The UFC made its return to Australia after more than four years Saturday with UFC 284, which took place at RAC Arena in Perth and marked an historic event.
In the headlining act, Islam Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) successfully defended his lightweight title for the first time when he earned a unanimous decision win over featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) to extend his winning ways inside the octagon.
Additionally, Yair Rodriguez (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) claimed interim featherweight gold in the co-main event when he scored a slick second-round submission over Josh Emmett (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) to set up a future showdown with Volkanovski.
For more on the numbers to come out of the title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 287.
Event stats
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $263,000.
Makhachev, Volkanovski, Rodriguez and Jack Della Maddalena earned $50,000 UFC 284 fight-night bonuses.
Debuting fighters went 3-2 on the card.
UFC 284 drew an announced attendance of 14,124 for a live gate of $4,086,687.70
Betting favorites went 8-3 on the card. One fight had even odds and one fight ended in a draw.
Betting favorites improved to 3-1 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 2:21:23.
Islam Makhachev def. Alexander Volkanovski
Makhachev’s 12-fight UFC winning streak is the longest active streak in the company.
Makhachev’s 11-fight UFC winning streak at lightweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Makhachev has earned five of his 13 UFC victories by decision.
Makhachev has landed at least one takedown in 11 of his 14 UFC appearances.
Volkanovski had his 22-fight winning streak snapped for his first defeat since May 2013.
Volkanovski suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Yair Rodriguez def. Josh Emmett
Rodriguez became the eighth fighter in UFC history to earn 10 featherweight victories.
Rodriguez earned his first submission victory since March 10, 2012 – a span of 3,990 days and 13 fights.
Rodriguez’s nine fight-night bonuses for UFC featherweight bouts are tied with Max Holloway and Cub Swanson for most in divisional history.
Emmett fell to 7-2 since he dropped to the UFC featherweight division in October 2017.
Emmett suffered the first submission loss of his career.
Jack Della Maddalena def. Randy Brown
Della Maddalena (14-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) extended his winning streak to 14 fights after starting his career 0-2.
Della Maddalena has earned 13 of his 14 career victories by stoppage.
Della Maddalena has earned all four of his UFC victories by first-round knockout.
Della Maddalena’s four-fight UFC first-round stoppage streak is second-longest among active fighters on the roster behind heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich (five).
Della Maddalena has been awarded with a fight-night bonus in three consecutive bouts.
Justin Tafa def. Parker Porter
Justin Tafa (6-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has earned all six of his career victories by knockout.
Parker Porter (13-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has suffered all eight of his career losses by stoppage.
Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield
Jimmy Crute’s (12-3-1 MMA, 4-3-1 UFC) three-fight winless skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since October 2020.
Modestas Bukauskas def. Tyson Pedro
Modestas Bukauskas (14-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) was successful in his return to the UFC for a second stint. He earned his first octagon victory since July 2020.
Tyson Pedro (9-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has suffered two of his four career losses by decision.
Joshua Culibao def. Melsik Baghdasaryan
Josh Culibao (11-1-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC) earned the first submission victory of his career.
Melsik Baghdasaryan (7-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by submission.
Kleydson Rodrigues def. Shannon Ross
Kleydson Rodrigues (8-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has earned seven of his nine career victories by stoppage.
Jamie Mullarkey vs. Francisco Prado
Fransisco Prado (11-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) had his 11-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
Loma Lookboonmee def. Elise Reed
Loma Lookboonmee (8-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) earned the first submission victory of her career.
Elise Reed (6-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) has suffered all three of her career losses by stoppage.
Reed suffered the first submission loss of her career.
Blake Bilder def. Shane Young
Shane Young’s (13-7 MMA, 2-4 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2019.
Young has suffered six of his seven career losses by decision.
Elves Benner def. Zubaira Tukhugov
Zubaira Tukhugov (20-6-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) has suffered all three of his UFC losses by decision.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
