Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski are set to go up against each other later this month on February 12. The fight is arguably one of the biggest matchups of this year. The featherweight champion Volkanovski will move up in weight to fight for the double champ status against the Dagestani.
The fight will take place on the home soil of Alexander Volkanovski in Australia as well. While there is a lot of buzz surrounding the fight, there are people who believe the fight isn’t being promoted as much, and rightfully so. Interestingly, Islam Makhachev himself believes that the UFC has done a poor job in promoting the champion vs. champion matchup.
Fans react to Islam Makhachev’s problem with Dana White
As mentioned earlier, the UFC lightweight champion isn’t very happy with Dana White and the UFC with the way they’ve promoted his upcoming fight. He believes that the UFC boss hasn’t paid much attention to this fight. Moreover, he also claimed that a world tour could’ve been organized for the fight as well.
Islam Makhachev isn't feeling the promotional hype around his champ-vs-champ fight.#UFC284 | More: https://t.co/BwFZEEaYmF pic.twitter.com/6wnAYH9k6v
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 2, 2023
The MMA fans have reacted to the same over Twitter. Take a look at some of them below:
If it’s not Usman, Jones, or Mcgregor, Dana cares nothing about you.
— Ace♠️ (@aceisblessed) February 2, 2023
Doesn’t the promoter promote the fights? Lol
— InvertedTrades (@invertedtrades) February 3, 2023
@danawhite come on man
— Zak Wylder (@WylderZak) February 2, 2023
It is unfortunate. They’ve used this tactic many times before. @ufc @danawhite won’t promote the fight at all, then use the low PPV sales as leverage to not pay them as much. @MightyMouse felt this a lot back in the day
— 🍺K.Light aka FLUFFY aka Knuckles🍺🇺🇸 (@KLight7542) February 2, 2023
Meanwhile Dana White:
"Power slap is awesome, come and watch it"
"New deal with Prime beverage"
🤦🏽♂️ I think he is past his prime, ever since last year he's been more absent and the UFC can continue without hin at this point.— Miguel Mendoza (@bloodsportfilms) February 2, 2023
It is worth noting that the fight is quite big when it comes to its significance of it. However, the lack of global popularity when compared to fighters like Conor McGregor could’ve been the reason the company decided against hosting a world tour. But sure the fight deserves much hype given both Volkanovski and Makhachev are pound-for-pound number 1 and 2, respectively.
Can Alexander Volkanovski beat Islam Makhachev?
Going into the fight against Islam Makhachev, the Australian has emerged as a massive underdog. The odds are certainly stacked against him, as the Dagestani seems to have a lot of advantages over his opponent.
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There is a considerable height difference between the two. Moreover, Volkanovski will be fighting at lightweight for the first time in his UFC, and going up against the best in the division might not help him so much.
However, all of this cannot undermine Volkanovski’s fighting ability. While he may not be as good of a wrestler as Islam Makhachev, the Australian himself was a national champion, which is certainly a plus point against someone who likes to dominate the ground game like Makhachev. That said, it will be interesting to see how the fight plays out coming February 12th in Perth, Australia.
What are your thoughts on the main event of UFC 284? What do you guys think about Makhachev’s words?
