The Ultimate 2023 Fight Card

Islam Makhachev called his shot and followed through, venturing to Perth, Australia and defeating pound-for-pound king and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski to successfully defend his lightweight title for the first time.

The surging Russian standout showed his skills on the feet through the first three rounds, spending long stretches of the initial 15 minutes trading with Volkanovski and getting the better of the exchanges. While “Alexander the Great” had success of his own and showed an impressive ability to contender with Makhachev’s takedown attempts, the lightweight champ was just too much.

In the fourth, Makhachev timed a perfect level change that resulted in his climbing onto Volkanovski’s back and staying there for the duration of the frame. In the final frame, Volkanovski tried his damnedest to rally and finish, taking the fight to Makhachev and hurting him with a left hand late, finishing the bout in top position, much to the delight of the capacity crowd in Perth.

Order UFC 297: Strickland vs Du Plessis

Makhachev earned the unanimous decision win and successfully defended his title, but Volkanovski lost nothing in going 25 minutes with the lightweight ruler.

This was an incredible fight between two standout talents, and it’s going to be amazing seeing them continue to lord over their respective weight classes going forward.

Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko (UFC 285)

Alexa Grasso is the new UFC flyweight champion!

The Mexican challenger took full advantage of a tactical mistake by Valentina Shevchenko in the fourth round to secure the rear-naked choke finish.

WATCH: Grasso Becomes The Champ

This was an ultra-competitive fight the whole way through, with Grasso surprising Shevchenko in the first by fighting from a southpaw stance. While the champion turned to her grappling to build a lead heading into the championship rounds, Grasso remained focused and continued to make the most of her opportunities.

When Shevchenko missed a spinning back kick, Grasso instantly climbed onto her back and attacked the choke, getting her hooks in, flattening her out, and eventually drawing out the tap.

Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Geoff Neal (UFC 285)

Shavkat Rakhmonov just keeps winning.

The undefeated rising star picked up his fifth consecutive UFC win and 17th straight victory overall midway through the UFC 285 main card, getting the better of things in a competitive, tough fight against durable DWCS grad Geoff Neal. It was the toughest test of the 28-year-old’s career and despite some scary moments, he was able to pass.

In all three rounds, the ranked welterweights got after each other on the feet, with Rakhmonov offering greater variety and volume. Neal had him rocked early in the third, but couldn’t find the shot that put him down, resulting in Rakhmonov closing the distance and getting a chance to recover.

VIDEO: Sean Strickland & Dricus Du Plessis Get Into Fight In Crowd At UFC 296

Late in the frame, the undefeated “Nomad” hurt Neal with a clean right hand, compounding the punishment with knees to the body, yet somehow, the Fortis MMA man remained upright. With under a minute remaining and the pair battling along the fence, Rakhmonov latched onto a standing rear-naked choke and found the finish.

This was the most entertaining fight of the year thus far and elevates the stock of both competitors.

Dan Hooker vs Jalin Turner (UFC 290)

Dan Hooker and Jalin Turner teamed up for a thrilling, technical, chaotic punch-up on the pay-per-view main card on Saturday night.

Two of the tallest fighters in the lightweight division, the two men stayed just at the end of each other’s range for the duration, picking at each other with sniper fire and unloading bazookas whenever they got in close. After a close first round, Turner busted up Hooker in the second, hitting him with a high kick that would have put most people out. Instead, the New Zealander ate it, fired back, and nearly choked Turner out at the end of the round.

PART 1: See Where Things Stand In Each Division

Both men came out trying to finish early int he third, but as Turner ran out of gas, Hooker swarmed, running him to the ground and following into his guard. Turner did good work off his back, attacking with elbows and punches, but the City Kickboxing man kept him pinned to the canvas until the final couple seconds.

The judges were tasked with determining the victor, and when the scorecards came back, they came back split, with “The Hangman” coming out ahead in what was a fantastic back-and-forth battle.

Josh Emmett vs Bryce Mitchell (UFC 296)

It only took one.

Josh Emmett hit Bryce Mitchell with one right hand and the fight was over. The two men circled each other to start, looking for openings and opportunities, and when Mitchell threw a right hand, Emmett came over the top with a right hand that instantly shut off the Arkansas native’s lights.

What a knockout. What a way to kick off the pay-per-view. What a way to close out the year for Emmett after two straight losses.

Man.

Robbie Lawler vs Niko Price (UFC 290)

That’s how you close out a career!

Robbie Lawler got into a fist-fight with Niko Price and wrapped his Hall of Fame career with a knockout victory! You could not script it any better and every single person in the building — including the usually emotionless Lawler — was moved by the moment.

WATCH: Robbie Lawler Celebrates His UFC 290 Knockout Win

His fight with Rory MacDonald from UFC 189 was inducted into the Hall of Fame earlier this week and now that his career has come to a close, Lawler will likely take his place alongside of it in the near future.

What a way to end it!

Irene Aldana vs Karol Rosa (UFC 296)

Irene Aldana and Karol Rosa beat the heck out of one another for 15 minutes, throwing an insane number of strikes to set the Fight of the Night bar high heading into the main card.

Rosa opened the fight attacking Aldana’s lead leg, battering the recent title challenger for the opening five minutes. But in the second, the Mexican power hitter upped her pressure and volume, seemingly drawing level based on landing the heavier, cleaner punches. Both battered and swollen, neither showed any quit in the third, with Aldana hurting Rosa to the body and pulling away as the round progressed.

Somehow, they both stayed upright until the final bell, with the judges tasked with determining a victor for the first time on Saturday night. When the scores were added up, Aldana came out ahead, though Rosa’s stock should surely go up following an absolute banger like this one.

Cody Brundage vs Zachary Reese (UFC Austin)

Brad Katona is your TUF 31 bantamweight winner and the first person to win the long-running reality TV competition twice, making history by out-working Cody Gibson in an outstanding back-and-forth in Boston.

The tension from inside the house between the bantamweight finalists carried over into the Octagon, as they opened up by slinging hands at one another and never really stopped. The pace was incredible, even for bantamweights, with Gibson constantly pressuring forward and the Canadian doing well to find his own moments to land, including wobbling his American counterpart late in the second.

When one man found success, the other responded in kind, delivering an outstanding fight where both men showed they are capable of competing at this level. Down the stretch, Katona was the more effective man, again hurting Gibson late en route to earning a sweep of the scorecards and a second TUF trophy to add to his mantle.

Just an amazing fight between two absolute savages!

Uros Medic vs Matthew Semelsberger (UFC 291)

“The Doctor” is in!

Uros Medic announced his presence in the welterweight division with a third-round stoppage win over Matthew Semelsberger.

The two men got after one another in the opening frame, Semelsberger dropping Medic twice while eating a big upkick himself before the pace slowed in the second. Pressed by their respective corners to seize control of the fight in the final stanza, Medic did exactly that, stinging Semelsberger with short shots in the clinch before felling him with a spinning back elbow and pounding out the finish.

Fighting for the first time in well over a year, the Dana White’s Contender Series grad Medic is now 3-1 in the UFC with three finishes. The 30-year-old moves to 9-1 with the victory, while Semelsberger drops his second straight contest to fall to 11-6 overall.

Jeka Saragih vs Lucas Alexander (UFC Vegas 82)

She had to take a couple shots before settling in, but once Luana Santos got comfortable, she started to shine, resulting in an impressive stoppage win over Juliana Miller in the opener.

Miller pressured Santos right out of the chute, hitting the Brazilian with a handful of good shots to welcome her to the Octagon. The newcomer seemed to wake up soon after and took the fight to the recent TUF winner, slamming home heavy strikes that left Miller in rough shape along the fence, prompting referee Jason Herzog to step in and halt the action.

The 23-year-old is now 6-1 in her professional career and extended her winning streak to three with her first TKO finish. For Miller, it’s a second straight setback this year, with her record falling to 4-3 as a result.

Loik Radzhabov vs Esteban Ribovics (UFC 285)

Newcomers Loik Radzhabov and Esteban Ribovics opened up the show with a tremendous back-and-forth in the lightweight division.

Radzhabov came out firing to start, dropping Ribovics with the first right hand he threw and wobbling him again later in the opening round before turning to his wrestling. Things were progressing thew same way in the second until Ribovics dug a clean shot to the body, following with a right hand to the jaw that put Radzhabov on shaky footing.

In the third, Radzhabov opened up with more power shots, and while Ribovics was able to weather the shots, he continued to get taken down. Even when he had Radzhabov hurt late in the third, Ribovics was unable to capitalize, with the fighter from Tajikistan finding ways to clinch, scramble, and salt away the victory.

This was an excellent showing by each man in their shared first UFC appearance, with Radzhabov showing why he was a solid favorite even on short notice, and Ribovics elevating his stock even in defeat.

Jafel Filho vs Daniel Barez (UFC London)