Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter Charles Oliveira was forced to withdraw from his rematch against the Russian Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. promptly talks about the changes in the UFC 294 card, which, even despite the flow of sad news (due to health problems of Paulo Costa, the Brazilian's fight against the star Khamzat Chimaev is in doubt) remains the main MMA tournament of the year.
A year later in the same place. In October 2022, Makhachev moved Oliveira to Abu Dhabi and became the new UFC lightweight champion. Declassing in one and a half rounds is not how both the fans and the Brazilian himself imagined the fight… I wanted to see another meeting between Khabib Nurmagomedov’s successor and the ex-belt holder who set many records.
As a result, the promotion organized a rematch. Makhachev defeated rising featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, while Charles left no chance for one of the main contenders, Beneil Dariush. According to UFC management, there was no more worthy opposition than Oliveira for Makhachev.
But circumstances intervened in the Russian-Brazilian confrontation. Promotion chief Dana White announced this morning that Oliveira has pulled out of UFC 294 after suffering a severe cut to his eyebrow in training. And even though a couple of days ago the Pole Mateusz Gamrot claimed that he had become a reserve fighter for the upcoming “title”, it is not he who is flying to the UAE, but the Australian Volkanovski, who did not miss the chance to fight with Islam again.
In general, what awaits us revenge! However, with a different opponent.
“
"One phone call. That's how we do it, brother. One fight falls and we end up making another — it will be one of the most anticipated rematches of all time in this weight class.»
Dana White in conversation with ESPN
Oliveira's first comment “
”I pulled out of the UFC Abu Dhabi lineup because of what happened in my last training session in Brazil. I can't fly with such a serious cut. I needed nine stitches, I’m not sure I can heal it in such a short time and show a great result. Many people are judging me now, but I can’t go into such an important fight not 100 percent prepared. I'm sorry.»
So, the Russian and the Australian already met on February 11 at the Wolf territory in Perth. The main event of the 284th numbered tournament ended with the victory of Islam by a unanimous decision of the judges, which provoked not only discussions about the “drip” that the Russian allegedly used (Dan Hooker from the Wolf team never responded to the baseless accusations), but also a judicial scandal… Many they were sure that Alex, who was inferior in size, still put the finishing touches on Makhachev.
However, the unspoken rule says that in a close title fight, the victory is given to the champion — this is how the native of Makhachkala defended the title for the first time.
“
"I just rewatched our fight. I definitely won the second, third and fifth rounds. I'm surprised they didn't raise my hand. Let's have a rematch anywhere and anytime.»
Alex Volkanovski after the first fight with Makhachev at UFC 284
This was also the first time in the history of the promotion when the octagon was divided by the second and first ranking numbers, regardless of weight categories (P4P). It is logical that if the Russian wins, he would become the best on the list. But he didn’t! To everyone’s surprise, the Australian remained at the top, which he has now lost to the “greatest” Jon Jones with the UFC heavyweight belt.
“
“No matter how, I beat Volkanovski. I am a champion, I am the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world (P4P), and everyone should now call me not just a champion, but the best in the world. I promised the media I would knock him out and I landed quite a few punches, but Volkanovski is very strong. Now I am the best fighter in the world, but he entered the fight in this status.»
Islam Makhachevo in a close fight against Volkanovski
- Makhachev will postpone his trip to the welterweight division. The queue has already lined up impressive: Volkanovski, Oliveira, “the most dangerous bastard” Justin Gaethje — enough until the end of 2024;
- Oliveira won't be able to fight for the title for another six months. And in the event of a sensation from Wolf, the situation for the Brazilian could become even worse;
- The featherweight and lightweight fighters are also in sadness. After all, the divisions are stagnant again;
- Ilia Topuria, the No. 1 contender in the featherweight division, is out of work for now. The Spaniard with Georgian roots was supposed to fight Wolf in January in Canada, but it is unlikely that the Australian will agree to return to the cage so quickly after a business trip to the Emirates;
- Obviously, they are not happy with what happened in the UFC. Yes, the champion vs. champion poster is cool, but Volkanovski is nowhere near Oliveira in terms of popularity.
However, the main fight of the evening was saved, and this is the main thing — now all attention is focused on the co-main event, where Chimaev may need a new opponent.
Poll Did the replacement in the main UFC fight upset you? 294?
Yes, I wanted to see Islam’s fight against Charles50%No, Volkanovski deserved a rematch at least 50%VoteVoted: 166 October 11 , 10:17