UFC superstars Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski are ready to square off in the UFC 284 main event. As fans already know, the fight will have the lightweight title on the line as Makhachev defends his belt for the first time. Although the fight makes for an extremely intriguing contest, fans are increasingly worried about Islam’s ability to make the weight.
The anxiety increased several folds after a recent “Submission Radio” interview with Alexander Volkanovski. Perhaps the most important step before a title fight for both competitors is to make weight. However, if Alex is to be believed, Makhachev may very well be struggling to make the cut. It is no secret that Makhachev struggles to make the weight cut.
Famously, he had trouble cutting down to 155 lbs for his bouts against Thiago Moises and Charles Oliveira. However, as evident by the results of the fights, the weight-cutting difficulties have not affected his performance. But too many difficult weight cuts will definitely catch up to Islam and it looks like he is in for another grueling cut ahead of UFC 284.
Talking to the Australian outlet, Volkanovski revealed, “Obviously I still need to lose a little bit (of weight), but I mean I’d rather do that closer to the weigh-ins. So I’m gonna do that tomorrow morning. He’s (Islam) already dehydrated now.”
So fans know, Volkanovski will be having the luxury of cutting less weight. He does not have to worry about cutting to 145 lbs for the fight and he can afford to have a normal diet ahead of the fight. But, Alex sounds confident that Makhachev may already be dehydrated to successfully make the weight ahead of the biggest fight of his career.
UFC 284 hydration rules could land Islam Makhachev in trouble
Ahead of the fight, fans were convinced that Islam Makhachev would run through Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284. Mainly they cited Islam’s massive physical advantages over Volkanvski. However, one aspect of it that the fans will have to remember, is that the bigger a fighter is, the more weight they have to shed ahead of their fights.
So, what seemed like an advantage at one point, may turn out to be a massive disadvantage. On top of that, Volkanovski revealed during the same interview that a fighter has close to 24-26 hours to rehydrate before their fight in the land down under. However, Islam is used to 30+ hour windows in USA and UAE. Hence, the lack of a proper hydration period for Makhachev may turn out to be a big storyline depending on the result.
During their face-off after the UFC 284 press conference, Volkanovski made an interesting observation about Islam’s weight. He added, “A bit skinny, a bit skinnier than I remember… Don’t eat too much.”
What do you make of the matter? Do you think Islam Makhachev is struggling to make the weight? Let us know in the comments down below.