Volkanovski 'definitely' thinks he beat Makhachev: 'Let's do the rematch'

After reviewing the tape, Alexander Volkanovski believes he got the best of Islam Makhachev.

Hours after losing Saturday's lightweight title fight at UFC 284 by unanimous decision in Perth, Australia, the featherweight champion took to Twitter to say he watched the contest and believed he won Rounds 2, 3, and 5 and should have therefore walked away as a simultaneous two-division titleholder.

Volkanovski also wrote he's willing to square off with Makhachev again "anywhere, anytime."

Makhachev came to a very different verdict after apparently watching the fight himself. He tweeted Sunday that he believes Volkanovski only won the last minute late in the fifth round when he dropped Makhachev and landed ground-and-pound shots.

The judges scored the fight 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 in favor of Makhachev, who was defending the 155-pound belt for the first time since winning it last October.

In his postfight interview, Volkanovski, who's from Australia, said he will compete at lightweight again but plans to return to 145 pounds to defend his belt next.

Volkanovski's next featherweight title defense is expected to come against Yair Rodriguez, who captured the interim belt with a second-round submission of Josh Emmett in the UFC 284 co-main event.

"The Great" fell short for the first time in his UFC career after scoring 12 straight wins in the Octagon. Volkanovski was riding a 22-fight overall winning streak heading into the Makhachev fight and hadn't lost a professional bout since 2013.

The bout between Makhachev and Volkanovski was the first time in UFC history that the top two pound-for-pound male fighters squared off. Volkanovski, who has been the featherweight champion since 2019 and has defended the title four times, was ranked No. 1, and Makhachev was No. 2.