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Islam Makhachev recently made headlines after sharing that he doesn't believe the UFC is doing a great job promoting his upcoming title defense against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284. UFC president Dana White has fired back at those claims, asserting that the lightweight champion doesn't know what he is talking about.
During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, the promotion's frontman was asked about Makhachev's comments. White responded:
"Yeah, that’s not true. First of all, I’ve talked to Islam. First of all, who interviewed him? Who translated for him? I mean, the guy speaks Russian. Taken out of context like most of the things in the media... First of all, he lives in Dagestan. What does he know about what’s going on for the promotion of the fight? He doesn’t know anything."
White added:
"It’s going to be one of the top-five biggest fights of all-time. First of all, the event sold out, right? You couldn’t get a ticket if you wanted to get a ticket in Perth, and this thing is trending right now to be the biggest pay-per-view event in Australia... So to say that the fight hasn’t been [promoted], that’s just ridiculous. That’s what you call some internet BS."
Catch Dana White's response to Islam Makhachev below (1:55):
While it remains to be seen if the fight will end up as one of the five biggest bouts of all time, it should perform strongly due to what is at stake.
Alexander Volkanovski has an opportunity to become the fifth double champion in UFC history, while Islam Makhachev will look to become the No.1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
What did Islam Makhachev say about the promotion of UFC 284?
Leading up to his first title defense at UFC 284, Islam Makhachev voiced his displeasure with the promotion of the fight. Speaking to R-Sport Russia, the lightweight champion stated:
"I see that it is not such a big promotion. Dana White himself has some problems. He does not pay much attention to this fight. In terms of pay-per-view, yes, more could have been done."
He added:
"I only saw Volkanovski once, in Sydney. A tour could be organized around the world, a conference could be held in America."
