UFC champion Islam Makhachev has expressed his frustration after being snubbed of the pound-for-pound No.1 spot following his latest win.
Makhachev, 31, defended his lightweight title against featherweight champion Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 284 last weekend. Volkanovski was on top of the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings heading into the fight and despite losing to Makhachev, who is No.2 in the rankings, the Australian has not lost his top spot.
Fans have criticised the latest rankings but Makhachev isn't surprised about being snubbed of the No.1 spot. "About the rankings, I never expected justice and I still don't because we saw this in examples of our other fighters. [Magomed] Ankalaev, Petr Yan, saw the attitude towards us always. The main thing is I flew 13,000 kilometres, defeated their champion, they raised my hand and I flew home confidently with a belt," Makhachev told Igor Lazorin.
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Makhachev became the first man to beat Volkanovski in the UFC and ended his 22-fight unbeaten that dated back to almost a decade ago. Both fighters have since called for a rematch but Volkanovski will likely have to return to featherweight to defend his belt before facing Makhachev again.
When asked if his rankings snub if because of an agenda against Russian fighters, Makhachev added: "Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t play their games. I can’t say otherwise because if they keep (ratings) I don’t know if ratings have changed completely or not. But if it stays like that, how can I count differently? I don’t know.”
Makhachev's win against Volkanovski has been called into question by the featherweight champion's teammate Dan Hooker, who accused him of illegally using an IV to rehydrate after weighing in for the fight. Makhachev's manager has since denied the accusation that his fighter cheated, telling MMA Junkie: “We all know this is completely BS. The guy [Hooker] is a loser. He’s salty and just looking for attention, and that’s it."
Volkanovski also hinted that Makhachev used an IV in a recent interview, although the legitimacy of his accusations was unclear as he made them in a light-hearted manner. When asked how much he thought his opponent weighed in their fight, Volkanovski said on The MMA Hour: "I think he would have been around 178lb or 180lb. I've heard he gets up to around 182lb, you fill up pretty quick on the IVs and stuff like that. Maybe that's a little shot at him but, you hear whispers."
