Islam Makhachev put his lightweight title on the line against Alexander Volkanovksi in a clash of champions for the UFC 284 headliner. While Makhachev aimed for Volkanovski’s No. 1 spot in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, the featherweight champion made a double-champion bid.
Both fighters went toe-to-toe for the most part, with Volkanovski seemingly edging out the stand-up battle. However, it was Makhachev’s ground game that went on to make the difference as expected. The Dagestani landed four out of his nine attempted takedowns, amounting to a total of over seven and a half minutes of control time.
While Volakanovski dropped Makhachev in the final round, it was perhaps too little too late.
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While two of the judges scored the contest 48-47 in favor of Makhachev, the third judge scored it a clear 49-46.
The co-main event of the night featured an interim featherweight title clash between Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett. ‘El Pantera’ put on an absolute clinic, overwhelming Emmett with his diverse arsenal en route to a second-round submission win.
Fighting in front of their home crowd, Jack Della Maddalena and Justin Tafa went on to score first-round stoppage wins on the UFC 284 main card.
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Meanwhile, Jimmy Crute opened the action with a barn burning majority draw against Alonzo Menifield.
UFC 284 full-card results
Main card
Islam Makhachev def. Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision (48-47 x2, 49-46)
Yair Rodriguez def. Josh Emmett via submission (triangle) (4:19 of Round 2)
Jack Della Maddalena def. Randy Brown via submission (rear naked choke) (2:13 of Round 1)
Justin Tafa def. Parker Porter via KO (1:06 of Round 1)
Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield is a majority draw (29-27, 28-28 x2)
Preliminary card
Modestas Bukauskas def. Tyson Pedro via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
Joshua Culibao def. Melsik Baghdasaryan via submission (rear naked choke) (2:02 of Round 2)
Kleydson Rodrigues def. Shannon Ross via TKO (0:59 of Round 1)
Jamie Mullarkey def. Francisco Prado via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Jack Jenkins def. Don Shainis via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Loma Lookboonmee def. Elise Reed via sub (rear naked choke) (0:44 of Round 2)
Blake Bilder def. Shane Young via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Elves Brenner def. Zubaira Tukhugov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Following the conclusion of tonight’s event, UFC officials announced at the post-fight press conference that four fighters would be taking home performance bonuses.
Fight of the night: Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski each pocketed an extra $50k for their thrilling war in tonight’s UFC 284 main event. Makhachev won the contest by unanimous decision.
Performance of the night: Yair Rodriguez earned an extra $50k for his second-round submission win over Josh Emmett. ‘El Pantera’ took home the interim featherweight title with the win.
Performance of the night: Jack Della Maddalena pocketed an extra $50k for his first-round submission victory over Randy Brown.
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