During a recent injury sustained while in training camp, former UFC lightweight champion Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira was forced to pull out of his rematch against Islam Makhachev. The latter currently holds the lightweight title in the UFC after defeating Oliveira last year. The injury, which looks like a laceration on the eyebrow, is what caused the withdrawal.
In a press conference, UFC president Dana White announced the actions taken by the former champ. He also added that featherweight champion Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski had agreed to take up Makhachev once again. Alex accepted the fight over a short period of 10 days.
This will be the second time this year that the two will meet again in the octagon. The main event and co-main event of UFC 294 completely changed after Dana’s statement, where he later revealed that Paulo Costa had also withdrawn from his fight against Khamzat Chimaev due to an elbow injury. In place of Paulo, UFC welterweight’s number-one contender and former champ Kamaru Usman has taken the fight in middleweight.
ARE YOU SHITTIN ME?!
Can’t wait to get to Abu Dhabi!!!! @ufc @USMAN84kg @KChimaev @alexvolkanovski @MAKHACHEVMMA #InAbuDhabi @VisitAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/AAVPRpXeRI
— danawhite (@danawhite) October 11, 2023
The Australian has a record of 26-2 and is coming off a knockout victory over Yair Rodriguez. In his YouTube video, Alexander revealed that all the pressure will be on Islam Makhachev.
After he admitted that the organization had reached out to him earlier for the fight confirmation. Which he obviously accepted, as he has been asking for a rematch. Later, he claimed to be the only fighter who would take a fight at such short notice. Alexander Vokanovski took the fight on 10-day notice and is expecting to shock the world. In the video, Alexander confirmed that he has not missed a day of training.
“I’ve learned so much from that fight. Crazy turn of events, it’s exciting for me and I hope it’s exciting for you guys. So let’s go and finish this guy, no pressure on me. All the pressure will be on him. I’m coming off the couch. You better do something about it,” he added.
Volkanovski seems unhinged by the fact that he is fighting on short notice. He sounds confident enough to make these 10 days productive. Khabib Nurmagomedov assured the fans once again that it would not be easy to beat the lightweight champion.
What happened during Alexander Volkanovski vs. Islam Makhachev 1?
The two champions had met earlier in Perth, Australia, for UFC 284. In which a close fight was displayed by both fighters, but in the end, Islam Makhachev took home the victory via decision. Islam, who did not have his training partner and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner, proved everyone who supported him.
Unseen footage of Volk after his loss to Islam at UFC 284 😡 pic.twitter.com/YJ3fZe8WiX
— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) October 12, 2023
The fight received a mixed reaction from the fighters due to the controversial victory. Some fighters had claimed that Alexander was robbed and that Makhachev had rehydrated himself using IV fluids. Khabib had earlier revealed that he was skeptical of Islam being able to condition his body prior to the fight. It has also come to the public’s attention that Alex has undergone minor arm surgery and is still in the rehabilitation process.
The UFC 294 is all locked and loaded, with these new matchups looking way better than the previous ones. The fight will go down in the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE on October 21, 2023.