Lightweight is currently the Crown Jewel division in the UFC. When Khabib Nurmagomedov vacated his belt after a victory against Justin Gaethje, the division never really lost any steam. Charles Olivera took the throne for a bit and then the belt returned to Dagestan with Islam Makhachevs victory in the title fight of UFC 281.
The next premier UFC event was set during the post-match interviews when Makhachev called out featherweight champion, Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski. Alex was already present in the event as a backup fighter so he quickly made his way to the octagon and accepted the challenge.
Volkanovski currently holds the number 1 position in the pound-for-pound rankings and Makhachev wants to take that away. the bout was later confirmed to take place in UFC 284 in Perth, Australia. Both MMA fans and fighters have been hyped greatly for this fight. Michael Chandler also decided to chime in on this clash during an interview with MMA Junkie.
Michael doesn’t think Alex will perform poorly just because he is from a lower weight class, “I do think Volkanovski is gonna do better than we all think he does.”
“The one thing I see is that Volkanovski is a little bit shorter, so that leverage game of, if Islam gets up underneath him, puts his head underneath his chin, he’s gonna be able to lift him off the mat pretty easy, off the ground pretty easy,” he explained.
Mike didn’t forget to give Volk due credit as well, “But in the striking department, Volkanovski is better than him. And I think in the speed and power department, Volkanovski is better than him.”
If the fight doesn’t go to the ground then ‘Iron’ sees a potential win for the Aussie, “So, anything out of Islam going out there and taking him down in the first minute of each round and holding him down, I think Volkanovski might actually squeak out a decision. Most likely not a finish, but a decision.”
Chandler himself is preparing for a potential bout with Conor Mcgregor but no final contact has been signed yet.
