Morning Report: Islam Makhachev reacts to Alexander Volkanovski remaining No. 1 on UFC pound-for-pound checklist: ‘I by no means anticipated justice’

Islam Makhachev isn’t shocked that he’s nonetheless No. 2 on the UFC’s official pound-for-pound rankings.
The near-flawless Dagestani went into enemy territory this previous weekend at UFC 284 for a type of most troublesome first title defenses a brand new MMA champion has ever been tasked with. Makhachev’s crowning second over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in Oct. 2022 was sufficient for the rankings panelist of the UFC’s official rankings to put him at No. 2 pound-for-pound. The one man forward of him was none apart from Volkanovski.
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Regardless of defeating the Australian by way of a hard-fought unanimous choice, the newest rankings replace noticed Makhachev staying put behind his fellow champion.
“The street house is all the time good, irrespective of how lengthy you fly,” Makhachev informed Russian media upon arrival again in Dagestan (h/t Nurmagomedov MMA Faculty and Za.Khabiba). “Concerning the rankings, I by no means anticipated justice and nonetheless don’t as a result of we noticed on the instance of our different fighters, [Magomed] Ankalaev, Petr Yan, noticed the angle in the direction of us all the time.
“The principle factor, I flew 13,000 kilometers there, defeated their champion. They raised my hand and with a raised head, confidently with a belt flew dwelling.”
Within the instances of Ankalaev and Yan particularly, they differ from Makhachev within the sense that the judges didn’t find yourself scoring their bouts of their favor. For Ankalaev, the highest gentle heavyweight contender fought to a cut up draw towards Jan Blachowicz at UFC 282 in December whereas Yan fell quick by way of a cut up choice towards Sean O’Malley at UFC 280.
After attaining light-weight titleholder standing, Makhachev’s subsequent matchup was already in thoughts as he instantly known as for featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in “The Nice’s” yard of Australia. Now that it’s out of the way in which, the potential is there for a rematch, contemplating all of the noise generated surrounding the end result.
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UFC Vegas 69 Combat Promo.
Free struggle.
A tribute to Fedor.
Free struggle.
A weight-cutting deep dive.
Heck of a Morning. MMA Combating’s Mike Heck discusses if Alexander Volkanovski ought to get an instantaneous rematch vs. Islam Makhachev after UFC 284.
DAMN! They Had been Good. Have a look again on the full archive hosted by MMA Combating’s Jed Meshew.
It’s all within the neck muscle groups.
Each time.
Love.
Oh, Kelvin.
Simply resting.
New improvement.
Maintaining with the Edgars.
R.I.P. …
Typically this stuff occur in MMA…
Fascinating comparability.
The UFC did Figgy vs Moreno 4 occasions again to again basically, holding up a division for 3+ years
Let’s booked Islam vs Volk once more in 12 weeks. It’s not going to vary a lot #UFC284
— Damien Brown (@beatdown155) February 15, 2023
Added.
Erick Gonzalez (14-7) vs. Trevor Peek (7-0); UFC Vegas 70, Feb. 25
Mateusz Gamrot (21-2, 1 NC) vs. Jalin Turner (13-5); UFC 285, March 4
Sullivan Cauley (5-0) vs. Luke Coach (6-1); Bellator 293, March 31
Lucas Brennan (7-0) vs. Josh San Diego (9-4); Bellator 293, March 31
Lance Gibson Jr. (7-0) vs. Vladimir Tokov (8-2); Bellator 293, March 31
Pam Sorenson (9-5) vs. Sara Collins (3-0); Bellator 293, March 31
Randi Subject (3-1) vs. Ashley Cummins (7-6); Bellator 293, March 31
Bryce Meredith (3-0) vs. Brandon Carrillo (1-0); Bellator 293, March 31
Maria Henderson (1-0) vs. MacKenzie Stiller (0-0); Bellator 293, March 31
Chris Barnett (23-8) vs. Chase Sherman (16-11); UFC 287, April 8
Liz Carmouche (18-7) vs. DeAnna Bennett (13-7-1); Bellator 294, April 21
Raufeon Stots (19-1) vs. Patchy Combine (17-1); Bellator 295, April 22
Matt Brown (25-19) vs. Court docket McGee (22-11); UFC Combat Night time, Could 13
It’s simply so humorous how the shortage of a P4P swap utterly defeats all of the promotional build-up that centered round that for the struggle.
Thanks for studying!
Ballot
Will we ever get a Makhachev vs. Volkanovski rematch?
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