Joe Rogan and Sean O’Malley are breaking down the upcoming lightweight title fight.
There is a huge super fight on the books for next year in the UFC. Newly crowned lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will be taking on featherweight champion and pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 284. This bout will go down on February 11 from Volkanovski’s home country of Australia. Makhachev, although the bigger man, will have his work cut out for him against a man who has not lost in nearly ten years.
This bout has people talking, mainly because of the resumes of these two men. Makhachev has all the hype behind him coming from his first title win and his background training with former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Volkanovski is a much smaller fighter and has spent his UFC career fighting at 145 pounds. In the leadup to his fight, Volkanovski has been confident that he can put on enough weight to make this fight go the way he wants.
Joe Rogan and Sean O’Malley weigh in on the lightweight title fight
UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley was a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience where he and the UFC commentator spoke bout this upcoming super fight. Rogan is one of the best fight analysts in the game and he broke down what exactly makes this bout between Volkanovski and Makhachev so exciting.
“He’s (Makhachev) obviously way bigger when he’s competing. He doesn’t look anything like a 155-pound guy but the thing is the grappling. You remember, if you look at Volkanovski he’s got really good takedown defense and he can take guys down. He took Max Holloway down a bunch but he’s not the biggest guy even at 145, right? When you’re going up to face a big guy 155, but also has Islam seen anybody that can move as fast as Volkanovski?” Rogan said via MMA Documantaries on YouTube. “What if he starts catching him? What if he catches him a few times on the feet and if you can avoid a takedown I mean you’re dealing with a significantly quicker, he’s probably never fought anybody that quick.”
O’Malley agreed with Rogan’s assessment of the matchup. Both men can see the superior grappling of Makhachev being a problem, but Volkanovski has addressed this in the past. He was slated to be the backup fighter for Makhachev’s bout against Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 and spoke afterward about the wrestling preparations he plans to utilize during his training for the new champ.
