Islam Makhachev is heavily favored against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski on Sunday, February 12 in Perth, Australia but because of the time difference, it will start on Saturday night, February 11 in North America. This event is one of five fights on the main card on ESPN+. Makhachev is 23-1 in his career, while Volkanovski is 25-1 in his career. There are a total of 13 fights with five on ESPN+, four on ESPN/ ESPN+, and four on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass at UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski. Let’s look at the bout between Makhachev and Volkanovski and UFC predictions.
UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski takes place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on Sunday, February 12 but because of the time difference, it will start on Saturday night, February 11 in North America with 13 fights with five on ESPN+, four on ESPN/ ESPN+, and four on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski Betting
Islam Makhachev (23-1, 12-1 UFC)
Makhachev came into the UFC with a record of 11-0 and he has 12 wins and one loss in the UFC. In his last six fights, he has six wins and no losses. He defeated Davi Ramos by unanimous decision, Drew Dober by arm-triangle choke submission, Thiago Moisés by rear-naked choke submission, Dan Hooker by kimura submission, Bobby Green by TKO, and Charles Oliveira by arm-triangle choke submission. Makhachev’s only loss in his career was against Adriano Martins by TKO in October of 2015. Makhachev has been a pro since 2010 and he has four wins by TKO/KO and 11 by submission. He has eight first round finishes.
Makhachev said this to sportskeeda.com about his upcoming fight against Volkanovski, “Honestly, I want to knock him out, you know, because everyone says Islam is a grappler, wrestler but I want to show people my striking, you know. He [Alexander Volkanovski] is a short guy and I really believe I can knock him out.”
Alexander Volkanovski (25-1, 12-0 UFC)
Volkanovski came into the UFC with a record of 13-1 and he has 12 wins and no losses in the UFC. In his last six fights, he has six wins and no losses. He defeated José Aldo by unanimous decision, Max Holloway by unanimous decision, Max Holloway by split decision, Brian Ortega by unanimous decision, Jung Chan-sung by TKO, and Max Holloway by unanimous decision. Volkanovski’s only loss in his career was against Corey Nelson by TKO in May of 2013. Volkanovski has been a pro since 2012 and he has 12 wins by TKO/KO and three by submission. He has seven first round finishes.
Volkanovski said this espn.com about his upcoming fight against Makhachev, “Everyone is saying that [this fight] 'it's different, it's different,' but I'm different. People are going to say this and say that, he's a great fighter and I give him a lot of props. But I'm not just your ordinary fighter that is going to do what everyone else does, I do things differently, I prepare differently and that's going to be the difference, people are really going to see that fight time anyway. Again, we know he is a great wrestler and all that type of stuff, but we've shown that I've got that dog in me, that never-give-up attitude and all that type of stuff. Right now preparations have been good, we've been getting stuck into it, preparing [a long while] for exactly what we know he is going to want to do. So it is reasonably easy to prepare for, its hard work, but game-planning and all that type of stuff has been reasonably easy. But that just adds to that whole story, people forgetting that [escapes against Ortega], forgetting who I am and what I've accomplished, and putting him where he is, that just makes my win even bigger. That's what I love about it.”
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Makhachev 2.37 / Volkanovski 6.79
Striking Accuracy: Makhachev 59% / Volkanovski 57%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Makhachev 0.95 / Volkanovski 3.53
Defense: Makhachev 66% / Volkanovski 60%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Makhachev 3.42 / Volkanovski 1.71
Takedown Accuracy: Makhachev 65% / Volkanovski 36%
Takedowns defended: Makhachev 88% / Volkanovski 73%
Submission average: Makhachev 1.3 / Volkanovski 0.2
UFC Picks
The price on Makhachev is really high at more than 4-1, but I am not going against him, as he is simply a beast. I know Volkanovski has done nothing wrong in his UFC career, but I think he is overmatched, as is everyone else when fighting against Makhachev. That being said, I am still not laying the big price. The rounds option on this fight is 2.5 and I think the best choice is simply to take the rounds to go under the total.
| DATE |
FIGHTERS |
MONEY LINE |
| 2/11 |
Alexander Volkanovski |
+307 |
| Islam Makhachev |
-425 |
| 2/11 |
Josh Emmett |
+131 |
| Yair Rodriguez |
-165 |
| 2/11 |
Randy Brown |
+261 |
| Jack Della Maddalena |
-350 |
| 2/11 |
Justin Tafa |
-140 |
| Parker Porter |
+110 |
| 2/11 |
Alonzo Menifield |
+178 |
| Jimmy Crute |
-228 |
| 2/11 |
Joshua Culibao |
-121 |
| Melsik Baghdasaryan |
-109 |
| 2/11 |
Shannon Ross |
+250 |
| Kleydson Rodrigues |
-333 |
| 2/11 |
Francisco Prado |
+207 |
| Jamie Mullarkey |
-270 |
| 2/11 |
Don Shainis |
+259 |
| Jack Jenkins |
-347 |
| 2/11 |
Elise Reed |
+211 |
| Loma Lookboonmee |
-275 |
| 2/11 |
Shane Young |
-135 |
| Blake Bilder |
+105 |
| 2/11 |
Elves Brenner |
+395 |
| Zubaira Tukhugov |
-580 |
| 2/11 |
Modestas Bukauskas |
+197 |
| Tyson Pedro |
-255 |
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