UFC 294: As It Happened

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the United Arab Emirates on Saturday as UFC 294 was held at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The stacked card was headlined by the second meeting between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski’s Lightweight Championship rematch, with co-main event Kamaru Usman vs Khamzat Chimaev also providing a tasty matchup for fight fans.

Islam Makhachev celebrates first round KO over Alexander Volkanovski (Image – Eurosport)

Muin Gafurov vs Said Nurmagomedov – Bantamweight

The bantamweight bout opened up the main card and Nurmagomedov returned to winning ways in dominant fashion with a first-round submission. He caught Gafurov in a guillotine choke that instantly ended the fight.

Ikram Aliskerov vs Warlley Alves – Middleweight

Aliskerov was originally slated to face off against French fighter Nassourdine Imavov, but with Imavov dropping out due to visa issues, winner of the third installment of *The Ultimate Fighter 3* Warlley Alves stepped in for his first middleweight fight since 2014.

Aliskerov dropped the Brazilian with a jab and landed a massive jumping left knee. With Alves visibly hurt, he overwhelmed him with a flurry of lefts and rights that secured him the first-round finish.

Magomed Ankalaev vs Johnny Walker – Light Heavyweight

With both fighters incredibly close to securing a title shot, the UFC matchmakers made the wise decision to put the pair in the octagon for what looked to be a surefire barnburner. However, the fight was deemed a no contest in the first round.

Ankalaev kneed Walker in the jaw whilst he was down which led to the doctor stopping the fight as he believed Walker was concussed. Chaos ensued following the call as security stormed the octagon to separate the two fighters who both went for each other, looking to keep the fight going. It escalated so much so that UFC President Dana White had to step into calm things down.

The crowd wasn’t happy that the fight was called short, with the ruling of an unintentional foul for the knee looking like a controversial decision.

UFC president enters octagon to calm fighters down (Image – MMA Fighting)

Khamzat Chimaev vs Kamaru Usman – Middleweight

Following the withdrawal of Paulo Costa due to the Brazilian having to undergo elbow surgery, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ Kamaru Usman stepped up to the plate to challenge rising star Khamzat Chimaev.

Chimaev landed an early takedown and took his back early on. He was landing punches and was looking for potential chokes but nothing materialised, but it was ultimately a dominant round that many may have seen as a 10-8.

The second round was a lot closer, with Chimaev working Usman’s body with some kicks and Usman landing some heavy punches. Chimaev once again took Usman down late in the round but wasn’t able to make anything of it, with that round potentially going either way.

Usman started the final round strong, landing some good shots, but Chimaev would land yet another takedown. Both fighters were going at it late in the round which had the crowd going but the fight really could have gone either way.

In what was a hard fight to score for the judges, it was given as a majority decision to Chimaev, with all three judges giving the first round as a 10-8 in favour of the 29-year-old.

Post-fight, the Russian born fighter touched on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas and his hopes for the war to end.

Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Volkanovski – UFC Lightweight Championship

The first fight between the two was a thrilling contest, and the rematch looked set to be more of the same as the Aussie stepped up to replace Charles Oliveira who withdrew due to injury.

The fight lasted just over 3 minutes however, as Makhachev landed an inch-perfect head kick and followed it up with an overwhelming ground and pound to retain his lightweight belt.

Makhachev didn’t name any names for who he wants to fight next, but the rematch with Charles Oliveira or a first-time fight against Justin Gaethje all look to be possibilities.

Volkanovski will be moving back to featherweight to continue to defend his Featherweight championship, with Volk naming Georgian rising star Ilia Topuria as someone he would like to face in January.