UFC 284 is here and it brings the long-awaited collision of pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski moving up to the lightweight division to hopefully become the eighth fighter to attain “Champ Champ” status. Awaiting the No. 1 ranked Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski is the pound-for-pound No. 2 fighter, Islam Makhachev.  

Volkanovski’s camp understands that he needs to control the distance in the fight. While being the shorter fighter in stature, Volk makes up for it in a half-inch reach advantage. Volkanovski also has a blinding speed advantage compared to Makhachev.However, Volkanovski has never faced a true southpaw like Makhachev. The last time he saw any resemblance of southpaw tactics was in his fight against Brian Ortega.

Islam poses a challenging threat because unlike his long-time friend and former coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, he can strike on the feet relatively well. While striking is never his first option, he mixes in enough striking via left body kicks, right hooks, and left straights to make you respect him. It will be interesting to see how Makhachev has prepared for this fight because he is one of the rare fighters that stays in a single stance the whole fight.   

Stylistically, the fight is the classic striker versus grappler matchup that is always divisive. While Volk has power and speed; his greatest assets remain his endurance and heart. He’s been able to outlast some of the greatest featherweights in history. For Islam, it’s as simple as telegraphing the perfect takedown and finding a way to shut Volk’s lights off. Easier said than done.

Fight odds for UFC 284 as as shown: 

Volkanovski comes into the bout as the underdog (+320)

Makhachev is the favorite in the bout (-410)

UFC 284 Main Card gets underway at 9:00 p.m. Saturday, February 11th on pay-per-view.