The mixed martial arts world is still abuzz about that main event at UFC 284.
The fight was an instant classic because of the close nature of the proceedings.
Islam Makhachev got his hand raised on account of a unanimous decision verdict on the cards but there were a lot of dissenting voices amongst fight fans and pundits who thought Alexander Volkanovski deserved the nod.
SAUCE. Some of the extra sauce adding to the results of the fight was the fact that “Volks” apparently has shattered some of the mystique surrounding Dagestani fighters.
Islam, whom many have considered as the next Khabib Nurmagomedov, has several first-round finishes and looked to be the stronger, favored fighter.
But the tough-talking Australian who was the smaller man coming up in weight more than held his own and at times looked to be the better striker.
Prior to that fight, which was fought at the lightweight division, Volk was campaigning at featherweight where he defeated elite fighters such as Jose Aldo, Max Holloway (thrice) as well as Jung Chan Sung (The Korean Zombie).
Though Islam edged it in the wrestling and grappling department, I thought Volk’s boxing background proved to be an ace up his sleeve as he outpunched and outfought Islam in many of their exchanges.
ELITE. Both of these warriors are ranked in the Top 3 pound-for-pound lists and it was quite impressive for the UFC to be able to get this match done. Regardless of how you viewed the outcome, it was an excellent fight-one that truly deserves an encore.
As I explained before in a previous column, this is one of the advantages of having a huge promotional conglomerate dominating one sport. Because the majority of the best fighters have been signed up contractually, matchmaking is quite easy because there is only one promoter.
Compare that to professional boxing where the elite fighters all have different promoters. Consequently, there are so many contractual hurdles for both sides to overcome, often leading to disputes and dream matchups never coming into fruition.
VERBATIM. “Just watched the fight. I definitely think I won 2, 3 and 5. Surprised I didn’t get my hand raised! Let’s do the rematch, anywhere, anytime. -- Alexander Volkanovski (Twitter account @alexvolkanovski)
LAST ROUND. It’s on my favorite judge, Hon. Charina Navarro-Quijano, whorecently turned a milestone. Looking forward to more decades with you. Happy Birthday and cheers!