Regardless of outcome, UFC 284 in Perth, Australia was going to be a historic night.
Either Alexander Volkanovski was going to dethrone Islam Makhachev to become the UFC’s next double-champ, or Makhachev was going to notch his first title defense— and ascend to #1 in the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings. A spot currently held by Australia’s own Volkanovski.
The card was a rare opportunity to see the #1 and #2 ranked fighters in the promotion, pound-for-pound anyway, face off. Bolstered by a featherweight interim title fight between Josh Emmett and Yair Rodriguez that would, if nothing else, determine the number one contender for Volkanovski, assuming he didn’t leave the weight class behind entirely (the former Rugby player has been adamant that his time at featherweight is not over, for what it’s worth).
While the UFC 284 card was loaded with Australian talent — no surprise given the promotion hadn’t made the trip since 2019, due in large part to COVID-19 — welterweight standout Jack Della Maddalena would be one fighter to watch above all others. After a breakout 2022 that saw him win three fights, each inside of a round, under the UFC banner, he was looking to start 2023 off right against Randy Brown, on a tidy four-fight win streak of his own.
Following Saturday’s UFC 284 card, tune in for the post-fight press conference for all the developing storylines. A live stream is available in the embed above.
