Alexander Volkanovski's coach details why UFC was right to not reward P4P No.1 rank to Islam Makhachev

Despite losing to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284, Alexander Volkanovski remains the UFC's No.1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman shared why he believes the promotion made the right decision.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Bareman stated:

"The pound-for-pound fighter is a people's choice award, in my opinion. Is it Islam? It's definitely not Islam. Is it Israel? It's definitely not Israel. Islam doesn't have, in my opinion, the credentials and good enough stand-up, refined enough stand-up skills to be pound-for-pound. Israel doesn't have refined enough wrestling skills for him to be pound-for-pound No.1."

Bareman continued:

"I know someone that does have really refined stand-up, equally as good wrestling and wrestling defense, who probably deserves that No.1 spot, and has fought the who's who in his division, defended many times, and tried to go up in weight, and that guy is Alex Volkanovski, who I think is the rightful pound-for-pound king, even despite the loss."

While Islam Makhachev was able to defeat Alexander Volkanovski via a unanimous decision, his inability to finish the featherweight champion likely prevented him from becoming the No.1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. The lightweight champion weighed in on the rankings, claiming there is a bias against Russian fighters.

Watch Eugene Bareman's full comments on the pound-for-pound list below:

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Eugene Bareman weighs in on allegations that Islam Makhachev illegally used an IV

Following UFC 284, Dan Hooker took to Twitter to accuse Islam Makhachev of illegally using an IV for his bout with Alexander Volkanovski. City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman shared his thoughts on the accusations levied by the No.11-ranked lightweight.

Bareman noted that they have reliable, but not concrete, information that one of the two American Kickboxing Academy fighters on the UFC 284 card illegally used an IV. He noted that it was unclear if it was Makhachev or Zubaira Tukhugov before adding:

"There’s enough information there for to be like, ‘Eeeh…’ This is why Alex and the rest of the team are laughing because we’re like, something’s going on there, we just can’t reliably say what it is. It’s frustrating because the whole sport should be played on an even playing field... If anyone on my team was doing something illegal, then I would immediately distance the team from that person. Maybe something will come out in the wash."

Bareman added that fighters are allowed to use up to 100 ml of saline in a 12-hour period. However, he questioned why a fighter would stop at 100 ml if using any saline. Islam Makhachev's team quickly denied the allegations as his co-manager, Rizvan Magomedov, claimed that Hooker was simply a jealous loser. It is unclear if anything will come from the accusations.

Watch Eugene Bareman's full comments below: