Russian MMA fighter Islam Makhachev left behind the confrontation with the Australian Alexander Volkanovski. If the first meeting left someone with questions, then the second turned into a defeat, after which the athletes’ paths can no longer cross in the octagon. After all, the day before, Wolf lasted less than a round: after a missed kick to the head (football player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was sitting in the front row, accurately appreciated!) the underdog fell to the floor and was beaten by the UFC lightweight division champion to a technical knockout. Excuses that Alex left on short notice are not accepted: the second fighter in the ranking of the best regardless of weight categories (P4P) himself “fitted” into this adventure, only he is to blame for how disappointing the trip to Abu Dhabi turned out to be.
Volkanovski, by the way, admitted that he was hasty in his decision to replace the Brazilian Charles Oliveira 10 days before UFC 294. While Islam called the Australian a real champion and wished his opponent health, because such defeats “definitely do not lead to good things.”
Immediately after the end of the main event, “The Most Dangerous Gangster” Justin Gaethje burst into the news agenda, expressing his readiness to fight with Makhachev and get even for his defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov three years ago.
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"He can be beaten. I'm going to give it my all, just like always. I should definitely be next: number two in the ranking, knocked out Dustin Poirier. Oliveira is higher than me in the rankings, but he already lost to Makhachev, and I didn’t fight him. This will be a fresh confrontation that fans want to see. Yes, Islam is not Khabib, but I still want to sort this issue out,” ESPN quotes the American.
However, Dana White is in no hurry to organize the Makhachev-Gati fight. He admits that Islam is not in the shadow of Khabib, and wants to see a rematch with Oliveira, whom the Russian declassed exactly a year ago:
“»Probably the next opponent is Oliveira. I believe that this fight should take place. But to such questions It’s difficult for me to answer right now. We’ll decide when everything becomes clearer to everyone.”
What does Makhachev himself think? The Russian was the first in the history of the league to fight three fights in a row against opponents from the top 3 of the P4P rating and does not lose hope of rising to the welterweight division to become the fifth double champion in UFC history. In his own weight class, he wants to see a clear contender No. 1 and calls on the league leadership to once again bring Oliveira and Gaethje together (the lightweights already met in May 2022, then the Brazilian “moved over” Highlight in less than a round).
Praised fellow American Kickboxing Academy gym member for Saturday's performance, UFC Hall of Famer and current commentator Daniel Cormier:
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"Islam has made a serious statement. He performed phenomenally, leaving not a single question. Because we saw Kamaru Usman fight Khamzat Chimaev for all of 15 minutes. Volkanovski was fresh, but he was simply knocked out. Makhachev landed a superb high kick in the first round and celebrated the success. It was amazing! «
Pays tribute to the main character of UFC 294 and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling:
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«Islam, wow! I'm looking forward to your new performance! I think that the next fight will be Makhachev — Gaethje. It seems to me that the UFC will not dare to give him Oliveira as his opponent.”
The names of the haters are known to everyone; their attacks on Islam were expected. Thus, Conor McGregor, who has repeatedly insulted the Russian, pointed out on social networks Volkanovski’s problems with defense and Makhachev’s blows to the back of the head:
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"Stopping this with a warning or deduction of points when the Wolf is actually out of the game is a difficult task. But there were reasons for this, 100%.»
The former Bellator champion, now competing in the UFC and waiting for a fight with the Irishman Michael Chandler, also distinguished himself. He writes that in 2024 he will end the confrontation with Makhachev ahead of schedule:
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"The plan for 12 months is to knock out Conor and knock out Islam. See you soon, guys. Islam did not fight with dangerous guys, did not participate in “dog fights,” but only fought with good boys. "Dog Fighting" — his kryptonite.”
Mature former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos also believes that he will inflict Makhachev’s second defeat in his professional career:
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“If you look at the ranking of lightweights, I don’t see anyone except me who could defeat Islam. And he knows it.»
The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, warmly spoke about the success of the Russian in Abu Dhabi on his Telegram channel:
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"I’ll separately note the brilliant victory Islam Makhachev over Alex Volkanovski. He confidently defended his championship title by knockout in the first round and put an end to the history of the confrontation. Congratulations, Islam! «
Finally, Nurmagomedov was delighted with the success of his successor. After all, the day before Islam not only won triumphantly, but also surpassed Orel in the number of victories in the world's main MMA promotion (14 versus 13). As the champion himself admitted, Khabib sent him a message with the text “What kind of bomb are you? Alhamdulillah, Jr. Clearly formatted.”