Stephen Thompson expertly breaks down why Islam Makhachev's head-kick on Alexander Volkanovski was there "all day long"

Islam Makhachev silenced all the doubters as he defeated Alexander Volkanovski via first-round knockout following a perfectly timed head-kick to retain his lightweight championship this past Saturday at UFC 294.

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson, an expert in this area of combat, recently weighed in and expertly broke down why the head kick was available for the lightweight champion to take advantage of. 'Wonderboy' posted a reel to his Instagram account, where he mentioned how the Dagestani's strategy of attacking the body played a factor:

"We're gonna talk about why this head-kick was there all day long! Islam Makhachev was constantly going to the body during this fight. Those hand start to drop down lower to the body cause they're worried about that body kick. So he was constantly throwing the front kick and of course the low leg-kicks."

Stephen Thompson also mentioned that the lightweight champion was effective with his head kick because he struck 'Volk' over his glove. He mentioned that the technique was another factor in the Dagestani being able to land the head-kick drop the featherweight champion the way he did, saying:

"In kickboxing, when you're sparring, we get so used to using that entire glove to protect your entire head. But when you wear MMA gloves, you don't get that effect because the glove is a lot smaller, you don't cover as much surface of your noggin as you would if you had a big kickboxing glove on."

It remains to be seen who Islam Makhachev will fight next, as Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje appear to be the front-runners for a title shot.

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Islam Makhachev wants an opportunity to become a two-division UFC champion

Islam Makhachev appears to be eyeing a move up to 170lbs as he recently expressed interest in challenging the winner of Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington for the welterweight championship.

While speaking to ESPN, the reigning lightweight champion said he believes he matches up well with both Edwards and Covington and wants to prove that in a champion vs. champion bout. He mentioned that he gave Alexander Volkanovski an opportunity to achieve double champ status and is hopeful that the UFC will extend that same opportunity to him, saying:

"[Leon] Edwards vs. Colby [Covington] - I really believe I can beat [the winner]. I gave a chance to a guy from another division to come to my weight and to try to take this belt, and he lost. I want my chance too."