The UFC’s return to Australia promised to be a big one, with the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the promotion set to face off in the UFC 284 main event.
That lightweight title fight saw Alexander Volkanovski, a dominant featherweight champion yet to taste defeat in the organization, moving north to challenge Islam Makhachev for his lightweight belt.
Makhachev, the heir apparent to former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, was making the first defense of his title. In enemy territory in Perth, Australia no less.
Our staff has their picks in for the second UFC PPV of 2023 — see who we sided with below!
| Crute vs. Menifield | Tafa vs. Porter | Maddalena vs. Brown | Emmett vs. Rodriguez | Makhachev vs. Volkanovski | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Theodosi (10-4) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Mike McClory (7-3) | | | |  | |
| Eddie Law (9-5) |  |  | | | |
| Val Dewar (9-5) | | | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik (8-6) | | | | | |
| Alex Behunin (7-7) | | | | | |
| Dylan Rush (7-7) | | |  | | |
| Jay Anderson (7-7) | | | | |  |
There were no unanimous picks among our staff members for UFC 284, but there were a couple of landslides. Among them, lightweight champ Islam Makhachev was a popular pick. All but one writer responding have selected the Dagestani fighter to fend off Volkanovski, despite the latter being at home. Should this pick prove savvy, Makhachev will almost certainly land in the #1 pound-for-pound slot following the event.
2022 standout newcomer Jack Della Maddalena was another fighter who our writers see as all but a sure bet. Just one pick went to Randy Brown, despite Brown coming into the fight on a four-fight win streak.
Josh Emmett vs. Yair Rodriguez in the UFC 284 co-main event was a little closer, though Rodriguez took the majority of the votes. Justin Tafa vs. Parker Porter and Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menified similarly favored Porter and Crute, respectively.
