Makhachev not convinced? Volkanovski remains the best fighter on the planet despite the loss

The UFC has one of the biggest battles in history behind it. The number one and two P4P rankings and champions Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev clashed. The Dagestani claimed after the win that he is now the best fighter on the planet. But apparently this is not the case.

Australia hosted the UFC 284 tournament over the weekend. We saw some great performances, some awesome finishes and most importantly one of the greatest fights in UFC history. It’s not often that men with records of 25-1 and 23-1 come up against each other.

Only in Perth, it happened. The first mentioned record belonged to Alexander Volkanovsky before the fight, the second one to Islam Makhachev. Volkanovski went into the fight as the number one P4P rankings and featherweight champion, Makhachev as the number two P4P rankings and lightweight champion.

The match itself was evenly contested, with Makhachev emerging as the winner, thus defending the lightweight belt, but was his victory any more convincing? It wasn’t. Volkanovski put on a great performance, put on a show, entertained and, according to some fans, fighters or experts, won.

Even Verdict MMA, a site that scores individual fights, gave him a close win. And when the Dagestani started claiming to be the best fighter on the planet, it raised a wave of discontent. However, he beat the number one ranked fighter in the P4P rankings, so he was expected to go to the top.

But the rankings were updated and Volkanovski is still in the top spot. Apparently just winning is not enough. There is no doubt that Volkanovski’s great performance or the fact that he went into the fight as the man from the lighter weight class played in his favour.

However, it is possible that we will see a rematch. Volkanovski wants it and Makhachev himself is not opposed to it. Practically, it’s just a question of how the UFC feels about it and when it might happen.

Volkanovski, however, will have another title defense when he is challenged by Yair Rodriguez, who just became interim featherweight champion in Australia.

Source: UFC