UFC 284: Legacy Defining Victory On the Line for Makhachev and Volkanovski

By
Gabriel Gonzalez
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PERTH, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 11: (L-R) Opponents Islam Makhachev of Russia and Alexander Volkanovski of Australia face off during the UFC 284 ceremonial weigh-in at RAC Arena on February 11, 2023 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Islam Makhachev will travel to enemy territory with the goal of spoiling the homecoming of Alexander Volkanovski who will be attempting to become at two-division champion at UFC 284.

While his skills have been praised for years, reigning champion Islam Makhachev has been unfairly reduced to having only one serious weapon going into his first title defense.  The team at American Kickboxing Academy and no less than his childhood friend and UFC Hall-of-Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov have long anointed him as the heir apparent at 155 pounds.  Last October, he fulfilled that promise with a dominant victory against the dynamic Charles Oliveira to claim gold and complete the plan set forth by his late coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

Makhachev spent no time resting on his laurels, less than a month later signing on to fight his upcoming foe on their home soil.  But the strength of the champion’s eleven fight win-streak has been called into question.  Through no fault of his own, Makhachev accumulated ten consecutive victories without facing a top-ranked contender before turning away Oliveira. Though often drawing comparisons to his mentor Khabib, the differences in his game have not been appreciated as most feel it has been displayed against subpar competition.  As such, many have reduced the fight to coming down to whether or not he can consistently complete his vaunted takedowns on the smaller challenger and granting the Australian the advantage in most every other category.

Such advantages are not completely preposterous when surveying the featherweight champion’s body of work.  With a 22-fight win streak going back to his time before he joined the UFC, Alexander Volkanovski is widely considered one of the best fighters in the world today, one who continues to separate himself from the rest of the field.  A victory on Saturday would have many adding him to the all-time great discussion across all weight-classes.  Should he continue his reign of dominance, it is not out of the question that “The Great” could begin to enter the discussion as the greatest of all-time as well.

Volkanovski’s road to MMA stardom, despite his long run of success, was a slower one.  As the title picture was dominated by a quartet of José Aldo, Max Holloway, Conor McGregor, and Frankie Edgar, Volkanovski had to extend his win streak as he waited for his opportunity.  Since 2019, however, he has proven that his skills translated to the elite level as he knocked off several former champions and title challengers.  In facing Holloway, long-considered the gold standard of modern featherweights, Volkanovski bested him twice in razor-close fights but cemented himself as the better of the two last July when he won handily.  The victory added to dominant performances against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and Brian Ortega that put him at the top of the pound-for-pound list in 2022.

Volkanovski’s history as a rugby player who weighed over 200 pounds has been a large focal point going into the fight, as is the fact that he fought at both middleweight and welterweight before finding his stride as a featherweight.  That said, the stature of Makhachev compared to most of Volkanovski’s previous opponents is a significant factor and he will likely need another masterful night should he struggle to slow down the champion early. Makhachev is a well-rounded fighter in his own right, but it is no question that his best weapon is his grappling and his striking most effective as opponents tend to be weary of the takedown while on the feet.  That said, a striking battle from a technical standpoint is expected to favor the deceptively fast Volkanovski should they have frequent striking exchanges.

A Makhachev victory is expected to set up a fight with current top contender Beneil Dariush or Dustin Poirier in the second half of 2023.  A Volkanovski victory raises significant questions as the interim title at featherweight is also on the line in the co-main event on the same night.  Given his dominance at 145 pounds, he could elect to defend the lightweight title and let the new interim champion attempt to win another fight in order to further build up a unification bout.  Should Volkanovski drop back down immediately, it would likely leave Dariush and Poirier to face each other as they wait for the champion to come back up in late 2023/early 2024.

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