Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski will headline UFC 284 in the promotion’s return to Australia at Perth’s RAC Arena. Makhachev will put his newly-acquired lightweight championship on the line against the featherweight champion and look to usurp his opponent’s number-one spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.
With both fighters posing a threat to one another with their well-rounded skillsets, it is up for debate who will come out on top on February 12th. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz made his pick between the two champions.
On being asked if Islam Makhachev will be successful in his first title defense, Blachowicz responded:
“For sure, I think so. Right now, I don’t see anybody who can stop him in the division. In this moment, you know. We will see, maybe next year someone, you know, arrive and try to beat him. But for now, that what he does on Oliveira, I think nobody can stop him right now.” {0:11-0:27}
The Polish fighter made reference to Islam Makhachev’s first-ever title shot against Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, where the Dagestani fighter laid all doubts about his ability to rest. He dominated his more experienced opponent and convincingly beat him in the second round via submission.
It was only after Makhachev secured the lightweight belt that he called out Alexander Volkanovski and made his next fight a reality.
Dricus Du Plessis weighs in on Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski
UFC middleweight Dricus Du Plessis spoke about the upcoming lightweight fight at UFC 284 on James Lynch’s YouTube channel.
Du Plessis spoke about the momentum favoring Makhachev and his superior skillset across the board. However, he mentioned ‘Volk’s striking as a factor that could sway the matchup in his favor:
“If you look at the form that Islam Makhachev looked at in his last fight, it was immaculate. From striking to wrestling and obviously grappling, looked out of this world… But when it comes to the striking of Alexander Volkanovski, he outstrikes Max Holloway. So good luck competing with that… I’m going 50-50 on that one.” {3:13-4:45}
‘The Great’ put on a striking clinic against Max Holloway in his trilogy fight against him as he completed a clean sweep of wins. He will hope to put on a similar performance against Makhachev in order to eke out a result.
Check out Jan Blachowicz’s and Dricus Du Plessis’ comments along with other fighters’ pick for the lightweight championship fight on YouTube: