The first UFC lightweight title fight between Russian Islam Makhachev and Australian Alexander Volkanovski was recognized as the best fight of 2023 according to the World MMA Awards.
Recall, this confrontation took place in February 2023. Then the Russian won by unanimous decision of judges.
In October 2023, the fighters met again in the octagon in the main event of UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. This time Makhachev defeated Volkanovski by knockout in the first round. He has 25 wins and one loss on his record. Alexander has 26 wins and three defeats on his record.