{"id":270301,"date":"2023-02-12T06:03:55","date_gmt":"2023-02-12T07:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=270301"},"modified":"2023-02-12T14:59:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-12T14:59:26","slug":"volkanovski-loses-title-fight-in-perth-thriller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=270301","title":{"rendered":"Volkanovski loses title fight in Perth thriller"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia's Alexander Volkanovski<\/a> has lost his best pound-for-pound stature after being defeated by Islam Makhachev via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC<\/a> 284 in Perth.<\/p>\n

Battling a size disadvantage,\ufeff Volkanovski proved that if he got knocked down he could get back up.<\/p>\n

However, \ufeffMakhachev's extra 10 centimetres and four kilograms made him too powerful to bring down.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Aussies 'embarrassed' in record defeat in India<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Mixed messages' claim follows Aussie shambles\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Warner backed to retain spot despite India woes\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Forcing the fight to go the full five rounds, the featherweight titleholder's grappling defence was on full display as he refused to submit.<\/p>\n

\"Alexander<\/p>\n

It was evident that Makhachev was working Volkanovski to the canvas to wrestle, but Volkanovski worked hard to get to his feet and retaliate with fists and knees.<\/p>\n

The final decision from the announcer was met by boos from the \ufeffsold-out crowd at RAC Arena.<\/p>\n

Addressing the crowd post-fight, Volkanovski asked the local fans to respect his Russian opponent.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffI appreciate the support but let's give a round of applause for Islam," he said.<\/p>\n

Despite being overpowered, Volkanovski was pleased with how he stood his ground.<\/p>\n

"A lot of people are going to be happy with that, because they didn't give me a chance," he said.<\/p>\n

"I gave myself a chance. I was expecting to win.<\/p>\n

"But it was a fun fight. Maybe I could have capitalised on some positions a bit more, I left it a little late, but what do you do."\ufeff<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/TeddyAtlasReal\/status\/1624647142877941760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

In the first round, both fighters danced around each other \ufeffbefore Volkanovski made the first charge with a big left punch.<\/p>\n

As the fight dramatically flipped between periods of grappling and a flurry of hits, the advantage swung between both fighters.<\/p>\n

To end the fourth round, Makhachev pinned Volkanovski down, holding him in position for almost three minutes to chew down the clock.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Needing a big final round, \ufeffVolkanovski finished stronger after dropping Makachev and pounding him on the canvas.<\/p>\n

But, on the scorecard, \ufeffMakachev had it by unanimous decision 48-47, 48-47, 49-46.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/georgekambosos\/status\/1624649663495442434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/NateDiaz209\/status\/1624646452810256385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

Unfazed by the jeers, Makhachev declared himself second to none.<\/p>\n

"Thankyou Alex, thankyou. It was a very good fight," he said.<\/p>\n

"I showed why I am No.1. They have to improve more.<\/p>\n

"You like me, or you don't like me, I am best fighter in the world right now.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

Volkanovski is expected to next fight Yair Rodriguez after the Mexcian claimed the interim featherweight belt with a second-round submission victory over Josh Emmett.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/em>For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australia's Alexander Volkanovski has lost his best pound-for-pound stature after being defeated by Islam Makhachev via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 284 […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270301"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=270301"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":270303,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270301\/revisions\/270303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=270301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=270301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=270301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}