It was billed as a battle to decide the pound-for-pound best fighter in the UFC – No 1 vs No 2, featherweight champion vs lightweight champion. So how, after an agonising points defeat by Islam Makhachev, is Alexander Volkanovski still the best mixed martial artist in the word?
Some would argue that he isn’t – that the 145lbs champion can’t be – after his failure to take the lightweight title from Makhachev. Those observers will argue that Makhachev should overtake the Australian in the pound-for-pound rankings after beating him in enemy territory in Perth.
