For almost two decades, the UFC has established its name as the biggest MMA organization in the world. The Las Vegas-based promotion is nearing almost 300 Pay-per-view events since its inception. However, with the grandest stage of them all, comes huge controversies. One such ongoing argument is Alexander Volkanovski‘s controversial loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284.
Recently, retired UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal guested on The Joe Rogan Experience to discuss all things MMA and more. During a particular segment, the 55-year-old comedian shone a light upon the main event of UFC’s return to Australia. At UFC 284, Alexander Volkanovski moved up a weight class in an attempt to become a double champ against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
The full #UFC284 main event scorecards 📝 pic.twitter.com/zCx1YmqcFb
— UFC (@ufc) February 12, 2023
However, the bout ended up being razer close, with Islam securing a decisive victory. The contest has had the fight fans divided ever since. So much so, that even Volkanovski shared that he overheard someone claiming Islam admit to his corner that he’d lost.
Reflecting upon the fight, Joe Rogan said, “Look, I thought he [Alexander Volkanovski] beat him [Islam Makhachev]. You know, I’ve watched it over and over again, and it really comes down to that second round. I gave him that advantage in that second round. I watched it many times. Who’s winning at the end? Who’s on top at the end?”
To add to the conversation, Masvidal shared, “And who would you rather be at the end of the fight? And then when I watch it the second time, it was like ‘Aah! I still think Volk won, man.’ It’s just because of the damage alone.”
Rogan continued, “Even the round when Islam had his back and Volk’s just punching him in the face and talking s**t. It’s like why is that position good? It’s only good if you’re threatening with submissions. He wasn’t really threatening. It’s kinda stalling.”
It is noteworthy that this isn’t the first time Rogan leaned toward Alexander in terms of UFC 284’s result. During his popular Fight Companion show, the 55-year-old scored the contest 3-2 in favor of Volk.
Islam Makhachev vs Alexandar Volkanovski punching stats
Going by the official UFC stats, Alex landed almost twice the amount of strikes that Islam did. The featherweight champion landed 70 significant strikes and 164 in total. On the other hand, Makhachev managed to land only 57 significant strikes, and 95 in total. Round 1 witnessed Alex and Islam land 11 and 10 significant strikes respectively. In round 2, the duo landed 19 significant strikes each.
We just witnessed an ALL TIMER 🙌 #UFC284 pic.twitter.com/Abd1D0T24S
— UFC (@ufc) February 12, 2023
Rounds 3,4, and 5 saw Volk landing 14, 6, and 20 strikes respectively. The same rounds witnessed the lightweight champ landing 16, 4, and 8 strikes respectively. That being said, Islam did manage to secure a total of 4 takedowns in the fight, out of the 9 attempts. In total, the 31-year-old Russian secured a ground control time of 7:37 minutes. Volk on the other hand controlled the contest for 2:55 minutes.
While their respective fanbases still argue about the controversial main event, the judges ruled out the bout in favor of the lightweight champ. As per their scorecards, all three of them scored the contest 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 in favor of Islam. Do you agree with the result? Let us know in the comments down below.