TORONTO – Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks Alexander Volkanovski will present a threat to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284, but it won’t be enough.
Volkanovski (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC), the UFC featherweight titleholder, will move up a weight class when he challenges UFC Hall of Famer Nurmagomedov’s star pupil Makhachev (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) for lightweight gold in the Feb. 11 headliner at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The event airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.
The fight will mark the first opportunity for Makhachev to defend the belt he claimed with a second-round submission of Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in October. Makhachev won the fight in a largely one-sided fashion, and although his coach Nurmagomedov predicts Volkanovski will provide more resistance, he said it won’t matter in the end.
