UFC 284 Main Event Breakdown

UFC 284 (main card Saturday, 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT, ESPN+ pay-per-view) takes place half a world away in Perth, Australia from the RAC Arena. By the time the card begins, due to the 15-hour time difference between the United States and Australia, it will already be well into Sunday.

All told, UFC 284 will feature (absent of any postponed contests between now and Saturday) 13 fights, culminating in a championship doubleheader to highlight the show.

Champ vs. Champ in UFC 284 Main Event

After the UFC crowns an Interim Featherweight Champion in the UFC 284 co-main event, the UFC 284 main event sees a showdown with double-championship stakes in the offing. Incumbent UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) will battle it out against current UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski (25-1, 12-0 UFC). At stake: The UFC Lightweight Championship.

With a win in the UFC 284 main event, the latter will become the eighth different two-division champion in the UFC’s 30-year history, joining an elite company like Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes (who became a double-champion on two separate occasions,) and “The Notorious” Conor McGregor. All of the aforementioned double-champs were simultaneous reigns.

As with all championship fights in the UFC, the main event of the evening will be an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the night’s action.

UFC 284 Main Event Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds

Heading into the UFC 284 main event on Saturday night, lightweight champion Islam Makhachev stands as the taller contestant at 5-foot-10, compared to the 5-foot-6 frame of featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Volkanovski owns a one-inch reach advantage (71 1/2 inches to 70 1/2 inches) over Makhachev, who owns a 4 1/2-inch leg reach advantage (40 inches even to 36 1/2 inches) over Volkanovski.

As of Thursday afternoon, the oddsmakers currently have Islam Makhachev as the heaviest favorite on the main card and the second-heaviest favorite for the entire event at -365, with Alexander Volkanovski countering as a +300 underdog.

If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this weekend, please wager responsibly.

Consistency is Key For Makhachev

Islam Makhachev enters the UFC 284 main event having posted a 5-0 record in his last five MMA appearances. At present, he’s on an 11-fight winning streak dating back to Sept. 17, 2016.

Most recently, he scored a second-round submission (arm-triangle choke) against Charles Oliveira (33-9, 1 NC MMA, 21-9, 1 NC UFC) on Oct. 22 during the UFC 280 main event. During the ongoing winning streak, Makhachev encountered some interruptions in his schedule.

In his Wednesday media availability, he mentioned that a regular itinerary has been paramount for him as he tries to defend his title.

“I’m not like regular fighters like after a fight, I take one month off,” Makhachev began. “The next day after the fight, we’re still training, we went to the gym every day, that’s why. But one year, I didn’t have 2019, I think because many things happened. Our coach died, we had corona and all this stuff, but I always want to be active.”

He’s been consistent in his schedule and consistent in piling up the wins. Can he run the streak to an even dozen on Saturday night?

Alexander Volkanovski Looking For 23rd Consecutive Win

In the other corner, Alexander Volkanovski has gone 5-0 himself over his last five fights, but he owns a winning streak twice as long as Islam Makhachev. Going into the UFC 284 main event, Volkanovski has won his last 22 bouts in succession dating back to December 2013, with 12 of those wins coming under the UFC banner.

Last time out, he defeated Max Holloway (unanimous decision) during a featherweight championship fight on July 2 in UFC 276. A victory on Saturday night would tie Alexander Volkanovski with five other fighters, including the likes of Jon Jones, Kamaru Usman, and the aforementioned Max Holloway for No. 3 on the all-time list for consecutive wins in the promotion with 13.

Recently, Volkanovski was interviewed by Boss Hunting in his native Australia. He said that his 22-fight winning streak is immaterial.

“Like I told you, there’s a fear of losing purely because they take the belt away from me and my family,” Volkanovski said. “They take away money. I want to be successful. You take the belt away from me, I ain’t successful anymore. I lose a lot once I lose that belt. I only care about who’s in front of me, the next opponent.”

Will he be able to tune out the distractions of a bid at double-champ status? Only time will tell.

Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction

Stylistically, the UFC 284 main event of the evening looks to favor Islam Makhachev, an International Master of Sport in Combat Sambo fighting, compared to Alexander Volkanovski’s black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Islam Makhachev Can Knock Out Volkanovski

Of Islam Makhachev’s 12 UFC wins, eight have come inside the distance. Although a knockout victory is rare (only two of his wins have been via knockout,) when it has happened, it’s been amazing to watch.

Last year, Makhachev fought Bobby Green at a contracted catchweight of 160 lbs. The former’s original opponent, Beneil Dariush, withdrew from the fight after sustaining an ankle injury one week before the contest.

During the first round of a scheduled five, the fighters went into the clinch, and while Green tried to lock up a guillotine choke, Makhachev fought his way out of it to take him down. The latter secured the top position from the back mount, applying pressure and landing ground and pound shots to flatten Green.

Bobby Green was unable to work out of the top mount, resulting in Herb Dean calling the fight off. All it will take for Islam Makhachev to thwart Volkanovski’s effort to become a double champ is just a single takedown. If Makhachev takes Volkanovski down, it’ll be his world.

Volkanovski Just As Vicious With KOs

In the other corner, it would be unwise to discount Alexander Volkanovski’s knockout prowess. If and when the time comes, he can be equally brutal, which is something that The Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung, found out about firsthand last spring.

In the fourth round of a scheduled five, Volkanovski began with a few feints to keep Jung honest, followed by a leg kick and a punch to wobble him. By this point, Jung was already gassed as-is from an onslaught of strikes earlier on in the fight.

Smelling blood in the water, Volkanovski landed a couple of punches to Jung’s face. Herb Dean was quick to wave the fight off.

If Volkanovski can wear Islam Makhachev down throughout the UFC 284 main event, he’ll be able to control the fight. Once he gets control of the contest, he can win it.

Final Thoughts

This is a fight that you can’t miss. In one corner, you have Alexander Volkanovski seeking to become a two-division champion while continuing his pursuit at the record books. In the other corner, Islam Makhachev is trying to run his winning streak to an even dozen and prevent a bigger logjam for third place all-time in consecutive wins.

If you don’t watch the UFC 284 main event on Saturday, you’ll miss what everyone in MMA’s going to be talking about at the breakfast table on Sunday.

Prediction: Alexander Volkanovski by Unanimous Decision.

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