Islam Makhachev defended his title at UFC 284 in Perth. Photo: Sergei Belski – USA TODAY Sports
UFC 284 just took place in Perth, Australia, and lived up to all expectations and then some.
In the massive lightweight main event, champion Islam Makhachev stood toe to toe with featherweight champion, and pound-for-pound No. 1, Alexander Volkanovski.
The highly anticipated fight turned out to be everything the fans hoped for.
Volkanovski looked strong in his new weight class and was able to defend the lightweight champion’s attacks on the ground. And if Makhachev couldn’t find his usual success on the mat, his striking was for sure on point, as he landed heavy straight punches and solid knees throughout the fight.
After five hardfought rounds, Makhachev stood as the winner with 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 on the scorecards.
“Thank you Alex. It was a very good fight,” Makhachev said in the post-fight interview. “I need some tough fights. I have to improve. I think he’s going to be easy on the ground but this guy improved a lot. I need tough fights.”
Yair Rodriguez is the new featherweight interim champion
In the UFC 284 co-main event, Yair Rodriguez put on a show as he submitted Josh Emmett to become the promotion’s interim featherweight champion.
Rodriguez delivered from the start, landing his patented kicks and creative striking in the first round. In the second round, the Mexican pulled off his first submission in the UFC to win the interim belt.
Now, it looks like he will fight Alexander Volkanovski next.
“I said I was going to stay active. I’ll be back in the lightweight division, but for now let me go settle this featherweight division. Congrats to Yair,” Volkanovski said in the octagon.
We also saw welterweight prospect Jack Della Maddalena rack up another great win at UFC 284, as he submitted Randy Brown in the first round. He was awarded with a 50 000 dollar Performance of the Night bonus for his achivement.
With the victory, Della Maddalena is 4-0 in the promotion, with all wins coming via stoppage.
Yair Rodriguez was also awarded with the Performance of the Night bonus for his submission over Josh Emmett, while the massive headliner between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski received the 50 000 dollar Fight of the Night bonus.