Australia is the setting for UFC 284 as Islam Makhachev puts his lightweight title on the line for the first time. Across from him, Alexander Volkanovski is attempting to become just the fifth simultaneous two-weight champion. Let’s take a look at both men in the main event.
Islam Makhachev
Born in Dagestan, Russia, Islam grew up in the remote village of Burshi where he trained and competed in combat sambo. He eventually made his MMA debut in 2010, going 11-0 across many promotions, before signing with the UFC in 2014. The then-23-year-old debuted in 2015, submitting Leo Kuntz in the second round. Unfortunately, in his second outing, he tasted defeat for the first time at the hands of Adriano Martins. Since, the Russian has been unstoppable, notching an 11-fight win streak, culminating with the decimation of Charles Oliveira last year for the vacant title.
Overall, his record is 23-1, 15 of these wins by finish, with other notable wins including Arman Tsarukyan and Dan Hooker. Going into the fourth main event of his UFC tenure, this will be the first fight since the announcement of Khabib stepping away from the sport. A passing of the torch, almost.
His fight style is devastating. Firstly, his striking is adequate, often being more than happy to stand and trade despite his grappling prowess. The champ likes to pressure his opponents and is incredible in the clinch, always looking to get to the body so he can secure the takedown. This is especially prevalent against smaller opposition (see Davi Ramos fight) where he used the clinch to inflict damage to his opponent, even dropping him. On the ground, as you would expect, his top game is incredible with heavy pressure and strong ground-and-pound. Able to pull them off due to his strong grip, the #2 pound-for-pound fighter also has a wide variety of submissions – winning almost half of his career fights this way.
Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski
Volk was born in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia and began training in Greco-Roman wrestling at a young age, even winning a national title aged just 12. He then quit wrestling to focus on a potential rugby league career, eventually playing to a semi-pro level. A return to combat sports came about when he decided that he should keep up his fitness, ultimately quitting rugby league at 23 to pursue MMA full-time.
It has been well documented that the Australian weighed over 200 lbs during his rugby league days, hence why his amateur career involved him fighting as a middleweight! ‘The Great’ made his pro debut in 2012 as a welterweight, going 13-1 before signing with the UFC. In that 14-fight period, he made two more drops in weight class before finding his home at featherweight.
The now 34-year-old made his promotional debut in 2016 and now possesses a 25-1 record, unbeaten after 12 fights in the UFC, winning the featherweight title in that time. Similarly, the 145 champ also has 15 finishes on his record and, going into his sixth main event, he is unofficially the best fighter in the world with the #1 pound-for-pound ranking.
The former rugby league player’s fight style is one of the most well-rounded in the entire sport, if not the best. A one-time pro boxer, he has a very good jab and straight right hand – but will also be very persistent in kicking the calf and thigh. Volkanovski possesses a very good gas tank that allows him to use forward pressure all fight, dishing out lots of volume strikes. His wrestling is decent, although he mainly uses it against the cage. And, regarding submissions, there is no real offensive threat but his defence is very good.
How Do They Match Up?
This is very much the classic MMA matchup of striker vs grappler. I think it will be the usual game plan, generally, for Makhachev; pressuring Volkanovski, trying to get hands around his body, and looking for submissions as soon as he gets it to the ground. I could see Makhachev using a clinch-heavy approach – knees, punches, trips etc. Volkanovski, however, must stay on his feet at all costs. Some keys to victory for him will be using his jab and low kicks as well as trying to stay away from the fence. In my opinion, to win this fight, the featherweight champ MUST be perfect for 25 minutes to win this fight.
Prediction: As I said, I think Alexander Volkanovski will need to be perfect for all five rounds for him to win this fight. Any slip-ups and Islam Makhachev could easily secure a takedown or snatch his neck, and I that’s what I think will happen. I believe Islam Makhachev will win via third-round submission.
Featured image credita to Embed from Getty Images
