Volkanovski falls tragically short as Makhachev survives late onslaught to win unanimous decision

Alexander Volkanovski has lost in his attempt to become a double weight world champion, losing a unanimous decision to Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in front of a partisan Aussie crowd at UFC 284 in Perth.

The fight was an enthralling one: though it lacked the thrills and spills of some UFC encounters, it was highly technical, skilled and aggressive.

Both fighters leave with more credit than when they went in. Volkanovski was the pound-for-pound number one and his opponent was number two: it’s possible that they have switched rankings after this, but barely so.

Between the shorter phases of stand up, this was a bout defined by Makhachev’s attempts to fight on the floor and Volkanovski’s challenge in stopping him. Only in the last minute, when the home favourite floored the visitor, did a stopapge seem likely. It was too little too late: the judges gave it 48-47, 48-47, 49-47 to Makhachev.

This was always looked like a tough ask for the Wollongong-born champion, who shifted up to Makhachev’s weight after clearing out his own division at Featherweight.

His opponent is not only the champion at Lightweight, but had also been on a mean winning streak that had seen him finish five consecutive opponents since returning to the Octagon after the Covid-induced shutdown.

It was seen as a battle between the supreme wrestling and grappling of the Russian against the striking ability of the home favourite, with the ability to Volkanovski to stay on his feet seen as crucial.

In the first and the fourth, he lost significant time on the deck where, though it never looked like he would be forced to tap, his opponent was in near total control and taking no punishment. The crowd cheered as Volkanovski made the end of both rounds, with the fighters forced to stand up, but they were two that he lost clearly.

As the fourth became the fifth, the corner told Volkanovski that he needed to go for it. The pair embraced at the beginning of the last, then went to war.

Volka was able to thwart multiple takedown attempts before landing the biggest shot of the fight to close it in favourable position on the floor. Makhachev, however, only had to make the bell to win and, in the end, did. It ended in his favour, but don’t be surprised if we see this fight again.

Elsewhere, hometown welterweight Jack Della Maddalena earlier brought the house down with a first-round submission victory over American Randy Brown.

Rising star Della Maddalena needed just two minutes 13 seconds to claim victory, knocking Brown to the ground with a fierce blow before applying a rear-naked chokehold which forced his opponent to tap.

The 26-year-old has scored first-round victories in each of his first four UFC bouts.

Yair Rodriguez dominated Josh Emmett in an interim featherweight title bout which establishes the Mexican as the No.1 contender to challenge Volkanovski once he drops back down in weight to defend his belt.

Brisbane heavyweight Justin Tafa needed just over a minute to knock out Parker Porter, while light heavyweight compatriot Jimmy Crute fought out an entertaining majority draw with America’s Alonzo Menifield.

With AAP