Last Time In Abu Dhabi

It was all so simple. Islam Makhachev was to defend his belt in a rematch against Charles Oliveira, who months earlier ran through Beneil Dariush to establish himself as the No. 1 lightweight contender, and in the co-main event, Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa would settle their beef with plenty of middleweight title implications in the balance. 

Then, Oliveira suffered a cut in training that would not heal in time for the fight, and Costa had complications with his surgically repaired elbow that forced him out of action, as well.

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And then… is that… Alexander Volkanovski’s music? 

The featherweight champion, fresh off a dominant knockout win over Yair Rodriguez to cap International Fight Week, accepted the chance to fight Makhachev for the second time in eight months. The two went toe-to-toe in Perth at UFC 284 with the lightweight title on the line, and the judges gave Makhachev the razor-close nod. Volkanovski, desperate for double-champ status, didn’t care about the fact that he was grilling steaks and drinking some beer. He saw a chance at greatness, so he and his team hopped on a plane to the desert. 

While the months following Makhachev’s close decision win in Perth were filled with debate about the tallies on the scorecards, the lightweight champ put all questions to rest within three minutes of the first round of the rematch. 

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Volkanovski started well-enough, stuffing a Makhachev takedown early and looking like what we’d expect from “The Great.” However, soon enough, Makhachev uncorked a head kick that left the Australian wobbling. A few follow-up punches later, and Makhachev won, aptly raising his index finger to his lips, quieting all doubters. The win was Makhachev’s second title defense and perhaps the one to push him over the edge in the mind of the more doubtful fans.  

Propsects Shine Bright

Chimaev is by no means a prospect, but his win over Kamaru Usman certainly showed that he was certainly ready to take another step into title contention with his hard-fought win over one of the best to do it. 

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Elsewhere on the card, Ikram Aliskerov announced himself as a force to watch, knocking out Warrley Alves in the second minute of the first round with a fabulous flying knee. The win was Aliskerov’s second in as many Octagon appearances. Flyweight phenom Muhammad Mokaev aced another test as well, outworking Tim Elliott for the better part of three rounds before securing a submission with two minutes to go. Finally, Shara “Bullet” Magomedov made his hotly-anticipated UFC debut in the evening’s first fight, getting past Bruno Silva via unanimous decision.