UFC 284 Staff Picks: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski

UFC 284 Main Card

• • Light Heavyweight Bout: #12 Jimmy Crute (12-3) vs. Alonzo Menifield (13-3)

• • Heavyweight Bout: Justin Tafa (5-3) vs. Parker Porter (13-7)

• • Welterweight Bout: Jack Della Maddalena (13-2) vs. Randy Brown (16-4)

• • Interim Featherweight Title Bout: #2 Yair Rodriguez (15-3 1 NC) vs. #5 Josh Emmett (18-2)

• • Lightweight Title Bout: (LW C) Islam Makhachev (23-1) vs. (C) Alexander Volkanovski (25-1)

UFC 284 is scheduled for February 11th, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

UFC 284 Co-Main Event: Rodriguez vs. Emmett

Tom Kowalsky: There have been rumors that Josh Emmett might be dealing with a hip or shoulder issue, which doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence when he’s coming in against the dynamic striker Yair Rodriguez. Emmett is a wrestler who has fallen in love with his hands, stop me if you’ve heard this one before. I like Yair’s speed and precision, along with his dynamic kicks and BJJ submission ability. While Emmett hasn’t been finished recently, he hasn’t done a ton of finishing either. I’m going to go with Yair being flashier and getting the appeal of the judges in a five-round decision victory. Rodriguez via. DEC

Justin Gibbons: The co-main event has not had much hype behind it with how much is at stake for the Lightweight Championship in the main event. My pick for this one is Josh Emmett; it is nice to see a winning streak rewarded with a title shot. If Emmett can slow down the unpredictability of Yair’s kicks by landing some powerful punches, and all-in-all just disrupt Yair’s game plan, I think we will see Josh Emmett as the champ. Emmett via. DEC

Cooper Burke: Josh Emmett is a dog- he may not be as slick of a striker as Rodriguez, but he has proven he can dig deep and find that extra gear, as evidenced in his fight with Burgos. Rodriguez, however, has fought on and off recently, with his fight against Ortega getting called off due to injury. The question remains- can Rodriguez stand up to top-level competition better than he did against Holloway and now Emmett? It hasn’t been proven in some time, so expect Emmett to use his strength and aggressive decision-making to keep Rodriguez on his back foot and prevent the sort of one-off shots that won him The Korean Zombie fight. If we see the same Rodriguez as we did in his last full fight, it should easily go Emmett’s way. However, we can’t expect a finish- if Holloway’s onslaught did not put him away, he can stand through anything, so it should be a five-round cracker. Emmett via. DEC

Austin Marr: Rodriguez is a fantastic striker but based on experience and recent octagon battles, I’ve got to go with Emmett on this one. I just feel that Emmett has proven himself against tougher competition and has been more active with wins over Calvin Kattar, Dan Ige, and Shane Burgos during his five-fight win streak in the last four years. In comparison, Rodriguez has fought four times in that timespan and has gone 2-1 and 1 no contest, not only that but outside of the doctor stoppage victory over Brian Ortega, his other win was against Jeremy Stephens. The opponents defeated just don’t match up equally with Emmett’s. Rodriguez can land the big shots but I’m more comfortable with picking Emmett. Emmett via. DEC

UFC 284 Main Event: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski

Tom Kowalsky: If anyone can upset, Islam Makhachev, I think it might be Alexander Volkanovski. Not because of Volkanovski’s skill necessarily, though that is a strength of his on the feet, and his anti-grappling has proven to be top tier at 145 pounds, it’s just hard to know exactly what will translate to lightweight, but Alex Volkanovski’s biggest strength is his mind. That being said, he has a lot of things going against him this weekend, and I have to pick Makhachev to be able to get a takedown at least two times over the 25 minutes and secure a victory. Islam is big for lightweight, and with Volk coming up for the first time, the safe bet is on Islam, but Volk winning might be better for the sport. Bet Makhachev inside the distance, I don’t know exactly the type of finish but just know there will be one. Makhachev via. Finish

Justin Gibbons: The hype for this fight between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski has had me excited since it was announced. I feel that Volkanovski will live up to the nickname of “The Great” at UFC 284. Volk has become such a well-rounded fighter with his power and boxing, and mixing that in with his heart, I feel he is going to be more of a problem than people think. It is always exciting to see a double champ win his second title. Alexander Volkanovski via. KO/TKO Round 4

Cooper Burke: Volkanovski may be up a weight class, but the featherweight-to-lightweight transition is one people have made before and with some success, especially when the fighter is on the bigger end of their original division. He has a fantastic ground game and strength that can compete with Islam, given that he played rugby at 195 pounds on that frame. His striking blows Islam’s out of the water, so the fight will mostly be a closely contested clinch and grapple affair. Let’s see if he can keep up with Makhachev’s crushing Dagestani style. If he can survive an early onslaught, the fight should be his. Volkanovski via. DEC

Austin Marr: If I had to pick who is the more well-rounded fighter, it would be Volkanoski but in this fight, I think he may have just bit off more than he can chew with Makhachev and that’s saying something because Volkanoski is one of the most complete fighters I’ve ever seen compete in the cage. Makhachev holds a four-inch height advantage with their reaches being nearly identical, but I expect Makhachev to noticeably be the larger and stronger man, Saturday night. Rugby was a long time ago for Volk. I expect a lot of clinch work and scrambles on the ground, which I favor Makhachev. Volkanovski is the better striker, but Makhachev has deceptive power in his hands. I expect this one to be close but with Makhachev getting his hand raised in the end. Makhachev via. DEC

UFC 284 Main Card Picks

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