UFC 284 Start Time, Line Up, Who Is Fighting Tonight!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set to return later tonight (Sat., Feb. 11, 2023) with the UFC 284 pay-per-view (PPV) event on ESPN+, which will go down inside RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia. Headlining the event will be a Lightweight title fight between division champion, Islam Makhachev, defending his title against current Featherweight king, Alexander Volkanovski. In the co-main event, Yair Rodriguez will face Josh Emmett for the interim Featherweight title.

What’s Hot:

It’s been a while since we’ve had a good champion vs. champion showdown, and this one is as good as it gets. Makhachev has been an absolute force and so far he has lived up to Mystic Khabib’s predictions of being the future of the 155-pound division. Granted, Makhachev just won the title in his previous fight by strangling Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 four months ago (see it here), but he has been a wrecking machine his entire career, racking up a 23-1 record, which includes winning 12 of 13 inside the Octagon and is currently enjoying a 11-fight win streak. His first title defense is as tough as they come because he will be facing the reigning 145-pound champion who, like himself, has been on a tear, winning all 12 of his UFC fights and is riding a 22-fight win streak. So, yes, this is as good as it gets at the moment.

Makhachev has made his living by dominating his foes, taking them to the deepest of waters and drowning them. And he isn’t just your dominate wrestler that doesn’t get finishes, far from it. The Dagestani-born fighter is as aggressive as they come because he has finished eight of his 12 wins under the UFC banner, which includes five straight. He may not be a striking specialist but he can get the job done. In Volkanovski, though, he will face an equally-impressive wrestler with better striking. “The Great” has made it look easy at 145 pounds. And, if we’re being honest, his level of competition is greater than Makhachev’s, winning three against Max Holloway, surviving Brian Ortega’s best submission attempts, taking Jose Aldo to deep waters and knocking out Chad Mendes.

This one is a tough call because both are well-rounded, both bring the fight and the action and get the job done anywhere the fight plays out. Makhachev clearly will have the size and power advantage, but Volkanovski will have an edge when it comes to speed. And he is going have to utilize that advantage if he wants to become the next champ-champ. Makhachev is confident that even without Khabib in his corner come fight night he has the tools to go out and prove he is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game today.

What’s Not:

It’s not the deepest card, if we are being honest. And when it comes to pay-per-view’s you need to stack the main card if you want people to shell out top dollar for your product. Yes, the main and co-main events are tasty, but the rest of the lineup leaves much to be desired. And when you take into consideration that the event hasn’t had the best promotion, the execs at UFC and ESPN shouldn’t be too surprised if this card doesn’t break the bank.

Original Card vs Actual Card:

A fight between Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa was seemingly set for this event, however, “The Eraser” ultimately revealed that he never actually signed on the dotted line despite several reports stating otherwise. Modestas Bukauskas stepped in to face Tyson Pedro after Zhang Mingyang bowed out of the Light Heavyweight affair for undisclosed reasons. Pedro is eying his first three-fight win streak under the UFC banner. It’s a big fight for both 205-pounders.

Injuries:

Kai Kara-France suffered an undisclosed injury and was forced to withdraw from his fight against Alex Perez. As a result, Perez will now face Manel Kape on March 25. Junior Tafa was in line to fight Waldo Cortes-Acosta but the bout was scrapped after Tafa withdrew with an undisclosed injury.

New Blood:

Francisco Prado will be making his UFC debut after agreeing to step in for Nasrat Haqparast against Jamie Mullarkey last-minute. Prado is an outstanding prospect with a record of 11-0, all stoppages including eight in the very first round. Mullarkey has been average thus far with a 3-3 record inside the Octagon, but stopping the momentum of an up-and-comer would help his stock.

Elves Brenner will step into the UFC’s Octagon for the first time to face off against Zubaira Tukhugov after agreeing to replace Joel Alvarez. Brenner has a record of 13-3 with 12 stoppages, eight of those coming via first-round submission. As for Tukhugov, he hasn’t been able to pick up much steam in his UFC career, going just 2-2-1 in his last five fights.

Blake Bilder will put his undefeated record of 7-0-1 on the line to face Shane Young in Featherweight action. Bilder is coming out of the Contender Series, defeating Alex Morgan via first-round rear-naked choke. Young is just 2-3 inside the Octagon and is currently riding a two-fight losing streak.

Jack Jenkins will put his seven-fight win streak on the line against Don Shainis in Featherweight action. Shainis came up short in his own UFC debut in Oct. 2022, so he is eying a trip to the winner’s circle to avoid having a short stint with the promotion. Jenkins, meanwhile, will look to build off the momentum of his knockout win on the Contender Series late last year.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

In women’s Strawweight action, Loma Lookboonmee will face Elise Reed. The two were set to face off at last weekend’s UFC Vegas 68 event but were ultimately shifted to this event with no explanation given. Reed is just 2-2 inside the Octagon, while Lookboonmee is a respectable 5-2.

Shannon Ross will face Kleydson Rodrigues in a catchweight fight of 127 pounds after Rodrigues failed to make weight. As a result he will be forced to cough up 20-percent of his purse to Ross.

In 145-pound action, Josh Culibao will attempt to pick up his third straight win when he tangos with Melsik Baghdasaryan, who is riding a highly-impressive seven-fight win streak. Five of those fights have ended via TKO, so Baghdasaryan is all about the action and getting the job down as quickly as possible.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Jimmy Crute isn’t exactly in a must-win situation, but after losing his last two fights via first-round knockout, a victory is imperative to avoid digging himself a deeper hole. Prior to his skid, Crute was 4-1 inside the Octagon with big wins over Paul Craig and Sam Alvey, but his two defeats against Anthony Smith and Jamahal Hill have hurt his stock. He has another tough challenge ahead of him in Alonzo Menifield, who has won two straight via first-round technical knockout.

Interest Level: 8/10

While Alexander Volkanovski will be trying to win the 155-pound title in the main event, Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett will be competing for the interim 145-pound title in the co-main event and a chance to face “The Great” later in 2023. This will be the first title fight for both men and it is well-deserved. Rodriguez has long been considered one of the brightest stars at 145 pounds, but losses to Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar really hurt his upward trajectory. As for Emmett, he has quietly won five straight to earn the nod. It’s a great stylistic matchup, and one man will be tasting gold for the first time with the chance for a bigger fight waiting on the horizon.

Speaking of bright stars, Jack Della Maddalena is perhaps the one most are exited about at the moment. Maddalena has a ton of hype around him and so far he has delivered by winning his first three fights with the promotion via first-round technical knockout to improve his win streak to 13 after starting off his career with two losses. At UFC 284 he will be facing off against Randy Brown, who is 6-1 in his last seven outings and is currently on a five-fight win streak. That’s a nice run that not a lot of people have been paying attention to, but if he can take out Maddalena people will be forced to take notice.

In the Heavyweight division, Justin Tafa will square up against Parker Porter in a big-man collision that has a high probability of ending quickly. But that isn’t anything new when it comes to the 265-pound weight class. Tafa’s five victories have come by way of knockout, while Porter possesses some slick jiu-jitsu to go along with his heavy hands. Porter is in need of a won after having his three-fight win streak halted by Jailton Almeida in his previous outing.

It may not be the most stacked pay-per-view (PPV) event, but the main and co-main event are really what’s pulling this card together. The headlining act in itself is what everyone is foaming at the mouth for because a lot of questions will be answered. If Makhachev can slow Volkanovski’s roll in his first-title defense it would silence any and all critics that have bagged on him for his level of competition, as was the case with Khabib Nurmagomedov early in his career. For Volkanovski, it’s his chance to up his stock to new heights by becoming champ-champ and stopping the powerhouse that is Makhachev. He vowed to be busy defending both title if he proves victorious, but one step at a time.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC 284 Fight Card:

UFC 284 PPV Main Event On ESPN+:

155 lbs.: UFC Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev vs. UFC Featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski

UFC 284 PPV Main Card On ESPN+ (10 p.m. ET):

145 lbs.: Yair Rodriguez vs. Josh Emmett for interim featherweight title
170 lbs.: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Randy Brown
265 lbs.: Justin Tafa vs. Parker Porter
205 lbs.: Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield

UFC 284 Prelims Card On ESPN/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):

205 lbs.: Tyson Pedro vs. Modestas Bukauskas
145 lbs.: Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. Josh Culibao
125 lbs.: Shannon Ross vs. Kleydson Rodrigues
155 lbs.: Jamie Mullarkey vs. Francisco Prado

UFC 284 Early Prelims Card On ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET):

145 lbs.: Jack Jenkins vs. Don Shainis
115 lbs.: Loma Lookboonmee vs. Elise Reed
145 lbs.: Blake Bilder vs. Shane Young
155 lbs.: Elves Brenner vs. Zubaira Tukhugov

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 284 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 284: “Islam vs. Volkanovski” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.