''UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski'' is an upcoming

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

that will take place on February 12, 2023, at

RAC Arena Perth Arena (known Naming rights, commercially as ) is an entertainment and sporting arena in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia, used mostly for basketball matches. It is located on Wellington Street, Perth, Wellington Street near the ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Australia.

Background

The event will mark the promotion's 16th overall trip to Australia, returning to the country for the first time since

UFC 243 ''UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 6, 2019, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Background The event was the ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in October 2019. A

UFC Lightweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

bout between current champion

Islam Makhachev Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev (russian: Исла́м Рамаза́нович Маха́чев; born 27 October 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former Sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in ...

and current

UFC Featherweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Alexander Volkanovski Alexander Volkanovski (born 29 September 1988) is an Australian mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Featherweight Champion. He is al ...

is expected to headline the event. This will be the eighth time in UFC history that champions in different divisions will fight for the same title, following

UFC 94 ''UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on January 31, 2009. The card featured five televised MMA bouts, as well as five un-aired preliminary bouts. I ...

UFC 205 ''UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor'' was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 12, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In what was described by UFC president Dana White as t ...

UFC 226 ''UFC 226: Miocic vs. Cormier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 7, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area. Background The event took p ...

UFC 232 ''UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on December 29, 2018 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout b ...

, UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw,

UFC 259 ''UFC 259: Błachowicz vs. Adesanya '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

, and UFC 277. If successful, Volkanovski will become the fourth man to be champion in two divisions simultaneously and fifth fighter overall (after

Conor McGregor Conor Anthony McGregor ( ga, Conchúr Antóin Mac Gréagóir; born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial artist. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight double-champion. He is the first ...

Daniel Cormier Daniel Ryan Cormier (; born March 20, 1979) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler, and current commentator for the UFC. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Ch ...

Amanda Nunes Amanda Lourenço Nunes (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Women's Bantamw ...

and UFC 277, and

Henry Cejudo Henry Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. He is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion. He is the fourth UFC fighter to h ...

at UFC 238), as well as the eighth person overall to win a title in different divisions. An interim

UFC Featherweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

bout between The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America featherweight winner

Yair Rodríguez Yair Raziel Rodríguez Portillo (born October 6, 1992) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Rodríguez has been with the UFC since 2014 a ...

and

Josh Emmett Joshua James Emmett (born March 4, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Emmett currently competes in the featherweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, Emmett has al ...

is expected to take place at the event. A middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Champion (also The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes welterweight winner) Robert Whittaker and former title challenger

Paulo Costa Paulo Henrique Costa (born 21 April 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 1, 2022, he is #6 in the UFC middleweight ...

was linked to this event. However, Costa disputed the official announcement by the promotion indicating he had never signed a contract and the fight would not take place. The pair was previously expected to headline UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum in April 2021, but Costa withdrew due to illness. A flyweight bout between former

UFC Flyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

challengers Alex Perez and

Kai Kara-France James Kaiwhare Kara-France (born March 26, 1993) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 1, 2022, he is #3 in the UFC flyweight ...

(the latter for the interim title) was scheduled for this event. They were once booked for an event at

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

on May 16, 2020, but the card was moved to a different location due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and the bout eventually never took place. In turn, the bout was canceled in late December as Kara-France suffered an undisclosed injury. Perez is now expected to face former Rizin Bantamweight Champion Manel Kape at UFC on ESPN 43 on March 25. A women's strawweight bout between

Loma Lookboonmee Suphisara Konlak ( th, สุภิสรา คนหลัก) (born January 18, 1996), best known professionally as Loma Lookboonmee ( th, โลมา ลูกบุญมี), is a Thai martial artist who has competed in Muay Thai, boxing, ...

and

Elise Reed Elise Reed (born December 5, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Reed started martial arts at six years old by competing in Taekwondo, then moving ...

was scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak. However, the pair was moved to this event for undisclosed reasons.

Fight card

Announced bouts

*Lightweight bout: Nasrat Haqparast vs.

Jamie Mullarkey Jamie Mullarkey (born 17 August 1994) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Mullarkey grew up in Central Coast area, attending Erina High School. He beg ...

*Lightweight bout: Joel Álvarez vs.

Zubaira Tukhugov Zubaira Alikhanovich Tukhugov (born January 15, 1991) is a Russian mixed martial artist who fights in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Tukhugov made a name for himsel ...

*Featherweight bout:

Shane Young Shane Karlarnee Young (born 31 July 1993) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist (MMA) who currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Young is affiliated with the Māori tribe Ngāti Kahungunu ...

vs. Blake Bilder

References

{{2023 in mixed martial arts Scheduled mixed martial arts events Ultimate Fighting Championship events 2023 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in Australia Sport in Perth, Western Australia 2023 in Australian sport February 2023 sports events in Oceania

Background

Fight card

Announced bouts

See also

References