Islam Makhachev will kick off his lightweight reign with a title defense against Alexander Volkanovski in his first fight of 2023. The two champions will face off in the main event of UFC 284 on the promotion’s return to Perth, Australia.
No.4-ranked contender Beneil Dariush weighed in on the fight and gave his prediction. Dariush spoke in an interview with Submission Radio and backed Makhachev to eke out a result due to the advantages the Dagestani holds over the featherweight champion. Dariush said:
“It’s hard not to lean towards Makhachev, he’s bigger, he’s got the range, he’s got grappling, he has very good grappling fundamentals. And I haven’t really seen enough of Volk’s grappling, to be honest. I haven’t really watched enough of it, so it’s hard to say, man.”
Darius further discussed how the pound-for-pound king could come out on top:
“I’m leaning towards a decision for Islam [Makhachev], but it could be ‘Volk’, bro. He could be hard to take down, he could be able to get back up, and then patiently just wears out Islam in the standup, you know. But yeah, right now, I’m leaning toward Makhachev.”
Watch Beneil Dariush’s full interview with Submission Radio on YouTube below:
Daniel Cormier believes Alexander Volkanovski beating Islam Makhachev would be the biggest upset
Islam Makhachev‘s former teammate and former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier weighed in on the blockbuster UFC 284 main event.
‘DC’ stated that Alexander Volkanovski potentially pulling off a victory against the lightweight champion would be the biggest upset in the promotion’s history. He also mentioned Makhachev’s greatest advantage in the fight.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Cormier said:
“In my opinion, [if] Alexander Volkanovski wins this fight, it’s the biggest [upset]. I’m telling you, when you get into the details of this matchup, it seems a very hard match for Volkanovski to win… ‘Volk’ is a very big guy… But that doesn’t matter, he’s still shorter. Because he’s shorter it makes for him – Makhachev – to use the leverage against Volkanovski.”
Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski are also vying for top-dog status in the pound-for-pound rankings, with both being placed at No.2 and No.1, respectively.
Check out Daniel Cormier’s full comments on his YouTube channel: