He used to be known as Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé. No more.

Islam Makhachev well and truly stepped out of his mentor’s spotlight on Sunday at UFC 284 with a unanimous decision (48-47 x2 and 49-46) win over a relentless Alexander Volkanovski in Perth.

Makhachev had already put the UFC on notice last year when he dominated Charles Oliveira to claim the lightweight champion but this was only further proof of just how special the 31-year-old can be.

But for Volkanovski, even in defeat it was yet another example of just how well-conditioned the featherweight champion is and the Australian said his lightweight quest is not over yet either.

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“I’m a man of my word. I’ll be back in the lightweight division,” Volkanovski said post-fight, while also confirming he will defend his featherweight belt against Yair Rodgriguez next.

In case you missed it, Rodriguez claimed the interim belt with a second-round submission victory over Josh Emmett in the co-main event.

As for the main event, the crowd at RAC Arena erupted as Volkanovski walked out, with Michael Bisping describing the reception as “ridiculous” — in a good way of course.

The Australian found some early success after following up a left hand with a 1-2 that briefly had Makhachev stumbling, with Bisping declaring it would have given Volkanovski “confidence”.

“Makhachev is waiting… he can’t wait too long,” added Dominick Cruz in commentary.

The champion didn’t wait. Instead, he drove Volkanovski towards the fence and was able to show off his dominant grappling skills to control the remainder of the round.

Volkanovski though did not look too worried, even smiling as he defended the rear-naked choke.

So much of the talk before Sunday’s fight was about how Volkanovski would handle Makhachev’s takedown attempts and Bisping said the Australian “answered” that “question” early as he got back to his feet.

Volkanovski though found himself at risk of ending up back on the canvas once more soon after Makhachev almost dropped him and had the Australian retreating with a flurry of strikes.

“I don’t know how Volkanovski stayed on his feet from that one,” Cruz said.

In what Bisping described as an “incredibly close round”, Volkanovski was able to do well to keep the fight on the feet, with Cruz crediting the Australian for “very good” grappling defence.

Volkanovski even attempted a few takedowns of his own but was unsuccessful.

Makhachev, on the other hand, successfully took the Australian down midway through the fourth round with a perfectly-timed move.

The Russian then took his back and got the body triangle in place before going for the rear-naked choke, although Volkanovski again visibly did not look to worried.

Instead, the Australian even looked to be enjoying himself in a position that would have had nearly all of his rivals terrified and on the brink of defeat.

“You have to appreciate that. That was ninja-like, like a python,” Bisping said, adding that Volkanovski’s cardio was “ridiculous” as the Australian took the fight to a final round.

In the end though a valiant effort — and a big right hand from Volkanovski late — was not enough as Makhachev, described as “sniper-like” by Bisping, took a unanimous decision win.

It may have not been the victory Volkanovski was after but he still brought the Perth crowd to its feet, given a standing ovation after a brave effort as he took Makhachev until the very end.

RODRIGUEZ BOOKS MEETING WITH VOLKANOVSKI

Earlier, Volkanovski learned who he will face at a later date to his featherweight crown, with Yair Rodriguez making a statement to claim the interim belt with a second-round submission victory over Josh Emmett.

Rodriguez came out firing early with a series of brutal kicks, following up his best body shot of the bunch with a strong right hand to put Emmett under plenty of pressure early.

Emmett though made Rodriguez respect his power too, heating up late in the first round and landing a series of hard punches in what was an action-packed opening to the fight.

Rodriguez once again had the better early exchanges of the two in the second round, landing a big knee and then following it up with some body kicks, giving Emmett little time to recover.

The Mexican then rocked Emmett with an elbow but continued to do all the damage with laser-sharp kicks in what was a dominant and clinical performance from range.

In the end it was a triangle from Rodriguez which ended up forcing Emmett to tap, setting up a showdown with Volkanovski for the featherweight crown.

RISING AUSSIE SENSATION MAKES BIGGEST STATEMENT YET

Elsewhere, rising Australian UFC welterweight star Jack Della Maddalena answered the biggest challenge of his career in emphatic fashion, securing a first-round submission win over Randy Brown.

The Perth native was riding a wave of momentum heading into Sunday’s fight against Brown — his toughest opponent yet — having won 13 fights in a row, including seven first-round finishes.

But Della Maddalena made easy work of Brown, sending him crashing to the canvas with a big right hook before following it up with a rear-naked choke.