Alex Volkanovski's staggering claim as UFC world blasts 'disgraceful' call

Alexander Volkanovski produced one of the all-time great performances to push lightweight champion Islam Makhachev all the way in their pound-for-pound showdown, which has sparked calls the Australian was 'robbed'. The odds didn't give featherweight champion Volkanovski much of a chance against the bigger Makhachev in the UFC card in Perth, but the larger-than-life Aussie had the crowd on their feet as the bell for round 5 went and the fight went to the judges scorecards.

Makhachev stuck to his game plan throughout the fight and while he said he was going to knock the Australian out, the Dagestan fighter consistently shot for the takedown in the first three rounds. While very few fighters have been able to get back to their feet once Makhachev got his hands on them, Volkanovski showed why he is a crowd favourite.

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Volkanovski fought for every inch as he clawed his way back to his feet on numerous occasions. The Australian's famous gas tank also shone in the latter half of the fight.

The featherweight champion peppered Makhachev with right hands and dropped him in the fifth. With one minute left, Volkanovski pounced on Makhachev and let fly with ground and pound in an attempt to put him away.

Volkanovski finished the fresher of the two fighters as Makhachev's face was cut up and bruised. However, unfortunately for the home crowd, Makhachev's wrestling had proved just enough as he won an extremely close fight 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46.

“I showed why I am No.1,” Makhachev said as the crowd booed him. “He has good striking, good wrestling skills … but like it or not, I am the best fighter in the world.”

While Makhachev thought he had won, Volkanovski remained humble. “A lot of people didn’t give me a chance, but I gave myself a chance,” Volkanovski said. “I expected to win.”

After the fight, Volkanovski took to social media to claim that he thought he won three rounds to two. And he wasn't the only one.

Plenty in the UFC world thought the 4-1 scorecard was a 'robbery', while others claimed Volkanovski won the fight due to doing more damage even while he was taken down. UFC fighter Nate Diaz thought Volkanvoski grabbed the victory, while long-time commentator Joe Rogan was also adamant the Australian had made history.

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After the fight, both fighters agreed to a rematch if it was officially offered to them by the UFC. Regardless, Volkanovski was slightly deflated he couldn't grab the belt.

“So I definitely want the fight back,” Volkanovski said. “I want that f**king lightweight belt.

“Everyone wanted to pushing this crazy f**king narrative that Islam’s invincible. I thought, ‘OK run with it’. It just would’ve been so much a better story if I won, right?

“I wish I could sit here saying ‘hey, the invincible man, I told you’. But I’m not in that position. It was close. Very winnable.”

After the fight, Volkanovski moved to dispel the illusion that Makhachev was unmovable. Many claimed Makhachev would manhandle the Australian, which has been the outcome of all his fights in the lightweight division.

However, Volkanovski proved that the doubters wrong and got back to his feet on numerous occasions, while stopping a number of the Dagestan fighter's takedown attempts.

“He’s not strong,” the Aussie said. “I even said to my corner, you could probably hear it ‘he’s not strong’.

“Not being a dick. Not being disrespectful. He’s just not strong. (I thought) maybe he’s baiting me. Maybe he is waiting for me to do something.

"I didn’t capitalise on that straight away. Which I should’ve. And I realised that later on."

For the meantime, Teddy Atlas tweeted that "sometimes you can lose a fight and still win." And Volkanovski proved to all those that doubted him that this is where he belongs.

with AAP

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