Fight Facts: UFC 284 ‘Makhachev vs. Volkanovski’

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and Octagon oddities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 6,995
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 635

The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to a land down under, where women glow and men plunder. The UFC could not hear the thunder, nor did the fighters run or take cover. Perth, Australia, played host to the eventful UFC 284, where a pair of divisions had their title pictures cleared up at night’s end. The event featured a staggeringly high price for an unexpected four-piece of results, the potential emergence of the new pound-for-pound king in the sport and a tough night for fans of Colin Hay tunes.

FOMO: Throughout the night, four unlikely competitors performed submissions, having combined for only four in total leading up to UFC 284. If one had made a parlay in which Yair Rodriguez, Jack Della Maddalena, Joshua Culibao and Konklak Suphisara all landed submissions, that line would have been an astonishing +4450400, meaning a $100 bet would have netted that person $4,450,400.

Pound for Pound What: After five rounds of action, Islam Makhachev defeated Alexander Volkanovski on the scorecards. Makhachev’s win streak of 12 is now the longest in the promotion, as his victory simultaneously equaled and ended Volkanovski’s own 12-fight streak.

Snappin’ Streaks: Makhachev came into the headliner the winner of 11 in a row, while Volkanovski countered with 12 consecutive triumphs. That 23-win combined streak is the greatest to collide in a UFC fight.

Khabib-Like in Many Ways: With 11 wins in a row at lightweight – his match with Bobby Green came at 160 pounds – Makhachev checks in one shy of the record at 155 pounds. Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov share the lead with 12 apiece.

Most Defend Once, Few Defend Often: Of all the undisputed lightweight champions in UFC history, Makhachev is the 10th to register a successful defense. Every beltholder in the division besides Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor notched at least one win as the reigning champ.

The Key to Beating Volk: Four times across their 25-minute encounter, Makhachev officially grounded Volkanovski. That is a UFC record for the most takedowns scored against the featherweight champ, whose previous personal worst of three came against Chad Mendes in 2018.

Did His Time, Took His Chances: Volkanovski suffered his first defeat since May 2013, putting an end to 22 straight wins for the Aussie. At the time of Volkanovski’s loss to Corey Nelson at AFC 5 in May of 2013, 18 of the other 25 competitors on the card had yet to make their professional debuts.

Can Do That Too: Rodriguez landed a triangle choke on Josh Emmett to claim the interim featherweight strap. As a pro, “El Pantera” has notched six wins on the scorecards, five by knockout and four via tapout. He also sports three defeats including two by knockout, while holding one no contest on his ledger.

Must-See Mexican: For his finish of Emmett, Rodriguez pocketed a $50,000 check for “Performance of the Night.” The bonus is his ninth since joining the roster in 2014, tying the featherweight division’s record held by Max Holloway and Cub Swanson.

Where Is the Hype: Della Maddalena made short work of Randy Brown by securing a club-and-sub rear-naked choke in Round 1. The Perth, Australia, native has won 14 straight fights since beginning his career at 0-2, with 13 of those wins coming by stoppage.

Knockout Win or Decision Loss: In only 66 seconds, Justin Tafa decimated Parker Porter. Each of Tafa’s six professional wins has concluded by knockout.

Layup Missed: Following three grueling rounds, Modestas Bukauskas emerged victorious in his UFC return over Tyson Pedro. Australia’s Pedro still has yet to win a fight that went beyond the first round.

Perfect Opportunity: For the first time in his career, Culibao hit a submission on an opponent. “Kuya” pulled off a rear-naked choke on Melsik Baghdasaryan in a Round 2 comeback.

Bring an Interpreter: To elevate his young finish rate to 75%, Kleydson Rodrigues dispatched Shannon Ross in 59 seconds. Five of his six stoppages have come in Round 1.

Veteran-Savvy Performance: Taking newcomer Francisco Prado into deep waters, Jamie Mullarkey pulled off the decision win. Prado had never before heard the final bell as a pro and had only reached the third round once.

Thai Tap: A first for the woman named “Loma Lookboonmee,” Suphisara performed a submission. Early into the second round, the Thai hit a rear-naked choke on Elise Reed for just the second stoppage of her career.

Unwelcomed Obstacle: Facing City Kickboxing’s Shane Young in hostile territory, Blake Bilder made his successful debut to boost his pro record to 8-0-1. It did mark the first decision in his last five fights, as he had finished four straight foes leading to his UFC entrance.

Hound Dog: The biggest underdog of the night, Elves Brener Oliveira snagged a contentious split decision over Zubaira Tukhugov. It marked only the second career win at the hands of the judges for the 25-year-old Brazilian.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC 284, Volkanovski had never lost on the scorecards (26 fights), Emmett (20 fights) and Reed (eight fights) had never been submitted and Prado had never been defeated (11 fights).

Contraband: Two fighters used variations of the same song on this event: Volkanovski and Ross. The featherweight king picked “Down Under” by Men at Work, while Ross selected the cover of that song by Luude featuring its creator, Colin Hay. Both competitors suffered losses after using the beloved tune.

Jimmy vs. Papa Doc: A rare first for Eminem walkouts – the most frequently used artist in UFC history – Jack Jenkins went with a track no fighter had ever picked in the past. Jenkins selected the final rap battle from “8 Mile” as his entrance, and he had his hand raised at night’s end.