UFC: Betting On Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski

• Islam Makhachev is a -400 favorite over the #1 P4P fighter in the UFC, Alexander Volkanovski.
• Makhachev is a dominant grappler who is fighting in his natural weight class, while Volk is moving up.
• The fight is favored to end before the judges get involved, which reflects how much Makhachev is favored to win it.

LAS VEGAS - The title-holder superfight between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski sees Makhachev as a massive favorite for a fight between two titleholders.

Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski Odds

• Islam Makhachev -400
• Alexander Volkanovski +300

Makhachev is fresh off of a belt-claiming performance against Charles Oliveira, a fighter who had run through the rest of the top 5 at 155 lbs, and a fighter who Makhachev smashed with few problems.

Volkanovski is arguably the P4P best fighter in the UFC, but this could be a fight in which pounds – and stature – matters. Volkanovski is famously short, but also has a famously long reach. Despite his height disadvantage, he actually outranges Makhachev in terms of arm length.

Volk isn’t even the biggest guy in his own 145lb weight class, and now he’s fighting 10lbs up.

Even Volkanovski acknowledges that it makes sense for him to be considered an underdog, or a risky proposition in this fight.

“People saying this is a risk and all that type of stuff. Yeah, good. Just remember that I’m the guy taking the risks,” said Volkanovski on UFC Embedded.

Will Volkanovski vs. Makhachev Go The Distance?

• Yes +155
• No -205

The online sportsbooks do not believe that the fight between these two champions will go th distance.

One way or another, they favor an outcome that is determined before the judges get involved.

This is undoubtedly influenced by Makhachev’s prowess as a grappler. He’s not a fighter who will simply lay on opponents and establish control to win a fight on points.

Instead, Makhachev is always pressuring position and looking for a submission opportunity. His last non-finish win was more than three years ago.

Since then, he’s racked up five straight finishes, which consist of four submissions and one TKO.

Volkanovski, on the other hand, has gone to the judges’ scorecards in five of his last six fights – and those have all been at 145lbs.

Now, he’s moving up, and he’ll need to be able to send Islam Makhachev to the mat if he wants to reward underdog-backing UFC betting fans in this fight.

Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski face off at UFC 284, which starts on Saturday night but will likely bleed into Sunday for those on the east coast.