The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia on Sunday for UFC 284: “Makhachev vs Volkanovski.” In the main event, UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev defended his title against featherweight champion Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski.
In the co-main event, Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez squared off against Josh Emmett for the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship. Elsewhere on the main card, Jack Della Maddalena took on Randy “Rude Boy” Brown in welterweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC 284.
UFC Lightweight Championship
Islam Makhachev vs Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski
Round 1:
Makhachev struck first with a body kick and Volkanovski answered with a right hook. He backed Makhachev up with a lunging left hook, but Makhachev recovered quickly and he dropped Volkanovski to a knee with two left hooks. Volkanovski stood and Makhachev landed a knee. He took Volkanovski’s back against the cage and dragged him down into back control. Makhachev worked for a neck crank and Volkanovski defended until the end of the round. 10-9 Makhachev.
Round 2:
Punches were exchanged in the second round and Volkanovski knocked Makhachev off-balance with a right hook, but Makhachev took him down and briefly held back control. Volkanovski scrambled up and he landed a knee to Makhachev’s face. Volkanovski jabbed and landed a lead left hook, but Makhachev cracked him with a counter left and followed with another one as Volkanovski backed up. Makhachev landed an uppercut and a knee, and the round ended with Volkanovski holding him against the cage. Close round. 10-9 Makhachev.
Round 3:
Volkanovski blocked a head kick and Makhachev landed a knee in close. A hard liver kick scored for Makhachev, who followed with a right-left combo. Volkanovski landed a leg kick and Makhachev held him in a Thai clinch. He dragged Volkanovski down to a seated position and moved to take his back. Volkanovski stood up and he landed two right hooks as the fighters separated. As Volkanovski took a step forward, Makhachev landed a counter left hook. Volkanovski swept out Makhachev’s leg, but Makhachev got back to his feet and Volkanovski flurried in close. Another even round. 10-9 Makhachev.
Round 4:
Makhachev used his jab to set up a straight left hand and Volkanovski answered with a lead left hook. Makhachev dropped levels and took Volkanovski down. He moved straight to back control and trapped Volkanovski in a body triangle. Volkanovski punched backwards and fought off Makhachev’s choke attempts. This continued throughout the final two minutes. 10-9 Makhachev due to control.
Round 5:
Makhachev landed a nice left cross in the final round and Volkanovski threw a leg kick. Makhachev scored with a knee and another straight left. Two big knees landed for Makhachev and a cut was opened beside Volkanovski’s left eye. He fought off a takedown from Makhachev and circled away from a clinch. Makhachev dropped levels for a single-leg takedown and Volkanovski sprawled. The fighters stood and Volkanovski tried unsuccessfully for a body-lock takedown. The fighters separated and Volkanovski dropped Makhachev with a right hook. Makhachev held on from the bottom and Volkanovski threw punches to his ribs. He postured up with punches to Makhachev’s face in the dying seconds. 10-9 Volkanovski.
Winner: Islam Makhachev by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) after five rounds. He improves to 24-1-0 and remains the UFC Lightweight Champion.
UFC Interim Featherweight Championship
Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez vs Josh Emmett
Round 1:
Emmett closed the distance and blocked a head kick, but Rodriguez hurt him with a liver kick. Emmett backed up and recovered, but Rodriguez landed a leg kick and another liver kick. Emmett scored with a right hook and Rodriguez landed a head kick in response. He missed with a spinning wheel kick but landed a right hook. Emmett landed a right hook to Rodriguez’s temple and then dropped him with another right hand. As Rodriguez got to his knees, Emmett continued to punch and he held Rodriguez down. Rodriguez rolled to his back and Emmett postured up with punches and hammerfists. Rodriguez landed elbows from the bottom late in the round. 10-9 Emmett.
Round 2:
Rodriguez landed liver kicks and a hard knee in the second round, and he countered a clinch from Emmett with elbows to the side of his head. The fighters separated and Emmett blocked a head kick. Rodriguez hurt him with an elbow and he landed a lead right hook. Rodriguez landed a flying switch knee, but Emmett caught it and took him down. Rodriguez elbowed from the bottom and trapped Emmett in a triangle choke. Emmett tapped out almost immediately.
Winner: Yair Rodriguez by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 4:19 of round two. He improves to 15-3-0, 1 NC and becomes the UFC Interim Featherweight Champion.
Jack Della Maddalena vs Randy “Rude Boy” Brown
Round 1:
Della Maddalena kicked at Brown’s lead leg early in the fight and Brown responded with a front kick to the body. He jabbed and landed a front kick to Della Maddalena’s face. Della Maddalena closed in with right hands and landed one that sent Brown crashing face-first to the mat. The fight was not stopped, so Della Maddalena followed up with hammerfists and then took Brown’s back. He locked on a rear-naked choke and Brown quickly tapped out.
Winner: Jack Della Maddalena by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:13 of round one. He improves to 14-2-0.
Justin “Bad Man” Tafa vs Parker Porter
Round 1:
Tafa landed three right hands when Porter tried to clinch early in the fight. As Porter took a step forward, Tafa melted him with a left hook that sent Porter crashing to the mat and ended the brief fight.
Winner: Justin Tafa by KO (Punch) at 1:06 of round one. He improves to 6-3-0.
Jimmy “The Brute” Crute vs “Atomic” Alonzo Menifield
Round 1:
Crute secured an early takedown and he took Menifield’s back as Menifield got to a knee against the cage. Each time Menifield stood up, Crute dragged him back down again. He pulled guard with a guillotine choke, but Menifield pulled his neck out and stood up. Menifield landed a big left hook and Crute fell to his back, where he tried for an armbar. Menifield easily avoided danger and he punished Crute with punches as Crute turtled on the ground. Menifield landed more left hands and hammerfists until Crute stood up. With seconds to go, Menifield dropped Crute with two right hooks, but Crute recovered enough to drag him down to the ground. 10-9 Menifield.
Round 2:
Menifield knocked Crute down with a left-right combo early in round two. Crute got to his knees and Menifield punched the side of his head. Crute stood against the cage and Menifield cracked him with two elbows. The fighters separated and Menifield landed another one-two. Crute landed a knee, but Menifield hurt him with two more punches that backed Crute up against the cage. Crute reversed the clinch and he took Menifield down into a partial back control. Menifield fought off two rear-naked chokes and time expired. Close round. 10-9 Menifield due to damage.
Round 3:
Crute walked through two punches from Menifield and clinched with him against the cage. Time was called when Menifield grabbed the fence and he was docked one point. Crute took Menifield down after the restart and he moved to half-guard. With just under two minutes remaining, Crute mounted Menifield. He moved to North-South position while hunting for a kimura and then took Menifield’s back. Crute spent the remainder of the round throwing short punches to the side of Menifield’s head until Menifield stood up with seconds remaining. 10-8 Crute due to the point deduction.
Result: Majority Draw (29-27 [Crute], 28-28, 28-28) after three rounds. Crute moves to 12-3-1, while Menifield is now 13-3-1.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)