Islam Makhachev to Defend Lightweight Crown vs. Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284

UFC featherweight title holder Alexander Volkanovski will make his bid to become a two-division champion in friendly territory.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced Saturday that Islam Makhachev will defend his lightweight crown against Volkanovski in the UFC 284 main event on Feb. 11. The card takes place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, and airs via pay-per-view on ESPN+. UFC 284 is also expected to include a middleweight tilt pitting Robert Whittaker against Paulo Costa.

Makhachev claimed 155-pound gold with a second-round submission of Charles Oliveira in the UFC 280 headliner on Oct. 22. The Khabib Nurmagomedov protege has won 11 consecutive fights in the Octagon and has finished his last five opponents. Makhachev has tasted defeat just once in 24 professional appearances overall.

Currently No. 1 in Sherdog’s pound-for-pound rankings, Volkanovski will carry a 22-bout professional winning streak into the matchup with Makhachev. The City Kickboxing representative is 12-0 in UFC competition, with four 145-pound title defenses to his credit. Most recently, Alexander “The Great” improved to 3-0 against Max Holloway with a clear-cut three-round verdict at UFC 276.

The LW belt & P4P status are 𝙊𝙁𝙁𝙄𝘾𝙄𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙔 on the line 👑@MakhachevMMA takes on @AlexVolkanovski in the #UFC284 main event!

[ Feb. 11 | Get your tickets early at https://t.co/UocfFo1z8h 🎟 ] pic.twitter.com/U1jZDEsnlw

— UFC (@ufc) November 12, 2022