referee stoppage TKO during UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA., on Saturday Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

ANAHEIM — For three rounds, Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Lemos gave it everything at UFC 298.

With knockdowns and takedowns for each strawweight, the crowd at Honda Center gave its full approval at the end, as Lemos won a unanimous decision in the featured prelim fight Saturday night.

All three judges scored it 29-18 for the 36-year-old Brazilian, who was coming off a lopsided unanimous-decision loss six months to 115-pound champion Weili Zhang at UFC 292.

Dern (13-5) somehow found away to survive the second round as she was dropped twice, the second time bringing her hands to her face with what appeared to be a broken nose. Lemos (14-3-1) tried to end the fight, but Dern fended her off.

The third round saw Dern catch an off-balance Lemos and drop her with a wild overhand right. Lemos popped up and dumped Dern to the canvas, only to have the Brazilian jiu-jitsu whiz gain top control for much of the ground.

Dern, 30, had just a four-week camp – as opposed to her routine 10-week camp – after the Huntington Beach resident stepped in to replace the injured Tatiana Suarez. She has now lost consecutive fights for the first time in her UFC career, in which she has an 8-5 record.

Rogerio de Lima chops away for TKO

Marcos Rogerio de Lima attacked the legs of Junior Tafa from the start, wobbling the New Zealand heavyweight before finishing the job in the second round.

Tafa, filling in on a day’s notice for his injured brother Junior Tafa, was affected early by the heavy lumber ripping his left lead leg and ankle. He limped to his corner at the end of the opening round and referee Frank Trigg gave him a long look before starting the next round.

Rogerio de Lima (22-10-1) went back to the wounded limb, kicking it  out from under a pained and fallen Tafa (5-2)  and pausing, then closing it out with some hammerfists before Trigg stepped in at 1:14 of the second round.

Nakamura grinds out a win

Rinya Nakamura used his exemplary grappling to secure a unanimous decision over Carlos Vera and stay undefeated.

The former Japanese wrestling standout received 30-27 scores from all three judges as Nakamura (9-0) had Vera (11-4) on the mat and was in control all three rounds.

Zhang gets powerful first win

Zhang Mingyang and Brendson Ribeiro, both making their UFC debuts, let their fists fly early in the opening round before Zhang dropped the Brazilian light heavyweight en route to a crowd-awakening win.

Ribeiro (15-6, 1 NC) appeared to be getting the better of the exchanges in the opening minute before Zhang (17-6) followed a left jab with a counter right and left hook, flooring Ribeiro and following with a couple strikes before the fight was called at 1:47 of the first round.

Barlow stops Quinlan

Welterweight Danny Barlow made an impressive UFC debut, peppering Josh Quinlan for two rounds before landing several power shots in the final round to stay unbeaten with the TKO victory.

After using his jab effectively, Barlow (8-0) began to figure out the timing and distance late in the second round before dropping Quinlan (6-2) early in the third with a strong left. Quinlan popped up and tried to avoid more damage, but Barlow put him down again with a right.

As Quinlan rose and stumbled away, his right eye swelling shut, referee Jason Herzog stepped in and stopped the fight at 1:18 of the third round.

Elliott earns debut victory

Oban Elliott, in his UFC debut, weathered a shaky first round to grind out a unanimous-decision victory over Val Woodburn.

The judges scored it 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for the Welsh welterweight.

Elliott (10-2) landed a head kick on Woodburn early in the first round, only for Woodburn (7-2) to storm through it and stagger Elliott with several shots. Elliott recovered in time to get Woodburn’s back, a position he secured again in the next two rounds.

Maverick opens with a win

Unranked Miranda Maverick used improved striking to record a unanimous-decision victory over No. 15-ranked flyweight Andrea Lee in the opening bout.

Maverick (15-5) connected with overhand lefts in the opening round and used takedown in the second and third to her advantage, with the judges scoring it for her 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

Lee (13-9) sunk in a triangle choke in the closing seconds of the fight before she ran out of time for her fourth consecutive loss.