MMA fighter Jeff Monson, in an interview with Izvestia, shared his opinion about the last fight of Russian Islam Makhachev against Australian Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284.
Monson called the fight interesting because the fighters have different styles of fighting – “fighting against the stand.”
“I think that Volkanovski had better punches, but he clearly didn’t excel in wrestling, although he was able to prevent all attacks. It was a very contact, close fight,” he said.
At the same time, Monson noted that he agreed with the decision of the judges, who unanimously gave the victory to Makhachev. In addition, according to him, he was initially confident in the victory of the Russian.
“I think Islam had great respect for his opponent and therefore did not go forward, did not press, did not act in his usual style. <…> Islam beat him calmly and systematically, because he understood how important this fight was, which helped him win. And I think it was a good experience for him,” said Monson.
In conclusion, he added that the Russian fighter “did everything that needs to be done to win.”
On February 12, Makhachev defeated the Australian Volkanovski at the UFC 284 tournament. The fight lasted all five rounds, following which the judges unanimously gave the victory to Makhachev. Thus, the Russian held his first defense of the UFC lightweight title.
After the victory, the Russian declared that he had become the best fighter in the world.
Makhachev became the new UFC lightweight champion on October 22 last year, defeating Brazilian Charles Oliveira at UFC 280. He said he dedicated his victory over the Brazilian opponent to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father. According to the athlete, by this point he had been walking and training all his life.
Makhachev became the third UFC champion from Russia after Khabib Nurmagomedov and Petr Yan.
