The scorecards from Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski's thrilling lightweight title fight at UFC 284 have been released.
Makhachev spoiled Volkanovski's dreams of becoming a double-champ as he won a unanimous decision by scores of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 to defend his lightweight belt at the event, which took place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Featherweight champion Volkanovski was moving up to lightweight for the first time in his UFC career and was unbeaten in 22 fights heading into the fight, but met his match in Makhachev.
All three judges scored the first two rounds for Makhachev, who was getting the better of the early exchanges in the fight. The Russian was proving to be no slouch on the feet despite his wrestling background, mixing up his strikes to the body and head of Volkanovski. Makhachev attempted to secure a face crank submission at the end of the second round, but Volkanovski did well to defend and see out the round.
Volkanovski appeared to hurt Makhachev in the third round with a great punch as the Russian took him down, but the featherweight champion's defence continued to hold up as he got straight back to his feet. Makhachev was proving to be no slack on the feet and started to find his flow as he landed a great body shot that backed up Volkanovski against the fence.
The third round was disputed by the three judges, as Ben Cartlidge and David Lethaby both scored it in favour of Volkanovski but Derek Clearly gave the round to Makhachev. The Australian spent most of the fourth round in a body triangle as he trash-talked Makhachev on the ground, with all three judges scoring that round in favour of Makhachev.
Makhahcev was dropped by a right hand with a minute left of the fight and Volkanovski finished the fight on top landing some big punches, with the final round being scored unanimously in his favour. Volkanovski came up short despite his best efforts, however he wasn't disheartened after the defeat.
What were your thoughts on the fight between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski? Let us know in the comments section below
"Congrats to Islam, he didn't respect my grappling but maybe I didn't respect his striking so fair play to him. Nothing wrong with challenging yourselves, you do it like this and it only makes you stronger. I came up short tonight but Islam is a great fighter, maybe we will do it again," Volkanovski said.
"This was such a hard opponent, I needed a tough fight as I had to improve," Makhachev said after the fight. "I thought he was going to be easy on the ground, but this guy improved a lot. I showed why I'm number one, you like or you don't like I am the best fighter in the world right now."
