UFC 294 took place on Saturday from Abu Dhabi, UAE. It was an unusual night of fights due to short-notice replacements for both the main co-main events, plus a no contest in a feature light heavyweight bout due to an illegal knee.
Islam Makhachev Lands Brutal Head Kick to Knock Out Alexander Volkanovski
This time Islam Makhachev left no doubt. Makhachev dominated Alexander Volkanovski to defend his lightweight title against the featherweight champion who was moving up in weight and stepping in on short notice.
Makhachev explained after the fight that the gameplan was to start with leg and body kicks to open up the head kick and he did just that. Makhachev started the fight with a heavy inside leg kick and attacked with several body kicks before the fighters engaged in the clinch along the fence.
After breaking the clinch, Makhachev landed another solid body kick before a stinging left hand caught the Australian.
With two minutes left in the round. Makhachev then blasted Volkanovski with a beautiful head kick that landed flush on the temple. Volkanovski fell down to his right and Makhachev immediately attacked with brutal hammerfists that caused referee Marc Goddard stop the fight at 3:06 of the first round.
Makhachev has now defended his lightweight belt twice, both times against Volkanovski. The pair fought eight months earlier at UFC 284. Makhachev won that fight by unanimous decision, but Volkanovski finished the fifth round strong and some questioned whether the Australian had won that fight.
Makhachev won his thirteenth consecutive UFC fight as he improved to 25-1 overall. After the fight, UFC CEO Dana White indicated former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira would likely challenge next for the title.
Khamzat Chimaev Defeats Kamaru Usman By Majority Decision In Co-Main Event
Khamzat Chimaev utilized his wrestling in a dominant first round to secure what turned out to be a close fight with former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
In the first round Chimaev wasted no time shooting for a takedown after the fighters traded front kicks. Transitioning from a single-leg takedown attempt to take Usman’s back, Chimaev was able to force Usman to the mat one minute into the opening frame.
From back mount Chimaev flattened out Usman and landed some heavy hammerfists. Usman was able to recover his base in short order by getting back to his hands and knees but Chimaev maintained full back control for the remainder of the round.
With Usman standing up, Chimaev maintained back control and attacked with several rear naked choke attempts. With one attempt looking close, Usman dove to the ground in an attempt to slam Chimaev off his back, but Chimaev was able to maintain the position.
Chimaev continued to attack with short, heavy punches as he totaled about four minutes of back control time in the opening round. All three judges scored the first round 10-8 for Chimaev.
Usman found success on the feet in the second round as Chimaev slowed considerably. Chimaev landed a heavy body kick in the round, but two of the three judges scored the second round for Usman as he got the better of the striking exchanges.
Usman established his jab during the round. He also landed a stinging 1-2 with both the jab and straight right hand snapping Chimaev’s head back, forcing a retreat. Chimaev landed a takedown with 45 seconds left in the round but was unable to do any damage in the limited time.
The final round was extremely close as the first half of the round saw the fighters exchange heavy strikes. Usman appeared to rate a slight advantage by landing a few more shots.
Chimaev landed a double leg takedown halfway through the round and although he didn’t do much damage, he was able to control Usman flat on his back for almost two minutes. Usman escaped back to the feet with thirty seconds remaining as the fighters engaged in a wild flurry to close the fight.
The judges scored the majority decision win for Chimaev 29-27, 28-28, 29-27.
Illegal Knee Results In No Contest Between Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker
It was a disappointing ending to a marquee light heavyweight fight when Johnny Walker was deemed unable to continue by the cageside physician due to an unintentional illegal knee strike from Magomed Ankalaev.
Two minutes into the fight Ankalaev landed a cracking left hand to the body that had Walker backing up and wincing as he doubled over. It appeared Walker may have been playing possum, however, as Ankalaev advanced Walker then exploded by jumping high into the air looking for a flying knee that missed.
As Walker landed from the attack, Ankalaev took Walker’s back and the fighters ended up against the cage, with Walker’s down on one knee and Ankalaev controlling the Brazilian’s upper body in top half.
Ankalaev then stood up and landed an illegal knee to Walker’s chin while Walker was still grounded with his knee down. The referee immediately noticed the foul and called for a time out.
The ensuing moments were quite confusing. Walker initially appeared to be ok, looking as if he ate the knee well. However, the referee asked the cageside physician to examine Walker. The physician apparently asked Walker where he was and what round it was. Walker appeared confused and didn’t provide the answers the physician was looking for. On the physician’s recommendation, the referee then waved off the bout at 3:13 of the first round due to the unintentional illegal knee.
The weirdness continued as Walker didn’t seem to understand that the referee had waved off the bout and attempted to go after Ankalaev to continue fighting by walking around the referee. The referee then reached out to grab Walker, explaining he had waved off the bout. Walker then shoved the referee and protested the stoppage. With multiple cageside officials and security having entered the octagon, both Walker and Ankalaev tried to continue fighting in what was a bizarre scene.
With the situation on the brink of chaos, UFC CEO Dana White entered the cage to put an end to the disorder. At the post-fight press conference, White did not indicate whether there would be an immediate rematch although that seems the likeliest outcome.
Ikram Aliskerov Blitzes Warrley Alves With Flying Knee to Secure First Round TKO
Ikram Aliskerov has only fought twice in the UFC but has announced his presence in the middleweight division with his second early stoppage via strikes. His first UFC bout ended badly for Phil Hawes when Aliskerov blasted Hawes with a clean right hand that slept the American. This time it was Warrley Alves who took a beating.
It was a good start to the fight as both fighters traded aggressively with strikes. Alves had some success early with heavy leg kicks. But two minutes into the fight Aliskerov dropped Alves with a stiff jab. Aliskerov then went on the attack, landing a beautiful flying knee flush on the chin. On the replay you could see Alves’s eyes roll back, but the Brazilian somehow kept his feet. No matter. Aliskerov then went on the attack with heavy punches that finally dropped Alves and had the referee stepping in to call the TKO at 2:07 of Round 1.
Aliskerov improved his overall record to 15-1 with the victory.
Said Nurmagomedov Submits Muin Gafurov With Power Guillotine Choke
Said Nurmagomedov impressed in the opening fight of the main card by stopping Muin Gafurov just over a minute into the first round with a nasty power guillotine choke. As the round started, Nurmagomedov showed excellent striking technique by throwing a couple nasty lead leg front kicks to the head that just barely missed. Moments later he connected with one clean to Gafurov’s face. Gafurov reacted by charging forward aggressively, throwing wild punches. Gafurov rushed into a single leg takedown attempt and Nurmagomedov immediately put on the tight guillotine choke to draw the quick tap. Nurmagomedov (18-3 overall) improved his UFC record to 7-2 with his fifth finish.