Watch: Aussie’s ‘Rocky’ comeback after sickening groin strike

The reigning featherweight champ and pound-for-pound king will move up in weight to challenge the Russian phenom for the lightweight title.Victory over the Dagestani destroyer – the protege of MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov – will see the Aussie become only the fifth fighter in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously. UFC 284AUSSIE’S INCREDI-BALL COMEBACKAussie Joshua Culibao survived one of the nastiest groin strikes in UFC history to submit kickboxing champion Melsik Baghdasaryan.Culibao was lucky to make it out of the first round, wearing a full-force spinning back kick to the groin with the Armenian digging his heel into the Aussie’s protective cup.Such was the force of the strike Michael Bisping queried if Culibao would be able to continue in the fight before questioning why the Aussie didn’t take the allowed five minutes recovery time.Culibao complained to his corner he couldn’t breathe when he hit the stool between rounds. “It was pretty bad. It was one of those ones where you’ve got to sorta feel around to see if they’re still there,” Culibao said in the post-fight interview.The tough Aussie rallied in the second, landing on Baghdasaryan’s back after a scramble and sitching up the rear-naked choke. That takes Culibao’s unbeaten UFC streak to three fights.TRANSLATOR GAFFEWild man Kleydson Rodrigues just put his hand up for a $50k bonus after icing Aussie Shannon Ross.The ferocious win comes with a caveat though, with the Brazilian coming in heavy after missing weight.The UFC is copping heat after the KO artist wasn’t afforded a post-fight interview because, wait for it, there is no Portuguese translator in Perth.Rodrigues has the potential to be a Flyweight contender and scored the stoppage of the card so it is a very poor oversight from what Dana White would say is the ‘best-run sporting company on the planet’.UFC 284 FULL CARDMain cardIslam Makhachev (c) vs Alexander Volkanovski (c) – for the lightweight titleYair Rodriguez vs Josh Emmett – for the interim featherweight titleJack Della Maddalena vs Randy BrownJustin Tafa vs Parker PorterJimmy Crute vs Alonzo MenifieldPrelimsTyson Pedro vs Modestas BukauskasJoshua Culibao def Melsik Baghdasaryan via sub (rear-naked strangle)Kleydson Rodrigues def Shannon Ross via TKOJamie Mullarkey def. Francisco Prado via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)Elves Brenner def Zubaira Tukhugov via SD (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)Jack Jenkins def. Don Shainis via UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)Konklak Suphisara def. Elise Reed R2 0:44 via Sub (Rear-Naked Choke)Blake Bilder def. Shane Young via UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)WHEN IS UFC 284 – MAKHACHEV VS VOLKANOVSKI?The UFC’s second pay-per-view card of 2023 takes place on February 12 at the RAC Arena in Perth.A full house is expected, meaning just over 15,000 will be in attendance for the mouth-watering champion vs champion bout.HOW CAN I WATCH?UFC 284 – Makhachev vs Volkanovski will be shown on Main Event. Details on how to stream it via Foxtel or Kayo here. Updates to story Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au