Islam Makhachev is not surprised that he is still ranked second in the official UFC rankings.

The nearly flawless Dagestani went into enemy territory this past weekend at UFC 284 to make one of the toughest first title defenses a new MMA champion has ever faced. Makhachev’s signature moment over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in October 2022 was enough for a member of the official UFC rating to put him in 2nd place in the weight category. The only person ahead of him was none other than Volkanovski.

Despite defeating the Australian by unanimous decision, in the latest ranking update, Makhachev remained behind his fellow champion.

“The road home is always good, no matter how much you fly,” Makhachev told Russian media upon his arrival back in Dagestan (h/t School of Nurmagomedov MMA And Za.Khabib). “As for the ratings, I never expected justice and do not expect, because we have seen in the example of our other fighters, [Magomed] Ankalaev Petr Yan always saw the attitude towards us.

“The main thing is that I flew 13 thousand kilometers there, I defeated their champion. They raised their hands to me and, with their heads up, confidently flew home with a belt.

Specifically, in the case of Ankalaev and Yan, they differ from Makhachev in that the judges did not score in their fights in their favor. For Ankalaev, the top light heavyweight contender fought Jan Blachowicz in a split draw at UFC 282 in December, while Jan lost a split decision against Sean O’Malley at UFC 280.

After achieving lightweight title holder status, Makhachev was already thinking about the next match as he immediately called out featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovskiy in the Greats’ backyard in Australia. Now that that’s not the case, there’s potential for a rematch given all the noise created around the result.

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MAIN NEWS

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Respect. Kenny Florian praises Jake Paul for trying to move to MMA: ‘He’s a guy who doesn’t need to fight’

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VIDEO stew

UFC Vegas 69 Fight Promo.

Free fight.

Dedication to Fedor.

Free fight.

Deep diving for weight loss.

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LISTEN

Damn morning. Mike Heck of MMA Fighting discusses whether Alexander Volkanovski should have an immediate rematch against Islam Makhachev after UFC 284.

A CURSE! They were good. Take a look at the full archive posted by MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew.

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SOCIAL MEDIA

It’s all about the neck muscles.

Every time.

Love.

Oh Kelvin.

I’m just resting.

New development.

Keep up with the Edgars.

TEAR …

Sometimes these things happen in MMA…

Interesting comparison.

Added.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Eric Gonzalez (14-7) against Trevor Pick (7-0); UFC Vegas 70 February 25

Mateusz Gamroth (21-2, 1 NC) vs. Jalyn Turner (13-5); UFC 285, March 4

Sullivan Coley (5-0) against Luke Trainer (6-1); Bellator 293 March 31st

Lucas Brennan (7-0) vs Josh San Diego (9-4); Bellator 293 March 31st

Lance Gibson junior (7-0) vs. Vladimir Tokov (8-2); Bellator 293 March 31st

Pam Sorenson (9-5) vs. Sarah Collins (3-0); Bellator 293 March 31st

Randy Field (3-1) against Ashley Cummins (7-6); Bellator 293 March 31st

Bryce Meredith (3-0) vs. Brandon Carrillo (1-0); Bellator 293 March 31st

Maria Henderson (1-0) vs Mackenzie Stiller (0-0); Bellator 293 March 31st

Chris Barnett (23-8) against Chase Sherman (16-11); UFC 287, April 8

Liz Carmouche (18-7) against DeAnna Bennett (13-7-1); Bellator 294 April 21

Raufeon Stots (19-1) against spotted mix (17-1); Bellator 295 April 22

Matt Brown (25-19) vs Court McGee (22-11); UFC Fight Night, May 13

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RECENT THOUGHTS

It’s so funny that the lack of P4P sharing completely negates the whole promotional campaign that was centered around this fight.

Thanks for reading!

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OUTPUT POLL

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