Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski – Preview & Matchup Analysis

UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 11, 2023, in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. In one of the matchups on the fight card, Islam Makhachev will take on Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski in the UFC Lightweight Title Bout. You can view the full UFC 284 card.

In this post, we will break down Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski matchup. Let’s take look at the fighter’s ages, their height, records, reach, fight stats, and more below ⤵

The 33-year-old, Islam Makhachev is coming in with a 23-1-0 record. Makhachev will be fighting for the first time since a win via SUB against Charles Oliveira at UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev in October.

Volkanovski, meanwhile, is coming off a U-DEC win against Max Holloway on October 22, 2022 at UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier and holds a 25-1-0 record.

Islam Makhachev has an southpaw fighting stance with a 70″ reach. The 36-year-old, Alexander Volkanovski is an orthodox fighter with a 71″ reach. An orthodox fighter stands with their left side forward and jabs with their left hand, the southpaw fighter is the opposite, southpaw stands with their right side forward and jabs with their right hand. In most cases, orthodox fighters are right-handed, if you are left-handed, then you fight southpaw.

Islam Makhachev:
→ Makhachev’s striking accuracy is 59%.
→ Makhachev lands 2.37 significant strikes per minute.
→ Makhachev’s takedown accuracy is 65%.
→ Makhachev’s takedown average is 3.42 per 15 minutes.
→ Makhachev’s takedown defense is 88%.

Makhachev comes in with 59% striking accuracy, typically landing about 2.37 significant strikes every minute. On the other side, Volkanovski fires at 57% accuracy, landing about 6.79 significant strikes per minute. Islam Makhachev also has a 65% takedown accuracy and on average gets around 3.42 takedowns every 15 minutes, compared to Volkanovski’s 1.71 takedowns and 73% takedown accuracy.

Alexander Volkanovski:
→ Volkanovski’s striking accuracy is 57%.
→ Volkanovski lands 6.79 significant strikes per minute.
→ Volkanovski’s takedown accuracy is 36%.
→ Volkanovski’s takedown average is 1.71 per 15 minutes.
→ Volkanovski’s takedown defense is 73%.

Alexander spent on average 16:50 minutes in the Octagon and Islam has an average fight time of 9:06 minutes.

This looks like an interesting matchup, at least on paper. UFC 284 is live in , who do you think will win, Islam or Alexander? Sound off in the comments.

You can view the scheduled UFC 284 fight card, upcoming UFC schedule 2021, and latest MMA news.