- Islam Makhachev defeated Volkanovski by majority decision.
- Makhachev was defending his title for the first time since win.
- He was met with a thunderous wave of applause by the Australian.
At UFC 284 in Perth, Australia, Russia’s Islam Makhachev defeated featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski by majority decision to keep the lightweight title.
Makhachev prevailed over Volkanovski in a hard-fought contest with the help of his aggressive wrestling and counterpunches.
Volkanovski was switching to lightweight in the hopes of joining Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes, Daniel Cormier, and Henry Cejudo as the sixth simultaneous double UFC champion.
In the meantime, Makhachev was defending his title for the first time since winning over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in October of last year.
While Volkanovski was met with a thunderous wave of applause by the Australians inside the RAC Arena, Makhachev was booed as he left the arena.
With the victory, Makhachev’s winning streak—now the longest in the competition—was increased to 12 matches, snapping Volkanovski’s previous record of 12 victories in the UFC.
“I thought he was going to be easy on the ground but this guy proved he wasn’t. I showed why I am number one. If you like it, I am the best fighter in the world right now, thank you,” said Makhachev.
Meanwhile, Volkanovski honoured his rival.
“I appreciate the support but let’s have a round of applause for Islam. Obviously, a lot of people are going to be happy with that because they didn’t give me a chance but it was a fun fight,” he said.
“Obviously I’d like to say this message with a win but there’s nothing wrong with challenging yourself. Challenge yourself like this it only makes you stronger. You can see I can get the job done but I came up short tonight, congrats to Islam, great fighter.”
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