The two best pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC will meet tonight as Islam Makhachev defends his lightweight title against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Volkanovski will look to become the fifth 'champ-champ' in UFC history as he moves up to lightweight for the first time in his UFC career to face the division's undisputed champion Makhachev. The Russian won the 155lb belt when he tapped out Charles Oliveira last October in Abu Dhabi, whilst Volkanovski has held the featherweight title since 2019.
The co-main event features an interim featherweight title fight between top contenders Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett, with top prospects such as Jack Della Maddalena and Jimmy Crute also competing on the card. So here's all you need to know about tonight's fights...
What time will Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Volkanovski start in UK?Makhachev and Volkanovski will headline the star-stacked card in Perth, which gets underway at 3am on Sunday morning. The champions will likely make their way to the cage at around 5am, but this is dependent on the result of the four main card fights that take place before it. The co-main event features a five-round interim title fight, which could also push the main event start time back if it goes the distance.
How to watch Makhachev vs Volkanovski on TV and live stream in UKUFC 284 will be shown exclusively live on BT Sport, with the preliminary card beginning at 1am UK time on Sunday morning and the main card getting underway at 3am. UK fans with a subscription to BT Sport will not need to pay an additional pay-per-view fee to watch the event. The BT Sport app is available to download on mobile, tablet, select streaming devices, games consoles, and Smart TVs.
Full UFC 284 fight cardIslam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski – for Makhachev's lightweight title
Yair Rodriguez vs. Josh Emmett – for interim featherweight title
Jack Della Maddalena vs. Randy Brown
Justin Tafa vs. Parker Porter
Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield
Tyson Pedro vs. Modestas Bukauskas
Joshua Culibao vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
Shannon Ross vs. Kleydson Rodrigues
Jamie Mullarkey vs. Francisco Prado
Jack Jenkins vs. Don Shainis
Loma Lookboonmee vs. Elise Reed
Shane Young vs. Blake Bilder
Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Elves Brenner
Quotes cornerIslam Makhachev: "I am the champion and we are fighting at 155lb, this is not his area. It's a different power and different division, I am going to beat him easily. He brings some guys from jiu-jitsu but this is not going to be a jiu-jitsu match, it's going to be MMA pressure on the ground. I respect him, he is the pound-for-pound No.1 but many people say I am the best fighter in the world and I'm going to prove that."
Alexander Volkanovski: "It's good to be back in Australia. Well deserved, as I said Aussie fighters and the fans deserved to have an event back here in Australia. I'm going in the octagon to smack him in the face, I'm sure he wants to do the same to me, or he wants to wrestle, I don't know. It is a challenge, I am moving up. I am the underdog but I love proving people wrong and I plan doing that on Sunday."