Alex Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev appeared to confirm the UFC 284 main event after the latter's title victory at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.
Makhachev became UFC lightweight champion when he submitted Charles Oliveira with an arm-triangle choke in the second round.
After the victory, Makhachev's trainer and mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, said he wanted to prove his protégé was the pound-for-pound best fighter in the UFC by taking on current number one, Volkanovski.
The featherweight champion, who was in Abu Dhabi as a backup fighter for the main event, has made no secret of his wish to challenge for the 155-pound title and UFC boss Dana White has expressed his interest in that fight.
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The UFC has confirmed it will be returning to Australia for the first time since 2019 when it heads to Perth for UFC 284 on February 12 (Feb. 11 in the US) and it looks as if we'll get a champ versus champ main event.
Asked about Nurmagomedov's comments and whether he had a message for Volkanovski, Makhachev invited him into the cage.
"I didn't see this short guy, bring him here," he told the fans in the Etihad Arena.
After Volkanovski made his way into the octagon, Daniel Cormier asked the Aussie his thoughts on the potential matchup.
"Let's do it," Volkanovski said.
"The lightweight [title] on the line, pound-for-pound number one on the line."
Volkanovski enters the Octagon to accept Makhachev's challenge for the lightweight title 👀 #UFC280 pic.twitter.com/VyNdFDLbgc
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 22, 2022
Makhachev, 31, is now on an 11-fight winning streak in the UFC, while his stoppage of Oliveira brought to an end the Brazilian's run of victories, also at 11 fights.
Volkanovski is on quite the run of his own - his victory over Max Holloway in July, a third over the Hawaiian former champion, was his 12th since entering the UFC and his fourth defence of the 145-lb title.
The 34-year-old hasn't fought on home soil as champion and, should the fight get made, will be backed by a vocal home crowd in Perth.
Earlier this week, the UFC confirmed former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will take on Paulo Costa in the only other confirmed bout for UFC 284 thus far.
