Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Volkanosvski – UFC 284: How to watch in the UK and who else is fighting

Islam Makhachev will defend his UFC lightweight title for the first time on enemy territory when he takes on Alexander Volkanovski in Australia at UFC 284.

Makhachev will fight Volkanovski, the company’s current featherweight belt holder, in a champion vs. champion showdown.

Volkanovski will be looking to become the first Australian in UFC history to win two titles in two different divisions.

Not only that, but the Australian has a chance to become the fifth fighter in the promotion’s history to win two belts simultaneously.

Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo have previously held two belts at the same time.

With Volkanovski moving up to lightweight, the featherweight division is at a standstill.

That being said, Dana White has opted to set up an interim featherweight title fight between Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett, which will be featured as the co-main event of this weekend’s pay-per-view card.

Sportsmail breaks down everything you need to know, including how you can watch in the UK, who’s fighting and when UFC 284 is.

When is UFC 284?

UFC 284 will take place on Saturday, February 11 at 11 p.m. in the UK, with the first prelims beginning at 11 p.m.

The prelims are scheduled for Sunday, February 12 at 1 a.m., while the main card will kick off at 3 a.m.

The main event between Makhachev and Volkanovski won’t start in the UK until around 5:30am on Sunday morning.

MMA fans in Australia can watch UFC 284 on Kayo, with the main card taking place on Sunday, February 12 at 2pm AEDT.

The undercard starts at 12am AEDT, while the first prelims start at 10am.

Where will UFC 284 take place?

This weekend’s PPV showdown will take place at the RAC Arena, Perth.

The stadium will host its second UFC PPV after hosting UFC 221 between Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold.

UFC 284 sees the promotion return to the country for the first time since 2019.

With the highly successful event due to take place in Perth this weekend, the RAC Arena has a capacity of 15,500.

How to watch Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Volkanovski

UFC 284 will be broadcast live on BT Sport in the UK and will also stream live on the broadcaster’s app.

Coverage of this weekend’s PPV matchup will begin at 1am on Sunday, February 12.

Sportsmail will also be covering the event live, so you can stay up to date with us.

Makhachev vs Volkanovski: the key stats

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Principal card

• Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski – UFC Lightweight Championship
• Yair Rodriguez vs Josh Emmett – UFC Interim Featherweight Title
• Jack Della Maddalena vs. Randy Brown
• Justin Tafa vs. Parker Porter
• Jimmy Crute vs. Alonso Menifield

preliminary card

• Tyson Pedro vs. Modestas Bukauskas
• Josh Culibao vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
• Shannon Ross vs. Kleydson Rodrigues
• Jack Jenkins vs. Don Shainis
• Jamie Mullarkey vs. Francisco Prado

early preliminary card

• Jack Jenkins vs. Don Shainis
• Loma Lookboonmee vs. Elise Reed
• Shane Young vs. Blake Bilder
• Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Elves Brenner

Can Islam Makhachev win the featherweight title at UFC 284?

With Volkanovski moving up in division to face Makhachev, the featherweight champion has a chance to win two titles simultaneously.

However, if Makhachev wins this weekend, it would not take the featherweight title from Volkanovski.

This is because this weekend’s main event is scheduled at lightweight.

With the title fight at 155 pounds, only the lightweight belt is on the line this weekend.

If Makhachev wanted to become the featherweight champion, the Russian would have to drop an additional weight class and fight Volkanovski in his natural weight class.

So if Volkanovski comes up short this weekend, he won’t be stripped of his featherweight title due to the fight being booked at lightweight.

What has been said?

Volkanovski outlines the path to victory ahead of his next showdown with Makhachev.

‘The fact that I’m moving up [in weight]It’s always going to be like, ‘Oh, you know,’ especially since I’m also reasonably small, short,” Volkanovski said. Main event.

“And then they’re looking at it stylistically: ‘Not only is this guy coming up, where people will have a size advantage, now he’s up against the best grappling fighter in that division.’ Strength has never been a problem for me; I have always been insufficient in everything I did.

‘Every session I’m doing is a specific position for this fight. I don’t want to waste a single minute on something I’m not going to do. Right now, every minute I spend in the gym is specific to Islam. Obviously, if we don’t get knocked down, yes, beauty, but in my head I need to prepare like we’re going down.

I need people to put me in the worst possible position, and I’ll fight from there. That’s why you will always see me serene, wherever I am. Even if he puts me in a bad light, you’ll probably see a smile on my face, you’ll probably see me talking to him, like, ‘Hey, is this all you got? You’re not as strong as you thought, okay? I’m not as small as you thought, okay?

“I’m going to fight for every inch and I’ll do it for 25 minutes,” Volkanovski said. ‘You won’t see me break at all, I’ll move on. I want to get up again, look at him, look around the corner of him and say, ‘What now?’ put some of these [fists] in your face

‘I need to capitalize when I’m on my feet. If he knocks me down and I get back up, I need to get my hands on him. I need to win the rounds or put him to sleep, and I’m going to get my hands on him and try to find that chin, and try to find it hard.

‘I feel like them [Makhachev, and Khabib before him] being so uncomfortable on your feet and desperate for takedowns, and not being as successful as they originally planned, I feel like that’s where [Makhachev] he’s going to start losing his mind, him and his corner.

As for Makhachev, the Russian is fully focused on this weekend’s fight, but would be interested in moving up to welterweight in the near future.

‘Let me tell you this: this issue is relevant,’ Makhachev said RSports Russia. ‘I like to compete. I like to fight strong fighters. I love big fights. Whoever the welterweight champion is, it’s going to be a great fight. I am very interested. But in 2023, there are worthy opponents in my division that I have yet to meet.

Who else has won two titles simultaneously?

Over the years, it was rare for a champion to move up or down a weight class to challenge another title holder.

In 2015, Conor McGregor defeated José Aldo in 13 seconds to become the featherweight champion.

The Irishman immediately stated his intention to move up and fight for the lightweight belt.

He then defeated Eddie Alvarez in 2016 to become the first simultaneous champion in the UFC.

Two years later, the promotion would have two more fighters who would become simultaneous champions.

Then light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier would move up to heavyweight in 2018 to face Stipe Miocic for the 265-pound title.

Towards the end of the first round, Cormier shocked UFC fans by knocking out Miocic, becoming the second fighter in the promotion to win two belts simultaneously.

In the same year, Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes would move up to featherweight to take on rival Cris Cyborg.

The Brazilian would go on to knock out Cyborg in under a minute to win the featherweight title.

In 2019, the promotion would have its fourth fighter to win two belts simultaneously.

After defeating Demetrious Johnson, Henry Cejudo would jump from flyweight to bantamweight to face Marlon Moraes for the vacant 135-pound title.

Cejudo would knock out Moraes deep in the third to become the UFC’s last simultaneous champion.