UFC 284 results, highlights: Islam Makhachev edges past Alexander Volkanovski to retain lightweight title

Alexander Volkanovski fell short in his pursuit of glory but made believers of his many naysayers. UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and featherweight champion Volkanovski fought back-and-forth for five hard rounds. Makhachev retained his title, but the outcome is sure to be debated for some time.

Makhachev and Volkanovski masterfully weaponized each other’s greatest strengths. Volkanovski managed to peel away Makhachev’s grappling and confidence to wrestle offensively. But Makhachev mastered the range on the feet and countered Volkanovski well. All five rounds were competitive, but the momentum trended from Makhachev to Volkanovski with each passing five minutes.

Makhachev, 31, ran his win streak to 12 with the victory as he continues to collect accolades along the way. 

“I showed why I am No. 1… You like it or you don’t like it, I’m the number one best fighter in the world,” Makhachev told UFC commentator Michael Bisping during the post-fight interview. “I want a real contender. Not fakes.”

Round 2 was a major swing round. Volkanovski appeared to have dropped the defending champion, but Makhachev immediately shot for and secured his second takedown of the fight. Later in the round, Makhachev hit Volkanovski with a big punch that put the challenger off-balance and sent him in retreat. Volkanovski wasn’t always able to stuff the takedown attempt, but he regularly peeled off the notoriously sticky Makhachev and either broke free or pushed Makhachev against the fence.

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Round 4 should serve as research material when discussing scoring criteria. Makhachev took down Volkanovski and held his back for half of the round. However, he did not meaningfully threaten with submissions or land many blows. By contrast, Volkanovski repeatedly walloped on Makhachev by punching behind his own head. These were not fight-ending strikes, but they were arguably more impactful and of greater volume than what Makhachev offered in the same period of time. All three judges scored Round 4 for Makhachev.

The final frame was certainly the fight’s most definitive. Makhachev did well early countering Volkanovski with knees, but ate a punch that dropped the lightweight champion. Volkanovski poured on the offense from top position but was unable to draw a stoppage. 

“People didn’t give me a chance but I gave myself a chance,” Volkanovski, a sizable underdog, told Bisping. “It was a fun fight. Maybe I could have capitalized on some positions more. I left it late, but what can you do? Congrats to Islam… Obviously, he didn’t respect my wrestling and grappling and I guess maybe I didn’t respect his strikes enough because he landed some good shots.”

A fight that should reasonably have gone 3-2 in either direction was announced a unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) in Makhachev’s favor. Makhachev (No. 2 pound-for-pound) will likely usurp Volkanovski’s No. 1 P4P spot in the UFC’s rankings.

“Maybe we’ll settle pound-for-pound again,” Volkanovski said. 

It is unclear what the UFC has in store next for Makhachev but Volkanovski has an anointed challenger waiting to challenge his claim to the featherweight title. Yair Rodriguez defeated Josh Emmett via second-round submission in Saturday’s co-main event to win the interim UFC featherweight championships. As a consequence, Volkanovski and Rodriguez will unify the belts at a later date.

“I’m a better fighter because of this and the featherweights better f—ing watch out,” Volkanovski said.

The undercard also saw Jack Della Maddalena continue to impress as he scored another first-round stoppage with a submission of Randy Brown. Della Maddalena has now won all four of his UFC appearances in the first round with the previous three coming by knockout. And Justin Tafa returned to action with a massive knockout of Parker Porter in the first round.

CBS Sports was with you the entire way on Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from the UFC 284 below.

UFC 284 card and results

• Islam Makhachev (c) def. Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
• Yair Rodriguez (ic) def. Josh Emmett
• Jack Della Maddalena def. Randy Brown
• Justin Tafa def. Parker Porter via first-round knockout (punch)
• Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menfield ends in a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
• Modestas Bukauskas def. Tyson Pedro via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Josh Culibao def. Melsik Baghdasaryan via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
• Kleydson Rodrigues def. Shannon Ross via first-round TKO (punches)
• Jamie Mullarkey def. Francisco Prado via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Jack Jenkins def. Don Shainis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Loma Lookboonmee def. Elise Reed via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
• Blake Bilder def. Shane Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Elves Brenner def. Zubaira Tukhugov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)