UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev has changed his tune in terms of the promotion for his upcoming fight following communication with Dana White.
This weekend, two titleholders will collide in what is widely being considered one of the biggest and most momentous showdowns of all time. On one side will be Makhachev, who cemented himself as the best at 155 pounds last year with a dominant submission win over Charles Oliveira.
In the Dagestani’s way of a successful first defense will be Alexander Volkanovski, the reigning featherweight king who has moved up in search of becoming the latest to add champ-champ status to their résumé.
But despite what’s at stake at UFC 284, including top spot in the pound-for-pound rankings, some have suggested that the event has been under-promoted by the MMA leader. Initially, that group included the man set to put his belt on the line in Perth, Australia.
Earlier this week, Makhachev called out what he perceives to have been a lack of promotion, even naming the UFC president as an individual who isn’t showing enough interest in the historic champion vs. champion superfight.
But with a text message, Dana White appears to have cleared himself and his organization of any wrongdoing in the eyes of the lightweight king.
Makhachev: ‘White Sent Me The Numbers’
White recently dismissed Makhachev’s claims publicly. As well as putting the champ’s thoughts on the promotion for UFC 284 down to a mistranslation and the fact he’s been in Dagestan, the UFC chief claimed the event is trending as one of the biggest PPVs of all time.
The 53-year-old also noted that he’d spoken to the Russian himself about the comments, something that Makhachev confirmed during his appearance at UFC 284 media day on Thursday.
Having heard some of the numbers, Makhachev walked back his previous remarks. He went as far as to admit that he doesn’t have a true understanding of how fights are promoted by the UFC, so therefore isn’t in a position to criticize.
“You know, I say something in the media (about) this fight not being promoted. But Dana send me message and show me all the rankings, all the stuff; how they promote, how they sell,” Makhachev said. “Now I understand, because I don’t follow this game; how they promote, what they think. But they promote a lot. That’s why we don’t have tickets and Dana say on pay-per-view, it’s high. Maybe it’s gonna be number two, three.”
While Makhachev’s initial comments received sizable agreement across the MMA community, he appears satisfied after a conversation with the UFC president. With that, he’ll look to put his focus fully on the task at hand.
As well as material goods and P4P top spot being on the line, Makhachev and Volkanovski will complete for bragging rights inside the RAC Arena. While the Australian has promised to shock the world come fight night, the Dagestani is seemingly expecting a repeat of his dominant performance against Oliveira last time out.
What have you made of the promotion for Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski?
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