UFC 284 LIVE: Volkanovski vs Makhachev stream, latest updates and result tonight

Re-live all the action after featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski challenged lightweight title holder Islam Makhachev, and Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett clashed for interim gold

Alex Volkanovski previews his UFC 284 title fight with Islam Makhachev

Alexander Volkanovski came up agonisingly short in his bid to become a dual-weight champion at UFC 284, suffering a narrow decision loss to Islam Makhachev on Saturday.

Australian Volkanovski entered and exited the RAC Arena in Perth as featherweight champion, but the lightweight title eluded him as 155lbs champion Makhachev secured a unanimous-decision win in enemy territory.

Volkanovski had promised to disprove doubters who had claimed he was too small to compete with Makhachev, and the 34-year-old did just that, standing almost every time he was taken down – as he had said he would – reversing grappling positions along the fence, and twice dropping the Russian with punches. Makhachev also fought an impressive fight, however, securing some clinical takedowns and dropping Volkanovski to a knee at one point and wobbling the Australian with strikes elsewhere.

Many present in the arena felt that Volkanovski had done enough to dethrone Makhachev, but the scorecards read 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 in the Russian’s favour. In fact, Makhachev will have likely dethroned Volkanovski as the UFC’s pound-for-pound No 1 fighter come Monday morning, having entered UFC 284 at No 2.

In the co-main event, Yair Rodriguez claimed the interim featherweight title with a second-round submission of Josh Emmett, establishing himself as the next challenger to Volkanovski at 145lbs. Re-live updates and see results from the UFC 284 main card and prelims, below.

UFC 284 LIVE

• Makhachev (C) def. Volkanovski via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
• Rodriguez def. Emmett via second-round submission (triangle choke, 4:19)
• Della Maddalena def. Brown via first-round submission (rear naked choke, 2:13)
• Tafa def. Porter via first-round knockout (1:06)
• Crute vs Menifield ends as majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
• Plus prelim updates and results

[11 February 2023 23:40 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 284 LIVE

Alexander Volkanovski has challenged suggestions that he is too small to overcome Islam Makhachev, while outlining his key to winning the lightweight title.

Featherweight champion Volkanovski has been dominant at 145lbs and will tonight look to become the UFC’s fifth ever dual-weight champion, as he challenges recently-crowned lightweight king Makhachev.

“The fact that I’m moving up [in weight], it’s always gonna be like, ‘Ah, you know,’ especially with me being reasonably small as well, short,” Volkanovski told Main Event last week.

“And then they’re looking at it stylistically: ‘This guy’s not only moving up, where people are gonna have a size advantage, now he’s versus the best grappler-wrestler in that division. Strength has never been an issue for me; I’ve always been undersized in everything I did.”

More from Volkanovski here:

[11 February 2023 23:20 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 284 LIVE

Your preparation for watching a UFC event may not typically involve reading ancient Chinese philosophical texts, but the crux of this weekend’s main event can be traced all the way back to a third-century book entitled the Han Feizi.

In it, Han Fei wrote of the ‘spear and shield paradox’, of what happens when a spear that can pierce any shield encounters a shield that can withstand any spear. In centuries since, the paradox has been framed as such: What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?

En route to becoming UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev has been an irresistible force. Atop the featherweight division, Alexander Volkanovski has been an immovable object. On Saturday, Makhachev will carry his spear into Volkanovski’s territory in Perth, while the Australian will haul his shield into the Russian’s territory of the 155lbs division. It will be the UFC’s pound-for-pound No 1-ranked fighter, Volkanovski, against the promotion’s No 2.

Here is our main-event preview:

[11 February 2023 23:05 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 284 LIVE

The UFC 284 *early prelims* begin now! We will provide live updates from the subsequent prelims at 1am GMT.

[11 February 2023 23:00 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 284 LIVE

Full card

Yair Rodriguez (left) faces off with Josh Emmett ahead of their co-main event (Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Main card

Islam Makhachev (C) vs Alexander Volkanovski (featherweight champion) (lightweight title)

Yair Rodriguez vs Josh Emmett (interim featherweight title)

Jack Della Maddalena vs Randy Brown (welterweight)

Justin Tafa vs Parker Porter (heavyweight)

Jimmy Crute vs Alonzo Menifield (light-heavyweight)

Prelims

Tyson Pedro vs Modestas Bukauskas (light-heavyweight)

Josh Culibao vs Melsik Baghdasaryan (featherweight)

Shannon Ross vs Kleydson Rodrigues (flyweight)

Jamie Mullarkey vs Francisco Prado (lightweight)

Early prelims

Jack Jenkins vs Don Shainis (featherweight)

Loma Lookboonmee vs Elise Reed (women’s strawweight)

Shane Young vs Blake Bilder (featherweight)

Zubaira Tukhugov vs Elves Brenner (lightweight)

[11 February 2023 20:42 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 284 LIVE

Islam Makhachev will defend the UFC lightweight title against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski tonight, in a meeting between the pound-for-pound No 1 and No 2.

Volkanovski’s dominant run atop the featherweight division has secured him the status of the UFC’s pound-for-pound top-ranked fighter, and now the Australian sets his sights on becoming the promotion’s fifth dual-weight champion ever, taking on Makhachev in Perth.

Volkanovski will therefore have the support of a home crowd in tonight’s main event, which marks Makhachev’s first defence of the lightweight title. The Russian claimed the vacant belt by submitting Charles Oliveira in November, following in the footsteps of his coach and childhood friend Khabib Nurmagomedov as 155lbs champion.

In the co-main event, Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett will clash to crown an interim featherweight champion, determining who will be next in line for Volkanovski at 145lbs.