Just a number of weeks shy of the thirteenth anniversary of the primary UFC card held on Australian soil, the promotion will return Down Under on Saturday for the sixteenth time general when it presents UFC 284 from RAC Arena in Perth.
The top-heavy combat card affords a pair of can’t-miss title bouts atop the marquee as Islam Makhachev makes the primary protection of his light-weight title towards reigning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski. In the co-main occasion, Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett will sq. off for the interim title at 145 kilos.
As combat evening attracts close to, let’s take a better have a look at the most important storylines to look at for.
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1. Was Islam Makhachev proper in criticizing promotional effort of UFC, Dana White?
Makhachev, whose 11-fight win streak coming into Saturday is just topped amongst lively UFC fighters by the 12 consecutive that Volkanovski has received, has been extremely crucial in regards to the lack of buzz surrounding the pay-per-view promotion. Considering the full-court press White, the UFC’s president, has accomplished in selling his offshoot Power Slap league for the reason that begin of 2023, utilizing each arm of the UFC’s promotional machine to take action, Makhachev may need a robust level. (White forgetting Makhachev’s identify when attempting to hype the cardboard on Saturday did not assist issues, both.) But such is the bigger actuality for the promotion within the aftermath of the landmark ESPN output deal it signed in 2019, which places much less strain on UFC to construct PPV stars or aggressively promote particular person occasions due to how massive the default payment per card that’s being paid by the community. Instead of specializing in constructing vertically in recent times, UFC has put a lot of its monetary efforts into fulfilling its minimal assure of annual occasions, which explains White’s aggressiveness amid the coronavirus outbreak in 2020.
UFC additionally seems rather more targeted on horizontal enlargement, significantly on the worldwide stage, which incorporates the creation of Performance Institutes in each China and Mexico. The fallout of the ESPN deal has meant considerably weaker playing cards, which is a well mannered manner of describing UFC 284’s lack of depth. This occasion, with the Australian native Volkanovski in the primary occasion, additionally seems to targeted nearly solely on the Oceanic area, not too dissimilar to final Saturday’s Fight Night card, which was full of South Korean fighters and aired in the midst of the evening within the U.S. so it might air in prime time in Asia.
2. Makhachev-Volkanovski is on the brief checklist of greatest fights UFC might make
With a mixed report of 37-2 (together with 24-1 within the UFC) and demanding recognition from the promotion as the highest two pound-for-pound fighters within the sport at this time, it is a matchup that features two of essentially the most proficient fighters within the sport’s historical past. It’s additionally an ideal distinction in types between the grappling-based Makhachev and the chic putting abilities of Volkanovski. The indisputable fact that Makhchev’s No. 2 P4P rating by UFC could be a tad bit beneficiant at this level is overshadowed by the truth that it could be arduous to maintain him out of the highest spot with a victory over Volkanovski, the reigning P4P king, even with the dimensions distinction between them. Volkanovski, who beforehand weighed as excessive as 215 kilos in his rugby league days, might want to show his physicality from a wrestling standpoint is sufficient to preserve his again off the canvas for lengthy stretches. Makhachev, in the meantime, might want to overcome the lack of coach/mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, who will reportedly not make the journey to Perth whereas taking day off from teaching to be together with his household. Makhachev has already gone on report saying he is going for the knockout, as a technique to show he is something however a one-dimensional fighter. Either manner, the combat is a hard-core fan’s dream.
3. Volkanovski could possibly be closing in on immortality with an upset win
One of the extra underreported quandaries coming into this 155-pound title bout is what to do with Volkanovski’s rising legacy ought to he seize a title in a second weight class. At 34, with common acclaim because the P4P king, Volkanovski is already closing in on rarefied air traditionally. He hasn’t misplaced in 22 fights, courting again to a third-round TKO defeat in 2013 in simply his fourth professional combat. And his consecutive win streak inside the UFC would go away him simply three shy of Anderson Silva’s vaunted mark ought to he defeat Makhachev this weekend. But if does pull the upset and decelerate the one-sided dominance that has been executed by Makhachev since he first turned a menace to the light-weight crown, it could additionally add one more monster conquest for Volkanovski over his final eight fights, which might be similar to every other streak of its variety in UFC historical past. Beginning in December 2018, Volkanovski has put collectively a streak of wins over a who’s who in modern historical past: Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Brian Ortega, “The Korean Zombie” Chan-Sung Jung and 3 times towards Max Holloway. What Volkanovski has already completed would simply be deemed Hall-of-Fame worthy. But by doubtlessly coming into a fair loftier membership of simultaneous two-division champions in UFC historical past, “Alexander the Great” could be coming into inclusion within the higher room among the many greatest fighters to ever compete within the sport. Granted, it is an concept that may appear untimely to some upon studying. Volkanovski, nevertheless, has confirmed alongside the best way that he can win a combat utilizing nearly any model. And the best way during which he rallied to beat Holloway of their disputed rematch or the toughness he confirmed in preventing off a deep choke towards Ortega merely cannot be ignored when evaluating him to these he is creeping up on in historical past.
4. Josh Emmett’s lengthy highway to the highest has another violent hurdle to clear
Considering he was beginning to appear to be the odd man out within the general title image regardless of such a hard-earned, five-fight win streak, Emmett’s inclusion in Saturday’s interim title bout represents the end result of an unbelievable journey. Utilizing a taxing model of straight forward putting, Emmett has endured an excessive quantity of injury in an effort to win one tough combat after one other. He has overcome numerous cuts and bruising, in addition to a horrific facial damage suffered in his final loss in 2018 towards Jeremy Stephens that will have despatched many fighters to an early retirement. Emmett merely refuses to give up and that hard-hat mentality was lastly rewarded. But he will get no handout by way of matchmaking on the subject of the violently expert Yair Rodriguez, who is predicted to gentle up Emmett with devastating strikes, no matter what the result of the five-round combat seems to be. Should Emmett lastly scale the mountain and safe a full shot at UFC gold, he might want to overcome his most harmful opponent but. Nothing is ever assured on this sport and even Emmett was compelled to carry his breath because the scores have been being learn in two of his greatest wins on this journey the place shut calls towards Calvin Kattar and Shane Burgos felt like they really might’ve gone both manner. But if there’s any assure coming into UFC 284, it is that Emmett will go down swinging and is keen to threat all of it, each day trip, to satisfy his goals.
5. It’s time for rising welterweight Jack Della Maddalena’s close-up
After successful a formidable resolution and being rewarded a UFC contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in 2021, the Perth-born Della Maddalena seemed like a future 170-pound prospect to look at. Last 12 months, Della Maddalena appeared to solely double down (or ought to we are saying tripled?) on his vivid potential by recording a trio of first-round TKO wins to additional get the eye of UFC matchmakers. On Saturday, in his residence metropolis, Della Maddalena will get one heck of showcase alternative on the PPV essential card when he takes on Randy Brown, who’s using a four-fight win streak. Unlike a equally hyped prospect in light-weight Paddy Pimblett, the heavy handed Della Maddalena appears to be a positive factor. After struggling stoppage losses in his first two professional fights in 2016, has now received 13 straight and has solely gone to the scorecards as soon as. A victory over Brown would seemingly lead a fast-track alternative towards the highest of the rankings.
