On Sunday in Perth, Australia, Islam Makhachev successfully maintained his title as the UFC lightweight champion by defeating Alexander Volkanovski through a combination of striking and grappling, ultimately earning a unanimous decision victory.
With this win, Makhachev put an end to Volkanovski’s 12-match winning streak in the UFC and extended his own. This makes the Russian fighter now hold the record for the longest current winning streak in the UFC.
The Russian champion once again amazed spectators with his striking ability, while Volkanovski lived up to his pre-fight talk by being incredibly difficult to take down.
In the end, Makhachev was declared the winner by unanimous decision, though some felt that the fight was much more competitive than the scorecards indicated. With this win, Makhachev successfully defended his championship title for the first time.
As a result of his victory, Makhachev moved ahead of Volkanovski in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings.
“I showed why I am number one,” said Makhachev. “You guys have to improve more. I thought he was going to be easy on the ground but this guy, he proved me wrong.” For the fight, Volkanovski had upgraded from featherweight in an effort to make history.
The UFC’s return to Australia after a hiatus of over four years for UFC 284 was a landmark moment. The main event featured Islam Makhachev, who with a record of 24 wins and 1 loss in mixed martial arts and 13 wins and 1 loss in the UFC, successfully defended his lightweight title for the first time. He secured a unanimous decision victory over featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who has 25 wins and 2 losses in MMA and 12 wins and 1 loss in the UFC, thus extending his winning streak in the octagon.