At UFC 284, Makhachev earned a unanimous decision victory over Volkanovski in Perth, Australia. While all three judges believe Makhachev won the fight, it was much closer than the scorecards would suggest.
When looking at the fight as a whole, Volkanovski out-struck Makhachev 164-95 in total strikes, 70-57 in significant strikes and recorded the only knockdown of the fight. It was in the wrestling exchanges where Makhachev was able to log rounds, while Volkanovski was doing just as well, or even better, on the feet.
RECAP: Last Time In Abu Dhabi | UFC 30th Anniversary
In rounds one and two, for example, strikes landed were essentially even, with Volkanovski landing one more than Makhachev over 10 minutes. Makhachev, however, used his elite wrestling to take Volkanovski down and rack up two additional minutes of ground control time, effectively winning both rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.
“Of course, I will try to finish him [this time],” Makhachev told Daniel Cormier on DC & RC. “After the last fight we had many questions, but I will give all answers in Abu Dhabi.”
We asked one question when Oliveira was still slated to challenge Makhachev in a rematch, and the same goes for Volkanovski: why would the result be different the second time around? As seen throughout 30 years of UFC, on any given night, one fighter can completely flip the script and pull away with the win.
