Alexander Volkanovski already had his chance to fight in front of his own crowd against Islam Makhachev, it was only normal the rematch would happen in a Makhachev-friendly venue such as Abu Dhabi. Although the Usman vs Chimaev fight seems like the main event, this one is just as exciting but Volk only had 11 days notice after Charles Oliveira had to drop out due to injury. It hasn’t been that long since the two of them fought each other but we need to take a look at some context before talking about the fight itself. Contrary to today, Makhachev is the one with the advantage as Volk was just notified he would fight very recently. Regardless of this, the Australian champion is not the type of fighter that stops training at any moment.
A questionable Makhachev victory?
It’s hard to remember the reaction to Islam Makhachev’s win via unanimous desicion, many thought the result was exactly the opposite. While Islam did have the most take downs, Volk was by far the one who connected the most strikes. The issue here is that Makhachev is a wall of bricks and knocking him out seemed impossible for Volk throughout the fight. Before that fight, we already knew Islam comes from the school of Dagestan. He is one of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s most advanced students and grappling is elite at that school. Volkanovski was saved by the bell in Round 1 but he never seemed in actual trouble.
As long as Volkanovski kept the fight standing up, he would have a chance to win. Unfortunately, he did get taken down a number of times. Don’t get us wrong, Volk is also an elite grappler and Islam is a fantastic striker but that’s how the fight played out. Also, that’s probably how today’s event will likelyplay out as well. After beating Jair Pereyra, Volk hardly felt he got a challenge after an early stoppage. Islam is a more attractive cchallenge for him but could the short notice affect his performance? You will have to wait and see. In case you forgot, the UFC’s Youtube channel uploaded the full fight. Enjoy!