Islam Makhachev once again proved that his wrestling skills are on another level.
He also proved that he's capable of timely counter striking as well.
Makhachev used both aspects of his fight game to score a unanimous decision victory over Alexander Volkanovski in his toughest bout to date. Judges inside the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia scored it 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 all in favor of Makhachev as he retained his world lightweight championship Saturday night at UFC 284, while preventing Volkanovski, the featherweight titleholder, from becoming the fifth double champ in the company's history. (DAZN scored it 48-47 for Makhachev).
Volkanovski, with his raucous home crowd behind him, was able to dictate the pace of the fight, landing nearly 50 more strikes than Makhachev, while also coming up with spirited takedown defense against the lightweight champ. However, Makhachev's four takedowns and subsequent control time coupled with his timely, sharp counterpunches were just too much for Volkanovski to overcome.
Makhachev put Volkanovski on notice of his counter striking ability from the opening round, when he dropped the Australian to a knee with a timely right hand. Though Volkanovski would drop Makhachev a couple of times in the fight, he was never able to deliver additional, significant damage.
Volkanovski gave his all to successfully take the third round but was humbled by a perfectly-timed takedown in the fourth, when Makhachev grabbed hold of his leg and proceeded to stretch him out on the ground for control time that sapped the Australian.
Volkanovski managed to deliver a spirited fifth and final round to take the frame but not before Makhachev produced some more crisp counterpunches, a slick knee and yet another key takedown. He took the first, second and fourth rounds according to DAZN.
"I showed why I'm No. 1," Makhachev told ESPN+ in the Octagon, referring to the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings. "They have to improve more."
Perhaps Volkanovski summed up the fight best:
"He didn't respect my wrestling/grappling," Volkanovski said, "and I guess maybe I didn't respect his striking, either, because he landed some shots."
Here's how the entire UFC 284 pay-per-view main card went.