The Bottom Line: The Spoils of Defeat

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UFC 284 should stand as one of the crowning achievements of Islam Makhachev’s career. The accomplished Dagestani champion displayed some dangerous striking mixed in with his typically strong ground game and earned a deserved decision win over the toughest opponent of his career. In so doing, he ended a nearly 10-year unbeaten streak and withstood the charge of a proud fellow champion who has made a habit of scoring competitive decision victories.

That fight should have been all about Makhachev. That’s usually what happens when you win a fight that important. Yet, the talk both on that night and in the following days has instead been much more focused on Alexander Volkanovski. He gained more from defeat, for a variety of reasons, than any other fighter in recent memory. The few Ultimate Fighting Championship main eventers who have gained more from a loss over the years have typically been those who were robbed by a dubious decision, and even if you think Volkanovski should have won, this was no robbery.

A big part of all the love for Volkanovski’s performance likely had to do with expectations. Makhachev was a 4-to-1 betting favorite, reflecting widespread belief that Volkanovski would struggle to deal with his counterpart’s size and wrestling. When Volkanovski avoided takedowns and negated Makhachev’s offense once it did go to the ground, he upended the assumptions many had going into the fight. Makhachev did better in the striking than many thought he would, but Volkanovski did better in the grappling; and that was the sphere where many felt there was a greater separation between the two.

It also didn’t hurt that Volkanovski’s strongest round was the last. Modern MMA scoring rules do not put an added significance on the later stages of a fight, but fans naturally react favorably to the fighter who’s surging at the end. If a fight breaks out in a bar, there’s a good chance the person who threw the last big shot before the participants are pulled apart is going to be deemed the winner of the fight by those looking on. Whether true or not, there’s the thought that the rallying fighter has figured the other out and turned the tide for good.

More than anything, though, it was the way Volkanovski fought. Against the bigger man, he pressed the action. When caught with some fierce counters, he pushed through the trouble. He had the crowd in Perth, Australia, in the palm of his hand from the moment the music hit for his entrance to his departure at the end of the show. He had spirit, and more than ever before, he came across as a real star. It was a defining performance in defeat, more memorable than many of his wins.

Where does Volkanovski go from here? In the short term, the answer is clear. Yair Rodriguez is a very popular fighter in his own right and has been groomed to be a superstar for years. He has charisma, a thrilling fighting style and a base of support particularly in Mexico and the United States that is invested in his success. His performance against Josh Emmett in the co-main event was another reminder of his diverse skill set, and Volkanovski-Rodriguez will be a major fight.

From there, Volkanovski clearly would like another crack at Makhachev. It’s questionable whether the UFC will be interested in its featherweight champion continuing to pursue lightweight gold when both of those divisions are loaded with talent, but the Makhachev rematch itself would likely be a fight fans are interested in seeing given how the first fight went. It may come down to how the first fight went on pay-per-view, with the title pictures at 145 and 155 pounds also playing a role in the decision.

There’s also the question of whether Volkanovski’s fight with Makhachev could help to elevate Volkanovski as a star. The broader UFC fan base hasn’t really connected with Volkanovski in a major way over the course of his career, perhaps because they gravitated more towards Max Holloway: the Australian’s top rival. Against Makhachev, Volkanovski was the protagonist of the story as the smaller man moving up in weight class against the odds. It’s odd to suggest, but the loss might have done more to elevate Volkanovski’s popularity than any of his wins.

There is past precedent for that. It’s often forgotten, but B.J. Penn’s decisive loss to Georges St. Pierre in their second fight played a big role in the Hawaiian becoming one of UFC’s top stars. The pay-per-view buys for his fights with Matt Hughes, Joe Stevenson and Sean Sherk before the second GSP bout came in well under the buys afterwards against Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez and Frankie Edgar. Fans connected with Penn’s attempt to become a double champion and followed him even more closely despite the defeat.

The big difference here is there’s no indication Makhachev-Volkanovski had anything resembling the level of interest in GSP-Penn 2. That fight was accompanied by an expensive and well-produced documentary series and was one of the biggest fights of its era. On the other hand, Volkanovski was much more competitive and the fight itself enhanced interest in his future outings. The bout with Rodriguez will be a perfect test of where Volkanovski stands and what the fight with Makhachev will mean for his career.