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As arguably the biggest show of 2023 thus far, UFC 284 had high expectations going in and didn’t fail to deliver.
UFC 284: Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski saw six of 13 bouts end inside the distance. While the main event wasn’t one of them, there was plenty of action on tap.
In the end, just two fighters were given $50k performance bonuses, but the truth is that more could’ve been given, too.
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Here are the five best finishes from UFC 284: Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski.
#5. Joshua Culibao defeated Melsik Baghdasaryan in a UFC featherweight bout
Australia’s own Joshua Culibao received a big reaction for his clash with Melsik Baghdasaryan, but he wasn’t favored to win coming into the bout.
Most observers figured that ‘The Gun’ would hold the advantage standing. Sure enough, he largely picked Culibao apart in an impressive first round. In the second round, though, he made one simple error, and it ended up costing him the fight.
When Culibao caught an attempted leg kick and threw a jab at Baghdasaryan, ‘The Gun’ slipped to the ground. In his attempt to get up quickly, he turned to his knees – the opening that ‘Kuya’ needed.
Culibao leapt onto the striker’s back, sunk in a deep rear-naked choke, and immediately synched it in perfectly to force ‘The Gun’ to tap out.
It was the kind of result that probably wouldn’t happen again if these fighters were to face off another nine times, but for Culibao, that didn’t matter.
This was a big win for the Aussie to take his overall UFC record to 3-1, and it was definitely one of the more impressive finishes at last night’s event.
#4. Kleydson Rodrigues defeated Shannon Ross via KO in a UFC flyweight bout
The fastest finish at last night’s event came from flyweight prospect Kleydson Rodrigues. He needed just 59 seconds to turn out the lights on Shannon Ross, and probably would’ve taken a $50k bonus if he were eligible.
As it was, the fact that the Brazilian missed weight by 2 pounds took the shine off his victory slightly, but if he can keep up this form while making weight, he could be a future contender in this division.
‘KR’ looked ridiculously explosive, launching into Ross with some fast, crisp strikes from the off. A body kick was the beginning of the end for the Aussie, as he doubled over for a split second. From there, Rodrigues went to town.
He opened up with a wild combination, glancing with a spinning back kick before unloading with more crazy punches that saw Ross simply wilt.
Essentially, finishes inside the octagon don’t come much better than this. Based on how little time Rodrigues needed to dispatch Ross, hopefully the UFC can bring him back for another fight quickly.
#3. Jack Della Maddalena defeated Randy Brown via submission in a UFC welterweight bout
Australian welterweight prospect Jack Della Maddalena had a lot of hype coming into his bout last night, as he’d reeled off three wins in a row via KO to begin his UFC career.
His fight against Randy Brown looked like a potential banana skin for him. But, in the end, not only did the Aussie win, but he made it look easy too.
After exchanging some early strikes, Della Maddalena basically wrecked ‘Rude Boy’ with a savage right hand, dropping him face-first. The fight was essentially over from there, but referee Marc Goddard decided to give Brown a chance. However, he was unable to take it.
After eating a series of hammer fists from the Australian, Brown ended up scrambling to his feet, but gave his back in the process. That allowed Della Maddalena to sink in a fight-ending rear-naked choke.
Nobody was really surprised to see Della Maddalena win, but whether anyone expected him to win via tapout was another thing entirely. In the end, it wasn’t a shock to see him given a $50k bonus for his efforts.
Essentially, this was another super-impressive showing from the Aussie. Hopefully the UFC can get him back in action soon, ideally against a ranked foe.
#2. Justin Tafa defeated Parker Porter via KO in a UFC heavyweight bout
When the UFC announced that the heavyweight bout between Justin Tafa and Parker Porter would be shown on this weekend’s main card, it was hard not to be a little concerned.
After all, while it felt like the fight could make for fireworks, it also sounded like the kind of bout that could easily descend into a dull, 15-minute slopfest.
Thankfully, though, Tafa never allowed that to happen. Instead, ‘Bad Man’ needed just over a minute to turn out the lights on Porter, and he was unlucky not to receive a $50k bonus for his finish.
Very little had happened in the bout when Porter made the error of charging forward with his hands down. Despite being the bigger man, Tafa also looked to be quicker, something that showed when he nailed Porter coming in with a clean left hand.
The American fighter was basically out right away, but Tafa had time to land one more big shot that sealed the deal, leaving Porter to crash to the mat.
Channeling his inner Mark Hunt, ‘Bad Man’ didn’t even need to follow up. This was a wonderful knockout from him and while he’s never likely to be a title contender at heavyweight, he’ll probably be kept around by the UFC for a long time while he’s capable of this type of finish.
#1. Yair Rodriguez defeated Josh Emmett via submission for the interim UFC featherweight title
The best finish on offer last night – and the best performance overall outside of the main event – came from Yair Rodriguez.
‘El Pantera’ absolutely demolished the tough Josh Emmett to claim an interim featherweight title. Next, hopefully the UFC will set up a unification bout between him and Alexander Volkanovski in the near future.
Outside of what looked like more of a slip than a knockdown in the first round, the fight was all Rodriguez. He hammered Emmett’s body with brutal kicks, landed a bunch of knees from the plum clinch, and was happy to throw his trademark low percentage leaping shots that didn’t often land cleanly.
The end didn’t come in the way that many people – Rodriguez included – could’ve predicted, though. After landing a flying knee, ‘El Pantera’ found himself taken to the ground, but he quickly began to make Emmett honest with a series of elbows from his back.
From there, he quickly locked up a triangle choke largely from nowhere. With the hold seemingly tight, Emmett was forced to tap for the first time in his career.
This wasn’t a flawless showing from Rodriguez per say, as he did take some hard shots, but overall, he was clearly the better fighter and more than earned his $50k bonus.
Can he beat Volkanovski? Only time will tell, but he definitely deserves a shot after this showing.
