Islam Makhachev with a difficult and controversial victory over Alex Volkanovski
Islam Makhachev retained his lightweight title. The Dagestani fighter faced the featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovsky. The two headlined UFC 284, which took place in Perth, Australia. Islam managed to win by decision of the judges, which was quite surprising because of the numbers - (48–47, 48–47, 49–46).
The fight was extremely even. Alex performed more than well and may regret not winning. In the first round, Alex was more active than Makhachev, who started sluggishly. A left hook from Volkanovski sent Makhachev back. Alex pressed quite aggressively.
Left hook from Makhachev gets Volkanovski's attention. Islam stuck him to the net and took him to the ground. Islam took Alex's back and tried to pin him down, but to no avail. Alex shows that he is not in danger and end of the round. A slight advantage for Makhachev in this round.
In the second round, Alex injured Makhachev, who went for a takedown. Islam took paint to the ground, but Alex stood up. The two are back at the net, where Alex lands hooks. Left hook from Islam hurts Volkanovski. The two enter the clinch, where Alex lands punches and Makhachev lands a knee. And in this round, Islam had a slight advantage. In the third round, Islam started with a high kick but landed a right hook.
Exchanging low kicks. Makhachev grabs Volkanovski and takes him down, but Alex gets to his feet, then pins him to the net. Impressive work from the featherweight champion.Exchanging hooks and ending a round where Alex gave the better impression. An extremely even fight after these first 3 rounds.
In the fourth round, after a brief bout of standing, Islam took the fight to the ground. He was able to keep Volkanovski down for most of the round. Alex was trying to get up, but Islam was wrapped around him like a python. That definitely won him the round.
In the fifth round, Alex performed strongly. Islam managed to score a takedown, but Alex stood up. He showed a better stand up game in this round. Makhachev went for a takedown, but Alex met him with a right hook that sent him to the ground.
Volkanovski took a dominant position and began to score ground and pound. Alex lands heavy bombs in the final seconds and ends the match in style. This won him the round and the fight went to a decision. The judges ruled unanimously in favor of Makhachev - (48–47, 48–47, 49–46). This decision was quite surprising because the difference between the two was not that obvious.
With this victory, Makhachev remains the lightweight champion. He's on a 12-fight winning streak and has unseated Volkanovski from the top spot in the UFC rankings, regardless of division. Islam becomes the best MMA fighter in the world.
Alex, for his part, lost for the first time in the UFC. He failed to become a double champion and parted with a streak of 22 consecutive victories. Volkanovski will have to fight Yair Rodriguez, who won the interim featherweight title.
We will surely see a second fight between Makhachev and Volkanovsky in the future. And while the judges gave the victory to Makhachev, Verdict MMA ruled in favor of Volkanovski. Verdict MMA is the global platform for real-time judging.
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