{"id":581,"date":"2023-02-12T09:35:19","date_gmt":"2023-02-12T10:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blueskykentucky.com\/?p=581"},"modified":"2024-04-26T14:38:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T14:38:26","slug":"russian-star-dethrones-ufc-pound-for-pound-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blueskykentucky.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/12\/russian-star-dethrones-ufc-pound-for-pound-king\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian star dethrones UFC pound-for-pound king"},"content":{"rendered":"
Islam Makhachev retained his world title in a hard-fought battle in Australia<\/strong><\/p>\n Russian champion Islam Makhachev defended his UFC lightweight title early on Sunday in an intense, five-round battle against hometown favorite Alex Volkanovski in Perth, Australia in the UFC 284 headliner.<\/p>\n Makhachev, the fearsome Dagestani grappler, entered the cage as the reigning 155lb champion, but faced a stern challenge from the Australian, who was moving up from the featherweight (145lb) division he has dominated in a bid to become the UFC’s latest two-division titleholder.<\/p>\n But after a back-and-forth contest which saw both men tested on their feet and on the ground, it was Makhachev’s persistent aggression and suffocating grappling which proved enough to earn a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards.<\/p>\n The full #UFC284<\/a> main event scorecards \ud83d\udcdd pic.twitter.com\/zCx1YmqcFb<\/a><\/p>\n — UFC (@ufc) February 12, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n “Thank you Alex. It was a very good fight<\/em>,” said Makhachev after what will likely be considered by far the toughest bout of his recent career. “I need some tough fights. I have to improve. I [thought] he’s going to be easy on the ground but this guy improved a lot.<\/em>”<\/p>\n The victory will almost certainly see Makhachev succeed Volkanovski at the summit of the UFC’s official pound-for-pound rankings to determine the world’s best fighter across all weight classes when the latest list is issued on Monday. It was the first time in the UFC’s 30-year history that the fight league’s top two ranked pound-for-pound fighters fought in the Octagon.<\/p>\n “I show why I’m number one<\/em>,” Makhchev added in his post-fight interview. “They have to improve more. You like or you don’t like but I am the best fighter in the world right now<\/em>.”<\/p>\n Opponents for 25 minutes<\/p>\n Partners in history forever \ud83d\udc4f #UFC284<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/4wICW3XpTO<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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