Despite F1 Star’s Encouragement, UFC Champ Alex Volkanovski Suffers Defeat Against Islam Makhachev in Controversial Title Fight

What an exciting weekend it has been for sporting fans. Especially for UFC enthusiasts, the UFC 284 proved to be a crazy ride of emotions with a touch of controversy. With the competition returning Down Under in Perth, many Australian fans were excited to see Alex Volkanovski win his 2nd UFC belt. F1 star Daniel Ricciardo was also among these supporters. Although, despite Ricciardo’s encouragement tweet Volkanovski suffered defeat in the controversial title fight.

Ricciardo had tweeted, “Awesome fights so far. Perth looks great 😊😍 it’s now time, lets go @alexvolkanovski #UFC284”. He certainly was excited to watch “Alexander The Great” beat defending featherweight champion Islam Makhachev.

But it did not turn out that way for his fellow Australian. Makhachev was perhaps a little too much for Volkanovski as he defended his title by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46). Many cited this decision as controversial. Although, according to MARCA, Makhachev was more efficient in his takedowns.

Therefore, it may be possible that the judges ruled in the Russian fighter’s favor. Islam Makhachev pulled off 4 of 9 takedowns. Meanwhile, Alex Volkanovski failed to pull off any of his 4 attempts. Regardless, Daniel would be disappointed to see Alexander lose out on maintaining his 12-fight winning streak.

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Ricciardo has been extremely passionate about his love for UFC and several other sports. Watching MMA fights and interacting with fighters and fighting enthusiasts is a regular pastime for the Aussie. He even once asked UFC president Dana White to draft him in after a really bad race. Still, Daniel does his best to follow and learn about MMA.

Before Alex Volkanovski, Which Fighters Stimulated Daniel Ricciardo’s Passion for UFC?

When Daniel Ricciardo finds something interesting, he develops a different level of passion and dedication for the same. His sports following also experiences the same. There is an interesting anecdote about the Honey Badger discovering how exciting UFC can be.

According to a YouTube feature video by UFC, Daniel answered 8 questions about the sport. Among this, he revealed the first-ever fight he watched. It was UFC 116 that was headlined by Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. The Aussie driver explained how all the exciting fights got him interested and since then, his interest never plateaued.

Danny Ric also revealed some of his favorite fighters that he supported initially. Among this list were Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit. Ricciardo also mentioned he liked Cub Swanson. For Condit, Daniel cited how he liked the American fighter’s unorthodox style. He mentioned how Condit could get dirtier as long as the fight went along.

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It is rare to see the kind of passion Daniel Ricciardo brings from any F1 driver. The Australian driver digs deep to learn about the sport and follows it closely. What do you think about the Honey Badger’s passion for UFC?