Islam Makhachev secured his first title defense as lightweight champion against Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 284 from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

Nothing about it was easy. Volkanovski put forth a valiant effort and made the champion work for it in a decision that the Australian crowd wasn't too happy about.

The question of what Volkanovski would look like as a lightweight was answered pretty quickly. The featherweight champion showed his power in the opening minutes of the fight backing up Makhachev with heavy punches.

But we also saw that his takedown defense wasn't enough to keep the fight standing the whole time. Makhachev was able to take advantage of Volkanovski's aggression and ended up taking The Great's back and looking for a rear-naked choke for the back half of the round.

Through two rounds, Volkanovski had more success than just about anyone against Makhachev:

Makhachev started to lean more heavily on his wrestling as the fight progressed. However, he didn't put in a ton of damage when he took down his opponent and Volkanovski continued to land meaningful strikes that made the rounds interesting.

He dropped Makhachev in the second half of the final round, finishing the fight in top position and going for the finish.

The win brings some stability to the lightweight division. Since Khabib Nurmagomedov retired in 2020, Charles Oliveira has won the belt, vacated it because he missed weight and ultimately lost his opportunity to reclaim it against Makhachev.

Now, the Dagestani fighter has the opportunity to establish himself as the true king of the division. It started with sending the king of the featherweight division back to 145 pounds.

Volkanovski was attempting to join the club of two-division champions in the UFC's history.

That's a goal that also happens to be on Makhachev's list. He's only notched one title defense, but his coach, Javier Mendez, recently laid out his future plans, and it isn't just limited to being the 155-pound champion.

"So he's going to train, he's going to clear out the division like he wants to do, and then he is going to go for the welterweight title, and whoever that person at that particular time is going to be, I feel he's going to beat," Mendez said in an appearance on Submission Radio (h/t Jesse Holland of MMA Mania).

So far, he's used his strength and wrestling to dominate lightweight opponents. After starting his UFC career 1-1, he has ripped off 12 straight wins. Before beating Volkanovski, he racked up five consecutive finishes.

With wins over Volkanovski and Charles Oliveira in his last two fights, it's hard to envision him not being the favorite against any lightweight looking to take his title.