On February 11th, the UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, defeated pound-for-pound king (P4P) and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The five rounds were very competitive, with Makhachev and Volkanovski trying to wear each other down masterfully.
The second round was intense after Volkanovski dropped the defending champion. However, Makhachev regained control and successfully secured his second takedown of the night. Later in the round, Makhachev landed a big left punch that left the challenger stumbling. The third round could have gone either way, as Volkanovski avoided the takedown attempts by breaking free or pushing Makhachev against the fence.
The fourth round was a bit slow because Makhachev took down the challenger and held on his back for nearly half the round. It was a great tactic to wear the opponent down, but Volkanovski landed a few punches behind his own head. The fifth round was quite fun and definitive. Volkanovski was aggressive from the start, while Makhachev tried to counterattack using his knees. Eventually, the challenger landed a punch dropping the defending lightweight champion. Although the challenger proceeded on offense while on top of Makhachev the rest of the round, he did not draw a stoppage.
Islam Makhachev (24 -1) was declared the winner through a unanimous decision (49 – 46, 48 – 47, 48 – 47). Alexander Volkanovski (25 -2) will face Yair Rodriguez (the UFC interim featherweight champion) to unify the belts.
