Chained by the mythical Dagestani handcuffs, Volkanovski broke free like he was Harry Houdini, again and again.

The 34-year-old defended Makhachev’s takedowns almost at will, and when his back was taken, he stayed calm and arguably did more damage, peppering Makhachev with punches and egging on the crowd as he smiled for the cameras.

“I would have liked to say this message with the win,” Volkanovski said in a post-fight interview in the cage. “Keep challenging yourself. I’m a better fighter because of this.”

Indeed, when the UFC’s updated pound-for-pound rankings are released this week, it would be no surprise to see the Australian retain his No 1 spot.

No 2 Makhachev will expect to leapfrog Volkanovski to the top of the pile, but this was not a performance that screamed domination.

Two of the ringside judges had him winning only 48-47, taking three of the five rounds to two for Volkanovski, who himself thought it should have been the other way around.

“Just watched the fight, I definitely think I won [rounds] 2, 3 and 5,” he tweeted not long after leaving the Octagon. “Surprised I didn’t get my hand raised! Let’s do the rematch, anywhere, anytime!”

For the first time in a long time, Makhachev looked like he had been in a fight, his face bloodied and bruised. Volkanovski landed 70 significant strikes – the previous highest tally against Makhachev was 19.

Plenty of fans and media shared Volkanovski’s opinion, as did UFC commentator Joe Rogan, who was watching back home in Texas.

“Islam lost that fight. It seemed to me Volkanovski won three rounds,” he said during Sunday’s Joe Rogan Experience Fight Companion on YouTube.

“Oh my god. We were convinced, we might have to watch it. In my eyes it was 3-2 [to Volkanovski]. Oh my gods, this sucks. Listen to the crowd.”

The RAC Arena was in no mood to show nuch respect to Makhachev, and barely heeded Volkanovski’s call to give him a round of applause.

But at the end of the day, Makhachev (25-1) had his hand raised. A protégé of Khabib Nurmagomedov, he is now on a 12-fight winning streak, having obliterated almost everyone who has stepped across the cage from him.

While Volkanovski (25-3) suffered his first loss in the UFC, and saw a 22-fight win streak lasting more than 10 years snapped, he simply has to be commended for taking on the most difficult stylistic match-up possible, and at a higher weight class.

In other organisations, and under other rulesets like Asia-based ONE Championship’s, he would have won the fight, too.

Seeing him knock down Makhachev in the final minute of the final round, and rain down blows from the top while the Russian desperately tried to wrestle as he looked at the clock, was the defining image of the fight.

It was one of those rare fights in combat sports where the loser arguably gains more than the winner.

For whatever reason, Volkanovski had struggled to connect with a wider fan base so far in his career, despite his highly impressive achievements. This felt like a breakthrough moment, though when a true star was born, and not just in his home country.

While pound-for-pound rankings are merely ceremonial, and don’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things, it would be cruel to see Volkanovski drop one place after a performance that will go down in MMA legend.

The smarter move would be to book an immediate rematch, perhaps for International Fight Week in July in Las Vegas, where the judges might have seen things differently.

There’s no rush for Volkanovski to return to featherweight, either, with an interim champ crowned in the co-main event when Yair Rodriguez submitted Josh Emmett.

Let Rodriguez fight Max Holloway first. The former champ is ranked one place above the Mexican at No 1 in the division – though his three decision losses to Volkanovski, two of them comprehensive ones, might deter the UFC’s matchmakers.

Still, Volkanovski dared to be great, and deserves another shot at it. He truly could end up being remembered as the “GOAT” [greatest of all time] – something a win on Sunday would have gone a long way towards.

“He put the title on the line. Why do you think I was a massive underdog? But at the same time, I expected to win, so I’m not gonna say, ‘Oh, he was bigger’. Yeah, of course – you went up to lightweight,” Volkanovski told reporters after the fight.

“Pound for pound is a funny thing. Me going out there and winning would have shown why I’m that pound for pound, but you can see I could definitely win that fight.

“I definitely want that fight back.”