UFC featherweight (65.8kg) champion Alexander Volkanovski and lightweight (70.3kg) champion Islam Makhachev cover the true strongest.
On the 12th (Korean time) at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, at UFC 284: Makachev vs Volkanovski, pound for pound (P4P) No. 1 Volkanovski will challenge No. 2 Makhachev for the lightweight title.
P4P is a ranking that determines who is the strongest in a fighting sport that competes by subdividing weight classes, assuming that everyone is in the same weight class. Currently, in the UFC, Volkanovski and Makhachev are ranked first and second respectively. The winner of this match becomes the true UFC champion.
This ‘Super Fight’ started with Makachev’s provocation. At UFC 280 held in October last year, Makacheff defeated Charles Oliveira with an arm-triangle choke submission in the second round to become the lightweight champion.
Makhachev’s coach, former 먹튀검증UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, said in an interview with the winner, “Makachev is not just a lightweight, but the best fighter in P4P.”
In response, Volkanovski, who had come to the scene as a backup fighter for the lightweight title match, came up to the octagon and responded, “Let’s fight for the lightweight title and P4P 1st place,” and the match was concluded on the spot.
Volkanovski, who is aiming for two weight division champions, is evaluated as the most complete fighter in modern martial arts. He came from a rugby background and entered martial arts at a late age, but his striking and wrestling skills are excellent. In particular, his Fight IQ, which perfectly analyzes his opponents and completely destroys them with a customized response strategy, stands out.
Volkanovski defeated Max Holloway, one of the greatest featherweight fighters of all time, three times to claim the No. 1 spot in P4P. In March of last year, he overpowered ‘Korean Zombie’ Jeong Chan-seong and won a 4th round TKO victory. It was a one-sided match to the extent that Jeong Chan-seong expressed his frustration after the game, saying, “I felt a wall I couldn’t overcome.”
Makachev, who is aiming for first place in P4P, is a grappler. In the Republic of Dagestan, a wrestling powerhouse, he grew up training wrestling and sambo with his older brother Khabib. In 2016, he won a gold medal at the World Sambo Championships, and in 2022 he was crowned UFC Lightweight Champion. Public opinion is that no one can match Makachev in the grappling field.