At UFC 192, Daniel Cormier successfully defended his light heavyweight title against Alexander Gustafsson in the main event. Meanwhile, in the prelims, Islam Makhachev squared off against Adriano Martins in a 3-round bout. Islam started off that fight well, landing 4 significant strikes in the first minute.
However, 1 minute 46 seconds into the first round, with Khabib and Abdulmanap watching on, Islam got starched by a beautiful overhand right from Martins. Khabib, and Islam’s coach, Javier Mendez, looked disappointed as referee Herb Dean pushed Martins off the dazed Makhachev.
And now, at UFC 284, Makhachev finds himself without his mentor Khabib in his corner ahead of his first title defense. This will likely blow Islam’s morale ahead of the fight. Fans are calling Alexander Volkanovski to be the biggest fight of his career. And this cannot be argued since the featherweight is literally the best fighter in the UFC right now, enjoying the P4P #1 spot.
However, the fantastic AKA cornermen, headed up by long-time coach Javier Mendez, will still be in his corner in Perth. Will Islam Makhachev be able to retain his title in the main event with the guidance of Mendez? Or will fans see a repeat of UFC 192 but this time without Khabib Nurmagomedov anywhere in sight?
Islam Makhachev bounced back from his first loss to become the UFC lightweight champion
Islam Makhachev now has a staggering MMA record of 23-1. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s friend and protégé, has not lost a professional MMA bout in almost 8 years. He has finished all of his last 5 opponents, 2 of them in the first round. Among those are the finishes of Bobby Green, Drew Dober, and Thiago Moises. His 1-round decimation of Dan Hooker, in particular, opened the lightweight division’s eyes to the threat Makhachev possessed.
Islam capped off this incredible run with a dominant showing at UFC 280, ending Charles Oliveira’s own amazing run at lightweight. Makhachev dominated the brief fight from the beginning, outstriking and out grappling Oliveira. He tapped out the man with the most submissions in UFC history with an arm triangle in the second round.
At the RAC Arena in Perth, Alexander Volkanovski will be looking to hand Islam Makhachev his first loss in over half a decade. Meanwhile, the Dagestani lightweight champion will try to get a successful title defense in his biggest fight ever. But will he continue his dominant run at the top of the lightweight division? Or will he falter without his friend and mentor by his side?