The UFC 284 main event this past Saturday in Perth, Australia, was an historic one.
It’s not often we get to see a champion go after a second concurrent belt, but that’s just what featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski did when he went up to lightweight to challenge Islam Makhachev.
To make things even more interesting, Volkanovski was the No. 1 fighter on most pound-for-pound lists – and the UFC’s internal rankings had Makhachev at No. 2.
And while Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) edged out a unanimous decision over Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC), the fight was a lot closer than the oddsmakers thought it would be, and a lot closer than many pundits thought it would be, as well.
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Makhachev won three rounds from two of the judges and four from a third, but the consensus seemed to be that it wouldn’t be hard to convince people Volkanovski had the edge. Makhachev won the fight, but Volkanovski may have come out the bigger winner.
That’s the discussion that kicked off this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” with a panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King and Dan Tom. They broke it down with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.
Check out their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s full episode below.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.