This was top pound-for-pound number 1 vs number 2, and it really ended up looking that way. Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski went back and forth in a highly competitive and very technical affair.
Volkanovski looked sharper, faster, and had more layers to his striking game early, with Makhachev clearly having a power advantage after wobbling him with short shots. That wasn’t really the complete story of the fight though, as Volkanovski managed to hurt him multiple times on the feet as well, and by the latter rounds, Makhachev also showed beautiful reads with counter strikes and reactive takedowns in a truly high level affair.