UFC 284 Delivers On Promise of Epic Champion vs. Champion Battle

The UFC fights 12 times per year and aims to protect your hard-earned money with big fights. They’re not always Big with a capital ‘B’, but it’s sold that way all the same.

Alexander Volkanovski vs Islam Makhachev Sunday morning in Perth, Australia was not just a big fight. And whether you bought into the idea that the MMA leader dropped the ball in the promotion of the clash of champions — featherweight king Volkanovski challenging the lightweight newly-crowned titleholder — no amount of hype or lack thereof changes that fact.

And every moment of Makhachev’s victory via unanimous decision, 48-47, 48-47, 49-46, felt just as B-I-G as the pound-for-pound No. 1 vs. No. UFC 284 was set to conclude with the 2 contest. From the moment the crowd Down Under broke out into song along with Volkanovski’s walkout to — what else — “Down Under” Men at Work: It was relentless and never stopped.

None would mistake Makhachev-Volkanovski for an all-action assault like the deified 2005 brawl between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. The clash of titans felt epic the same way a Hollywood thriller. It was full of tension, anticipation, and violent moments throughout the five-minute rounds.

Would Volkanovski’s advanced striking foil the favored Makhachev and his dogged grappling? Could Makhachev show some depth to his stand up arsenal, something that was not evident during his rise to the top in the 155-pound division last Oct? These were key questions that shaped early drama.

These answers were a mixture of confirmation of suspicion and unexpected results. Volkanovski did not have the usual high feet, so he was able to pick his spots better against a man who would rather ride the 145-pound champion to the ground.

It was only two minutes before the stance-switching Volkanovski got the defending champion squarely on his chin with an left, causing a frenzy among the other Aussies. But Makhachev took it well, didn’t back down, and sent Volkanovski briefly to a knee only a minute later. There was more to the Dagestan, Russia native’s striking that had previously met the eye.

Meanwhile, Makhachev’s pursuit of his challenger’s back always seemed to pay off. He secured takedowns in each of the first four rounds, claiming rounds one, two and four from all the judges thanks in part to the standout grappling that’s been his bread and butter in much the same way as mentor, friend, “brother” Khabib Nurmagomedov, a former lightweight champion.

Volkanovski remained strong and determined, never allowing himself to be put in the same fight-finishing danger Makhachev placed on Charles Oliveira. Volkanovski’s submission against Brian Ortega was a year ago. In the fourth frame, Makhachev launched punches at Makhachev. Although it was not the right type of fight to end, the Aussie was determined.

Volkanovski was still feeling the fight even though he was down on the cards, but not aware due to the lack of open scoring. After some back and forth on the feet as well as a Makhachev takedown, the challenger gave one more push. “champ-champ” status. Alexander was surrounded by a raucous RAC Arena crowd. “The Great” Then he ripped at his opponent’s foe and followed him to floor. While the window quickly closed on Volkanovski’s chance to end it, he earned about as much respect as any fighter to fall short on a quest to reign over two weight classes at once.

Only a few top-billed battles a year really qualify for that uppercase Big, and they needn’t all be on the Conor McGregor level. I’m talking about Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira last November at the Garden, Francis Ngannou taking on Ciryl Gane last January in Anaheim, and Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington 2 also in Manhattan back in November 2021. No disrespect to the myriad championship clashes atop the other pay-per-view events each year, but there’s levels to this stuff.

Although not all the fights were successful, the UFC has a knack of hitting the big fights more often than they miss.

Makhachev vs. Volkanovski, a Hit, with capital ‘H.’