A match-up made in Abu Dhabi and transported to Perth has major fight feel.
On Sunday, Alex Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev headline the UFC’s grand return to Australia, in a bout that pits against one another the sport’s current No 1 pound-for-pound male athlete and its No 2.
Volkanovski, the lead light, resides as the UFC’s featherweight champion following four successful title defences; Makhachev the lightweight belt-holder after his dominant display against Charles Oliveira in the UAE capital last October.
For home hope Volkanovski, UFC 284 at the RAC Arena offers the chance to join a truly select band. In stepping up from 145lbs, the Australian can not only become the eighth two-division champion in UFC history, but the fifth to hold two belts simultaneously. To date, that elevated roll of honour reads Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes, Henry Cejudo and Daniel Cormier.
That Volkanovski agreed to the challenge speaks not only to a belief in his MMA acumen – he sits rightfully as the sport’s all-round active No 1 – but his ambition, also.
His credentials are obvious. His 22-fight win streak is the longest in MMA competition of any active UFC competitor. His sole professional defeat in 26 bouts came almost a full decade ago. And he is 12-0 since signing with the UFC, one of only four fighters to begin their career in the promotion with such a sequence.
Yet it is Volkanovski’s conviction to this particular cause that stands out. For most already the finest featherweight in UFC history, he has elected to test his talent at 155lbs, against the lightweight division’s newly minted champion and the long-touted heir apparent to Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Thus, “Alexander the Great” has an opportunity for “Greatest Of All Time” status. Unquestionably, victory on Sunday would rank among the most impressive in the UFC's near 30-year existence, albeit not its biggest shock – far from it, given Volkanovski’s calibre – even if he goes into the fight as underdog.
Volkanovski, 34, flew to Abu Dhabi in October not long after recovering from hand surgery, made weight as a potential replacement for Makhachev-Oliveira, before entering the octagon at Etihad Arena in the immediate aftermath of UFC 280 when the gauntlet was thrown down.
He sized up Makhachev, the scale of the assignment proposed, and accepted. Makhachev, remember, rides an 11-fight win streak – second only to Volkanovski – and boasts a 23-1 pro record. The solitary loss coming in late 2015. Justifiably, he is considered one of the sport’s most supreme wrestlers.
And that’s what makes Sunday’s showdown feel genuinely special. The top two in the pound-for-pound rankings, both seemingly at their peak, Volkanovski’s incredible striking against Makhachev’s irrepressible ground game.
Makhachev is viewed as favourite, since Volkanovski has jumped into what the Dagestani told The National last week marks a “new jungle”. At 31, Makhachev is tipped to reign for some time, billed as the continuation to Nurmagomedov's legacy.
Volkanovski, though, thrives in the underdog role. What's more, his back catalogue confirms he is too good to be underestimated, something that Makhachev will surely recognise. For both, the stakes are substantial.
But for Volkanovski, should he emerge victorious in front of his fans, he doesn't simply take a seat alongside McGregor, Nunes, Cejudo and Cormier at that exclusive table. He cements his place in the pantheon, too.
