The path to the UFC lightweight title has gone through Dagestan for some time. And now so does the road to the No. 1 pound-for-pound ranking, once again.
In a classic back-and-forth battle, Islam Makhachev pulled out a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) over Alexander Volkanovski to retain the lightweight title in the main event of UFC 284 on Saturday in Perth, Western Australia.
Makhachev will now be considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, just like his longtime teammate and friend Khabib Nurmagomedov, the retired former UFC lightweight champion, once was.
UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski, fighting in his home country, came in ranked No. 1 pound-for-pound in the world by ESPN. He was moving up to fight Makhachev, who came in ranked No. 2. It was one of the rare times in MMA history that the two best fighters in the world regardless of weight class fought each other.
“You like or you don’t like, I am [the] best fighter in the world right now,” Makhachev said to boos from the Australia crowd. “Thank you.”
Volkanovski was a solid underdog but performed incredibly well, keeping the fight close and mostly nullifying Makhachev’s vaunted wrestling. However, Makhachev had a lot of success in the striking, where Volkanovski was supposed to have the advantage.
“He didn’t respect my wrestling, grappling,” Volkanovski said. “Maybe I didn’t respect his striking enough, either. He landed some shots. Fair play to both of us.”
Makhachev (24-1) beat Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 last September via second-round submission to win the lightweight title. This was his first successful title defense. The Dagestan, Russia native has won 12 straight fights. Makhachev, 31, has not lost since his second UFC fight in 2015.
“I show why I’m No. 1,” Makhachev said. “They have to improve more.”
Volkanovski (25-2) was 12-0 in the UFC coming in and had won 22 straight overall before the defeat. The Australian-born fighter beat Max Holloway to win the UFC featherweight belt at UFC 245 in December 2019.
Volkanovski, 34, has four successful title defenses, most recently a unanimous decision win over Holloway last July at UFC 276, his third win over the 145-pound great. He remains the UFC featherweight champ and will likely fight new interim champion Yair Rodriguez next.
“Featherweights, you better f—ing watch out,” Volkanovski said.