Islam Makhachev thinks more could have been done to get the word out about his first-ever UFC lightweight title defense.
Just around the corner is one of the biggest champion vs. champion fights the UFC has ever seen. On February 11, lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will be taking on the featherweight champion and pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski. This huge title fight will serve as the main event of UFC 284 in Perth, Australia. This is the first time that UFC has returned to Australia since before the pandemic began.
When it was first announced there seem to be a lot of hype behind this bout. The thought of Volkanovski moving up in weight to challenge the dominant Makhachev had fans very excited. However, as the fight grew closer the hype train seems to have stalled a bit. Makhachev believes the UFC could be doing more to promote this event and in turn, his first-ever title defense.
Islam Makhachev hints that Dana White’s personal life has taken away from the promotion of this event
The UFC lightweight division has historically been one of the most stacked divisions in all of the UFC. Makhachev is the newest champion at 155 pounds and he trains under another former champion and legend of the sport Khabib Nurmagomedov. These facts only add to the anticipation of UFC 284. Makhachev knows this and wants the UFC to put a little more manpower behind the promotion of this event. He spoke about this in a recent interview with RSports Russia.
“I see that it is not such big promotion,” Makhachev said h/t MMA Junkie. “Dana White himself has some problems. He does not pay much attention to this fight. Here in Perth, everyone knows about the fight and is looking forward to it. And in terms of pay-per-view, yes, more could have been done. I only saw Volkanovski once, in Sydney. A tour could be organized around the world. A (news) conference could be held in America.”
It seems that Makhachev was hinting at the fact that White has had some problems of his own over the past few weeks. President of the UFC, White has been in the public eye for an altercation he had with his wife on New Year’s Eve. It seems following that event White was nowhere to be found. The UFC was on a break for much of the month of January and is now back in full swing.
Fans are also beginning to connect the dots between the lack of promotion for UFC 284 and the full gung-ho promotion of Dana White’s newest combat sports league called Power Slap. Makhachev did however say that he felt there was a great deal of hype surrounding the event in Australia since he arrived there.
