Islam
Makhachev notched a career-defining win over
Alexander
Volkanovski in the main event of
UFC 294. He put a definitive stamp on a matchup
that was oh, so close in the first fight. With a spectacular left
high kick, Makhachev made quick work of Volkanovski and can now
cast his eyes on the future. In today’s Aftermath, we will be
looking at the left round kick from UFC 294, beginning with the
read from the first fight.
Making the read
Makhachev’s read on the left high kick was a fantastic diamond in
the rough. A fighter like Volkanovski doesn’t have many holes in
his game, but despite fighting southpaws like
Yair
Rodriguez,
Max
Holloway and Makhachev in their first fight, he hadn’t been
able to finish off the left high kick just yet.
To say that Volkanovski doesn’t know how to stop a high kick from a
southpaw is silly. Full credit goes to Makhachev for making the
read and picking up that Volkanovski really doesn’t like the left
kick to the body and creates an opening there for him.
Let’s rewind to the first fight. Makhachev had to deal with the
switch from southpaw to orthodox and vice versa from Volkanovski
all night. When he did manage to find the kick, it was when
Volkanovski was in orthodox. He would either step back and
Makhachev would find the kick during the switch or when Volkanovski
was inching in to set up the switch.