UFC 284 fight card: Islam Makhachev to defend lightweight crown vs. featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski
The champion vs. champion showdown is set to go down in Perth, Australia in February
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The superfight is on. Recently crowned UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has been granted his request as the native of Dagestan will take on featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in his first title defense. The two are set to throw down in the main event of UFC 284 in Perth, Australia on Feb. 12, the promotion announced on Saturday.
Immediately following his win over former champion Charles Oliveira in October to capture the vacant lightweight belt, Makhachev (23-1) stated a desire to fight Volkanovski in Australia. Volkanovski then entered the ring and agreed to the bout.
After losing in his second UFC fight, Makhachev has won 11 straight fights, fulfilling mentor and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov's plan for him to become the next dominant Dagestani champion.
The LW belt & P4P status are 𝙊𝙁𝙁𝙄𝘾𝙄𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙔 on the line 👑@MakhachevMMA takes on @AlexVolkanovski in the #UFC284 main event!
— UFC (@ufc) November 12, 2022
[ Feb. 11 | Get your tickets early at https://t.co/UocfFo1z8h 🎟 ] pic.twitter.com/U1jZDEsnlw
Volkanovski (25-1) is on his own incredible winning streak, having won 22 consecutive bouts, including all 12 of his fights in the UFC. He defeated Max Holloway in December 2019 to capture the featherweight title and has since defended the belt four times, most recently defeating Holloway in a trilogy this past July.
The fight marks just the sixth time two active UFC champions who have faced off inside the Octagon. The most recent such bout saw then-light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz defeating middleweight champ Israel Adesanya in March 2021.
