Despite two very short-notice re-schedulings, the main events of UFC 294 were action-packed
Published : 23 Oct 2023, 07:28 PM
At UFC 284, it took UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev five long rounds to best Alexander Volkanovski, the current UFC featherweight champion. It only took him one at UFC 294 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The night saw several Russian fighters headlining a sublime event with Makhachev, Chimaev, Ankalaev, Aliskerov, Nurmagomedov, and Mokaev on the fight card.
After eight months, the two champions finally clashed again, with Volkanovski taking the fight on very short notice as Charles Oliveira was sidelined by injury. Oliveira is also due for a rematch against Makhachev after their fight for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship title last October.
Volkanovski showed he was not one to shy away from a challenge, taking on the clash without a full camp and just 11 days to prepare. However, the fully prepared Makhachev dominated, knocking Volkanovski down with a clinical head kick in the first round and finishing the fight shortly after with powerful strikes on the ground.
This loss marked the first time Volkanovski has been finished in a bout since his fourth fight in 2013. Volkanovski and Makhachev are still UFC's top two male pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but Volkanovski stated after the match that his days as a lightweight were over and he would return to defending the featherweight title.
In the co-main event, Khamzat Chimaev (13-0) secured a future title shot by beating Kamaru Usman, the former welterweight champion. Like Volkanovski, Usman took on the fight at short notice after Paulo Costa, the original challenger, dropped out due to injury.
In the first round, Chimaev immediately took him to the ground, spending most of it on top working for a submission. Usman was able to stand for the second as Chimaev started pacing himself but was again taken down in the third, finally losing by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28).
Despite the defeat, Usman pushed the undefeated Chimaev during their contest. With a 13th consecutive win under his belt, which ties him for third all-time in UFC history, Chimaev will likely face new middleweight champion Sean Strickland soon.
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker was ruled a no-contest due to an unintentional illegal knee landed by the former on Walker's head in the opening round. Walker did not appear dazed and wanted to continue but was ruled out by the ringside physician.
Ikram Aliskerov defeated Warlley Alves by TKO, knocking him down with a jab, a jumping switch knee, followed by a combination of punches in the first round. The strong performance makes Aliskerov a valid middleweight contender.
Said Nurmagomedov recorded his ninth career first-round finish by defeating Muin Gafurov with a superb guillotine submission only 73 seconds into the bout.
Muhammad Mokaev defeated veteran Tim Elliott with an arm-triangle choke in the third round. Mokaev efficiently escaped several close submission attempts from Elliott and landed a nasty slam on Elliott's head in the second round. But his wrestling and ground game allowed him to control most of the fight.
Shara Magomedov won his highly anticipated UFC debut by unanimous decision against Bruno Silva. With an impressive display, Magomedov was able to land 215 total strikes. Though Silva was able to time Magomedov's kicks with hard right-hand counters, Magomedov's strikes proved too much for him, and he eventually took the fight to the ground. But Magomedov excelled on the floor, too, landing elbows and even upkicks from his back.
Though the UFC 294 looked shaky at points due to several high-profile injuries, veteran fighters saved the event by rising to the occasion and stepping into the octagon. It proved a showcase for the dominance of Russian fighters, who are expected to rule the divisions in the coming years.
This article is part of Stripe, bdnews24.com's special publication focusing on culture and society from a youth perspective.