Alex Volkanovski confirmed to fight Islam Makhachev for dual titles at UFC 284 in Perth

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Alex Volkanovski Islam Makhachev
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Alex Volkanovski will have the opportunity to be the second fighter in history to combine the UFC featherweight and lightweight titles in the main event at UFC 284 in Perth next year.

The Australian's bid to equal Conor McGregor and hold both titles simultaneously has been confirmed for the UFC event to be held at Perth's RAC Arena on February 12 next year.

Volkanovski is the UFC featherweight champion and he will be attempting to add Makhachev's UFC lightweight crown to his list of titles.

MORE: McGregor calls out Volkanovski as double-champ status awaits Aussie star'Can't wait to prove people wrong': Volkanovski ready to embrace Makhachev challenge

The 34-year-old is currently the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC and would be attempting to become just the fifth simultaneous double champion in the company's history.

Makhachev called out Volkanovski for the dual-title bout after defeating Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi - with the Australian accepting the challenge.

After the verbal agreement of the fight, Volkanovski stated he was going to defeat Makhachev and unite the two UFC belts.

"I'm looking forward to people thinking, 'He's not going to be able to handle the power, he's going to get taken down, he's not going to be able to get back up,'" Volkanovski said.

"I can't wait to prove people wrong as each second goes by.

"If people are going to doubt me again, that's beautiful."

McGregor also called out Volkanovski ahead of the Australian's wish to emulate the Irishman's feat of holding both the featherweight and lightweight crowns.

With Volkanovski-Makhachev set to be the co-main event at UFC 284 in Perth, Robert Whittaker's bout with Paulo Costa will be the other headline fight of the event.

Confirmed fights at UFC 284 in Perth

Alex Volkanovski vs. Islam Makhachev - CONFIRMED

Now the number one pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, the featherweight champ will appear at UFC 284.

And Aussie fight fans are in for a treat after new lightweight champion Islam Makhachev called out Volkanovski following his win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280.

Volkanovski was in attendance and quickly accepted the offer, with the pair agreeing to the now-confirmed to fight in Australia.

MORE: 'Can't wait to prove people wrong': Volkanovski ready to embrace Makhachev challenge

Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa - CONFIRMED

MORE: Whittaker locked in to face Costa at UFC 284

The Reaper headlined the UFC's last visit to Australia but it didn't go to plan on that occasion as he was dethroned as middleweight champion by Israel Adesanya.

Since then, Whittaker has shown he's still a force at 185 pounds, separating himself from the rest of the division not named Adesanya.

Paulo Costa had been campaigning for a fight with Whittaker in what promises be a fan-friendly addition to the UFC 284 card.

Tyson Pedro vs. Zhang Mingyang - CONFIRMED

The light-heavyweight has now recorded two first-round knockout wins in a row since making his long-awaited return from injury earlier this year.

Pedro had been teasing a fight announcement on his Instagram and it's now been confirmed he'll face Zhang Mingyang.

The Chinese fighter will be making his UFC debut and is on a nine-fight winning streak, all via first-round stoppage, to earn his shot in the promotion.

Jack Jenkins vs. Don Shainis - CONFIRMED

Aussie featherweight Jenkins will make his debut in the UFC in front of his home crowd when he takes on 31-year-old American Don Shainis.

Jenkins recently earned a UFC contract via the Contender Series and the former Eternal MMA champion is keen to put his stamp on the division.

Josh Culibao vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan - CONFIRMED

Another Australian featherweight, Culibao impressed in his last outing, an entertaining victory of Seung Woo Choi.

Baghdasaryan is on a seven-fight winning streak and should present an interesting challenge.

Justin Tafa vs. Parker Porter - CONFIRMED

Now 3-3 in the UFC, Tafa will be looking to build some momentum when he takes on 37-year-old American Parker Porter.

Tafa will be looking to get the fans on their feet with his heavy hands.

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Kieran Francis Photo

Kieran Francis is a senior editor at Sporting News Australia.