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At this Saturday’s UFC 294 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, Australia’s current UFC featherweight champion Alexander ‘the great’ Volkanovski steps up a division against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev with the chance to join a rare club: a concurrent two weight division UFC champion.
Volkanovski went up a weight division to take on Makhachev in February earlier this year at UFC 284 in Perth. This closely-fought bout went the distance after 25 minutes to a decision, with many believing that the Volk had done enough to win the fight, but the judges saw it otherwise and it wasn’t to be.
Volkanovski is ranked No.1 in ESPN’s pound for pound rankings of all the fighters in all divisions of the major MMA organizations, with Makhachev ranked No. 2. So this weekend’s main event sees the two best MMA pound-for-pound practitioners on the planet going head to head.
Alexander Volkanovski faces up to Islam Makhachev in their first fight. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Wollongong’s Volkanovski is Australia’s greatest ever MMA athlete and his record of 26 wins (13 knockouts, 3 submissions) with only 2 losses puts him firmly up there with Australia’s greatest in all combat sports. It’s worth noting one of those losses was earlier this year, when he stepped up a weight division against Makhachev. Prior to that loss, the Windang Warrior had been on a win streak going all the way back to 2013.
There have only ever been 3 concurrent two-division champs in men’s UFC’s history: Connor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, and Henry Cejudo. There have been some concurrent two-division champions in other MMA organisations such as Bellator MMA and One Championship, but these organisations do not have the same depth and strength of rosters that the UFC has.
Incidentally, bankrolled by Saudi petrodollars, there are rumours that the PFL (Professional Fighters League) – which former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou joined earlier this year and who has a boxing match against boxing heavyweight champ Tyson Fury on October 28 – is about to take over Bellator MMA and their stable of fighters which would give PFL much greater roster depth.
Volkanovski’s Russian opponent, Islam Makhachev, a former Combat Sambo World Champion, has only one loss to his name, back in 2015. He is on a 12 fight win streak in the UFC and holds a record of 24 wins with 4 knockouts, 11 submissions, and just that one loss. Hailing from Dagestan, a region renowned for its strong wrestling pedigree, Makhachev is not just a powerful wrestler, he is also extremely skilled at stand-up striking.
Alexander Volkanovski with the UFC featherweight championship belt. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
When former lightweight champ Charles Oliviera pulled out with a training head cut that required stitches, Volkanovski stepped in to the main event just 11 days before the October 21 fight. MMA fighters usually go into camp for 6-8 weeks before their scheduled fight, but Volkanovski will not have the benefit of this extended preparation.
He has also had to travel all the way over to Abu Dhabi in the UAE from Wollongong and so will be dealing with the effects of long distance travel and the eight hour time difference. Makhachev will have been acclimatising and training in Abu Dhabi for several weeks, and should also have the local crowd behind him.
Already a UFC great, if Volkanovski triumphs with the adversity of just 11 days preparation while going up a weight division against the current lightweight champion who has only lost once way back in 2015, this would be an incredible achievement that would make him not just one of the greatest in UFC history, but also perhaps Australia’s greatest ever combat sports athlete.
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