The best big match in the first half of this year, or throughout the whole, will be held.
On the 12th (Korean time), ‘UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski’ will be held at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
The main event is a match between Alexander Volkanovski, who is ranked first in the overall ranking, and Islam Makhachev, who is ranked second.
Featherweight champion Volkanovski moves up one weight class to face lightweight champion Makachev in his first defense.
If Volkanovski wins, the myth of two weight divisions in Australian history will be fulfilled.
This confrontation, called ‘Super 메이저사이트Fight’, started with Makachev’s provocation. At UFC 280 held in October last year, Makacheff defeated Charles Oliveira with an arm-triangle choke submission in the second round to become the lightweight champion.
“Makachev is not just a lightweight, he’s the best P4P fighter,” former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makachev’s coach, said in an interview. He will fly to Australia and fight Volkanovski.”
In response, Volkanovski, who had come to the scene as a backup fighter for the lightweight title match, came up to the octagon and replied, “Let’s fight for the lightweight title and the overall ranking,” and the match was concluded on the spot.
Volkanovski, who is aiming for two weight division champions, is evaluated as the most complete fighter in modern martial arts. He came from a rugby player and entered martial arts at a late age, but he excels in striking and wrestling.
In particular, Fight IQ, which perfectly analyzes the opponent and completely destroys it with a customized response strategy, stands out. In addition, as well as featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, and middleweight fights, the weight span is also wide.
In March of last year, Volkanovski overpowered ‘Korean Zombie’ Chan-sung Jeong and won by TKO in the 4th round. It was a one-sided match to the extent that Jeong Chan-seong expressed his frustration after the game, saying, “I felt a wall I couldn’t overcome.”
Makachev is a grappler. He grew up practicing wrestling and sambo with his older brother Khabib from a young age in the Republic of Dagestan, a wrestling powerhouse. In 2016, he won a gold medal at the World Sambo Championships, and in 2022 he was crowned UFC Lightweight Champion. Public opinion is that no one can match Makachev in the grappling field.
On Media Day held on the 9th, Makachev said, “I watch all wrestling competitions, including the World Championships and the Olympics, but I have never seen an Australian there. There is no wrestling in Australia.”
Now, the best big event of 2023 is just two days away.