The UFC took to Perth, Australia on Saturday for UFC 284, which was one of the most anticipated fight cards of the year. It was a fantastic event that many fans at home enjoyed thoroughly, but the main event ended with a controversial decision.
The main event featured featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski moving up to fight the lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev. Entering the fight, Volkanovski had a 25-1 MMA record and had won 22 consecutive fights. Makhachev, meanwhile, had an 11-fight win streak and sported a 24-1 record. So, it was perhaps the biggest UFC Superfight in recent memory.
The fight was ultimately a complete back-and-forth war where both fighters had some real bright spots. However, Volkanovski perhaps had the biggest moment of the fight in the final minute of the fifth round, dropping Makhachev and nearly finishing him.
Almost😳 pic.twitter.com/F7z3Q1tSzH
— MMA Fire🔥 (@FireMMAVids) February 12, 2023
Makhachev ultimately survived the final round onslaught to reach the scorecards, where he would be named the winner on all three judges’ scorecards.
The full #UFC284 main event scorecards 📝 pic.twitter.com/zCx1YmqcFb
— UFC (@ufc) February 12, 2023
Makhachev, who is the protege of former Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, retained his belt with this result. While Makhachev won the fight in the eyes of the judges, many around the sports world feel entirely different about how the fight should have been scored.
Man…
I obviously have no clue what I’m talking about.. I thought Volkanovski CLEARLY won that fight https://t.co/JfgpnJ5yHM
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 12, 2023
Not sure if I’ll ever watch UFC again
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) February 12, 2023
Sometimes you can lose a fight and still win, Volkanovski did that tonight. #UFC284
— Teddy Atlas (@TeddyAtlasReal) February 12, 2023
First two rounds Makhachev dominated. Last 3 you could give them all to Volk. Islam did next to no damage on the ground #UFC284
— Eric Hubbs (@BarstoolHubbs) February 12, 2023
There can be arguments on either side of this fight as to who should have been the winner.
Volkanovski landed more strikes in the fight, but it ultimately seems like the takedowns of Makhachev swayed the judges and propelled him to victory.
Official stats for the main event pic.twitter.com/fzWiZUguu1
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 12, 2023
Regardless, the hype surrounding Volkanovski appears to be at an all-time high. He was taking a massive risk moving up in weight and was very clearly the far smaller fighter in the octagon on Saturday night.