Makhachev vs Volkanovski
The dust is beginning to settle on UFC 284 and it’s fair to say it more than lived up to its expectations. The main event between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski can only be described as one thing: elite.
In what felt like a battle for the ages that could’ve just as easily taken place in Sun Tzu’s China, Miyamoto Musashi’s Japan, or Alexander’s Greece, two warriors skilfully traded blows in a violent dance to claim the UFC lightweight belt and the coveted pound for pound number one spot.
In this conflict between two apex predators, neither fighter got a free lunch, with both asserting their dominance in spots without being able shut the other out for prolonged periods of the fight.
In this post we’ll take a closer look at what we learnt from Makhachev vs Volkanovski.
1. Australians can wrestle
Without question, Islam Makhachev’s most potent weapon is his wrestling. Under the tutelage of the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev developed a formidable arsenal of wrestling takedowns and judo-style throws that he used to ragdoll his opponents and set up strikes. Makhachev’s Dagestani style of fighting had become so synonymous with dominance that it would shock no one if Islam managed to take Alex down and finish the fight by submission or ground and pound.
And yes, Islam was able to take Volkanovski down, but throughout the fight, Volkanovski was able to stuff his opponent’s wrestling and initiate his own offence. When Makhachev did score a takedown and take Volkanovski’s back, Alex remained calm and never seemed at risk of being submitted or taking punishment on the ground. In an iconic moment in the fourth round, Volkanovski shit talked and jabbed his foe whilst the latter attempted to choke him from the back. Few would survive that position against Makhachev and even fewer could do so whilst taunting him with strikes and shithousery.
Volkanovski’s success in countering Makhachev’s wrestling was due in no small part to his growth as a grappler under ADCC silver medallist Craig Jones. Jones, who is also an Australian, boldly claimed that Makhachev’s grappling could be stopped and that the Russian lacked proficiency when it came to finishing submissions. Indeed, Jones was right; with the Australian coach-fighter double act averting a one-way ragdolling that we have all become accustomed to with Makhachev.
2. Makhachev's striking is still underrated
For some reason, an annoyingly simplistic narrative pitted the UFC 284 main event as a “grappler vs striker” matchup. This narrative indicated that Makhachev’s only route to victory was via taking the fight to the ground.In reality, Makhachev did very well on the feet and, for my money, I had it pretty even between the two fighters. Both landed decent strikes, both had their moments, but neither fighter was teeing off.
Certainly, the one-sided beating that Volk dished out to his previous opponents was not evident. Nor did Islam shy away from the striking exchanges by being overly reliant on his wrestling. Throughout the fight, Islam used sophisticated feints to control the striking range and landed some very crisp shots which seemed to momentarily daze his opponent. Volkanovski himself admitted post fight that he may have underestimated Islam’s striking and that viewpoint doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Islam’s striking is still shockingly underrated, even after winning his title via a knockdown in his previous fight.
3. UFC judges still can't judge
Unfortunately, it wasn’t Makhachev’s mother who had her son winning 4 rounds to one, it was UFC judge Derek Cleary. Cleary’s verdict certainly isn’t the first of its kind and continues a hall of shame list of showings by UFC judges in recent times. Such decisions really make you question whether judges are sufficiently qualified and indeed if a change in the judging system is needed to prevent further shameful decisions.
In fairness to UFC judges, they are dealing with a judging system adapted from boxing that does nothing to quantify how grappling exchanges, submission attempts and ground and pound should be scored. If a fighter, like Makhachev, is winning grappling exchanges, yet inflicting little damage or posing little threat with submissions: no one knows how that is scored in an MMA context.
So it’s clear the system needs reforming. That aside, better judges need to be recruited and more needs to be done to hold poor judging accountable.
*we don't know how the next fight would go
As much as we learnt a lot from UFC 284 a lot of question marks remain. First among them is how a second fight would go. Will Volkanovski feel more comfortable at the weight? Will Makhachev be able to finish if he gets to the back? Will either be able to assert their dominance? All of these questions remain unanswered. Another question that remains unanswered is a salacious rumour that Makhachev used an IV drip to rehydrate himself post weigh in. The rumour was circulated by Volkanovski’s teammate and fellow UFC fighter, Dan Hooker, so not exactly an unbiased source. But with a degree of needle building between the two teams and both fighters claiming they won; the stage is set for a blockbuster rematch with even higher stakes.
