In his quest for glory at UFC 284, Alexander Volkanovski was unsuccessful, but he persuaded many doubters to change their minds. Islam Makhachev, the lightweight champion of the UFC, and Volkanovski, the featherweight champion, engaged in a five-round back-and-forth battle. Although Makhachev kept his title, the decision will undoubtedly be hotly contested for some time.
The greatest assets of each other were expertly weaponized by Makhachev and Volkanovski. By dismantling Makhachev’s grappling and self-assurance, Volkanovski was able to wrestle aggressively. However, Makhachev excelled at foot range and effectively neutralised Volkanovski. Although each of the five rounds was fiercely contested, as each five minutes passed, Makhachev’s lead gradually shifted to Volkanovski.
Almost😳 pic.twitter.com/F7z3Q1tSzH
— MMA Fire🔥 (@FireMMAVids) February 12, 2023
At the end, Islam Makhachev defeated Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47).
“People didn’t give me a chance but I gave myself a chance,” Volkanovski told Bisping during the post fight interview at UFC 284. “It was a fun fight. Maybe I could have capitalized on some positions more. I left it late, but what can you do? Congrats to Islam… Obviously, he didn’t respect my wrestling and grappling and I guess maybe I didn’t respect his strikes enough because he landed some good shots.”
UFC 284 Results for Main card and Prelims
- Islam Makhachev (c) def. Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
- Yair Rodriguez (ic) def. Josh Emmett via second-round submission (triangle choke)
- Jack Della Maddalena def. Randy Brown via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Justin Tafa def. Parker Porter via first-round knockout (punch)
- Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menfield ends in a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Tyson Pedro via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Josh Culibao def. Melsik Baghdasaryan via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Kleydson Rodrigues def. Shannon Ross via first-round TKO (punches)
- Jamie Mullarkey def. Francisco Prado via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jack Jenkins def. Don Shainis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Loma Lookboonmee def. Elise Reed via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Blake Bilder def. Shane Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Elves Brenner def. Zubaira Tukhugov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
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