adminUFC featherweight (65.8kg) champion Alexander Volkanovski and lightweight (70.3kg) champion Islam Makhachev cover the true strongest.
On the 12th (Korean time) at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, at UFC 284: Makachev vs Volkanovski, pound for pound (P4P) No. 1 Volkanovski will challenge No. 2 Makhachev for the lightweight title.
P4P is a ranking that determines who is the strongest in a fighting sport that competes by subdividing weight classes, assuming that everyone is in the same weight class. Currently, in the UFC, Volkanovski and Makhachev are ranked first and second respectively. The winner of this match becomes the true UFC champion.
This ‘Super Fight’ started with Makachev’s provocation. At UFC 280 held in October last year, Makacheff defeated Charles Oliveira with an arm-triangle choke submission in the second round to become the lightweight champion.
Makachev’s coach, former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, said in an interview with the winner, “Makachev is not just a lightweight, but the best fighter in P4P.”
In response, Volkanovski, who had come to the scene as a backup fighter for the lightweight title match, came up to the octagon and responded, “Let’s fight for the lightweight title and P4P 1st place,” and the match was concluded on the spot.
Volkanovski, who is aiming for two weight division champions, is evaluated as the most complete fighter in modern martial arts. He came from a rugby background and entered martial arts at a late age, but his striking and wrestling skills are excellent. In particular, his Fight IQ, which perfectly analyzes his opponents and completely destroys them with a customized response strategy, stands out.
Volkanovski defeated Max Holloway, one of the greatest featherweight fighters of all time, three times to claim the No. 1 spot in P4P. In March of last year, he overpowered ‘Korean Zombie’ Jeong Chan-seong and won a 4th round TKO victory. It was a one-sided match to the extent that Jeong Chan-seong expressed his frustration after the game, saying, “I felt a wall I couldn’t overcome.”
Makachev, who is aiming for first place in P4P, is a grappler. In the Republic of Dagestan, a wrestling powerhouse, he grew up training wrestling and sambo with his older brother Khabib. In 2016, he won a gold medal at the World Sambo Championships, and in 2022 he was crowned UFC Lightweight Champion. Public opinion is that no one can match Makachev in the grappling field.
In the end, the match boils down to Makhachev’s grappling versus Volkanovski’s striking.
Again, Makhachev pointed out Volkanovski’s wrestling as a weakness. At Media Day held on the 9th, he said, “I watch all wrestling competitions including the World Championships and the Olympics, but I have never seen Australians there.”
Against this, Volkanovski said, “I came to my country and said we don’t have wrestling. I have to show you something. As soon as I start, I’m going to do a double leg takedown,” he joked leisurely.
Regarding his physique inferiority, “I train with players who are heavier than me every day at the gym. This is a lightweight fight, and I train with welterweight, sometimes with middleweight,” he said.
Meanwhile, an interim title fight will take place at featherweight, where Volkanovski has been absent for a while. In the co-main event, UFC Featherweight No. 2 Yair Rodriguez (30, Mexico) and No. 5 Josh Emmett (37, USA) face off for the interim championship.
The interim champion gets the right to fight for the unified title when the champion returns, and if the champion returns is difficult, the champion takes over.
Rodriguez is a taekwondo fighter with spectacular kicks. Since he was 5 years old he has been learning Taekwondo and even earned a black belt. In July of last year, he defeated Brian Ortega by TKO due to a shoulder injury in the first round and consolidated his second place position. In Korea, it is famous for the reversal elbow KO that broke out just before the end of the 2018 Jeong Chan-seong match.
Emmett is a fighter who boasts a powerful one shot. Even in a losing match, if you can hit just one, you can end the match with a KO. He is on a five-game winning streak, beating Calvin Kater in June of last year.
“Emmett is a dangerous opponent,” Rodriguez said. He can do his damage with just one punch. Expect him to appear at his best. As always, it will be a war.” 카지노
Emmett also warned, “Rodriguez is dynamic, hard to hit, explosive, and has great skills.” At the same time, he vowed to win, saying, “I will attack his loopholes that can never be corrected with the 10-week camp and punch him.”
UFC 284: Makachev VS Volkanovski main card will be broadcast live on TVING from 12:00 pm on the 12th (Sun). Undercard will be broadcast live on TVING from 10:00 am.