UFC 294 ended quickly with a head kick from Islam Makhachev to Alexander Volkanovski. Prior to that fight, Kamaru Usman put up a good effort, but couldn't stop Khamzat Chimaev from earning the biggest win of his career. Makhachev and Chimaev put their dominance on display on Saturday, as did a number of rising prospects. Here's what Brett Okamoto and Marc Raimondi are taking away from a dramatic event in Abu Dhabi.
Makhachev beat Volkanovski at UFC 284 in February this year for the UFC lightweight championship belt.
The 35-year-old Australian only found out two weeks ago that he was taking to the ring again to face Makhachev after the Russian’s original opponent, Charles Oliveira, pulled out through injury.
It means that he has had to undergo a dramatic drop in weight to make the cut to fight on just 12 days’ notice.
Volkanovski praised Makhachev for a great set-up on the knockout and said he hoped to be able to fight Ilia Topuria at featherweight in January. He had a big cut on his right eyebrow that might determine whether he’ll be able to return that quickly.
Volkanovski was getting so much praise for taking the fight on short notice.
On Saturday, Makhachev immediately asserted his offense by targeting Volkanovski's legs with leg kicks. That escalated to a stinging body kick and the head kick that knocked Volkanovski out on his feet, before some punches made the ref step in and end the fight at the 3:06 mark.
The second Makhachev produced the emphatic victory, he brought his index finger to his lips in attempt to silence any critics.
"Credit to Islam — great kick," said Volkanovski, the featherweight champion, after taking the fight on only 12 days notice.
The co-main event could produce just as many fireworks as the headliner. Chimaev has not fought in a year as he waited for a potential title bout and he draws a former champion in his return. Chimaev was given a headlining role opposite an exiting Nate Diaz in September 2022, but badly missed weight and caused a full reshuffle of the bout card. He easily submitted Kevin Holland in the first round, but has since moved full time to middleweight in pursuit of gold. He faces Usman, who is fresh off a pair of losses to Leon Edwards with the welterweight title at stake. The first of those losses came via last-minute head kick knockout in a fight he was winning the entire way. Usman looks for a fresh start at 185 pounds where UFC president Dana White has said the winner will get the next shot at middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
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