UFC 298: How did Americans fare?

Saturday night saw the focus of the MMA world centered on the Honda Center in Anaheim, California for UFC 298.

The Featherweight Championship bout between champion Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria headlined the event.

Here's our review of UFC 298, focusing on the results from bouts that featured American fighters.

Miranda Maverick (United States) def. Andrea Lee (United States) - Unanimous Decision

The evening kicked off with an all-American showdown in which Miranda Maverick recorded the biggest win of her UFC career to date, outworking veteran Andrea Lee for a unanimous decision.

Lee started best, with a suplex early in the opening round, but that was to be as good as it got for her.

Maverick relied on some heavy left hand hitting to do most of her damage, while she grappled to good effect in round two and managed to hold 'KGB' at arms lengths for large parts of the final round.

Things got tense late on but the talented 26-year-old stayed composed and earned 30–27, 30–27, 29–28 verdicts from the judges' scorecards and the win in the Women's Flyweight contest.

Danny Barlow (United States) def. Josh Quinlan (United States) - TKO

The concluding bout on the early preliminary card saw Josh Quinlan coming up short against Danny Barlow, a member of the Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) Class of '23.

Superior length and considerable speed advantage tilted this clash in favor of the fighter billed as 'LeftHand2God'.

Quinlan went on the offensive in round three, but he was clipped by Barlow and, from there, a swift finishing sequence culminated in a standing stoppage for the newcomer.

The Memphis native now has eight wins - six of them stoppages - in as many bouts.

Anthony Hernandez (United States) def. Roman Kopylov - Submission

The next US interest came in the opener of five on the main card, with Anthony Hernandez duelling alongside Roman Kopylov in a middleweight showdown.

The Californian came under severe pressure from a sustained Kopylov attack, but 'Fluffy' was able to take hits and stay standing.

He met fire with fire, attacking at every opportunity and even having time to dart a smile at his opponent in the second round.

He got the Russian to the canvas and locked in the rear-naked choke that ensured the skilled middleweight has now collected five straight wins - the last three inside the distance.

Merab Dvalishvili def. Henry Cejudo (United States) - Unanimous Decision

There was no such joy for Henry Cejudo, despite going a non-stop 15 minutes in the octagon with combative Georgian Merab Dvalishvili.

There were lots of clean strikes on both sides, as well as clinching, grappling and grinding that meant all three rounds flew by.

Cejudo, 37, would have been more than pleased with his early impact on the clash, but his younger opponent took control the longer they went at it as the former two-division champion floundered.

The judges were in agreement with three 29-28 calls as 'The Machine' emerged victorious, securing his 10th consecutive win and third straight triumph over a former bantamweight champ.

The 33-year-old now looks to have placed himself neatly as the No.1 contender ahead of next month's bantamweight title clash between Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera at UFC 299 in Miami.

Ian Machado Garry def. Geoff Neal (United States) - Split Decision

The final US involvement on the card saw Geoff Neal lose out in a split decision in his Welterweight tussle with Ian Machado Garry in the closest call of the night.

This one was contested exclusively on foot and saw the pair trading blows all the way.

Neal landed some very good punches on the inside, but the Irishman offered more volume and a greater variety of attacks.

In truth neither fighter could lay claim to having any concerted measure of control for a prolonged period in the fight.

That was reflected accurately as the judges called it 30–27, 28–29, 30–27 in favour of the 26-year-old Dubliner, who can now boast a 7-0 UFC record.