Dana White explains why Charles Oliveira is out of UFC 294 and how the new main event came together

UFC president Dana White has explained why Charles Oliveira is now out of the UFC 294 main event.

Just a matter of hours ago, news broke that Charles Oliveira will no longer be competing at UFC 294. Instead, it’ll be Alexander Volkanovski who challenges Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight championship. It serves as quite the turn of events in the division, with many wondering what exactly went down to warrant ‘Do Bronx’ pulling out.

RELATED: ISLAM MAKHACHEV SET TO REMATCH ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI AT UFC 294 WITH CHARLES OLIVEIRA OUT

Now, we have some answers courtesy of Dana White, who addressed the matter during his post-Contender Series media scrum.

Charles Oliveira shares photos of the cut that forced him out of UFC 294 😞 #MMA #UFC294 pic.twitter.com/QVQLXtxxGM

— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) October 11, 2023

White confirms Oliveira is out

“Yes, all of that is true [Oliveira out, Volkanovski in]. He uh, round five of sparring last night, he’s supposed to jump on a plane today [to Abu Dhabi]. He splits his eyebrow wide open, and had it stitched up last night. Obviously can’t fly out there with that, you know what I mean? They didn’t call us, we would’ve had him go to a plastic surgeon who would’ve sewn it from the inside out and get that thing done the right way. These guys never call us like they should when something happens, they called us after they get it stitched up. But, on the flip side too, I could see him not wanting to risk it, getting a shot like this.”

White went on to say that he would’ve liked to have spoken to the powers that be in Abu Dhabi before it was formally announced, noting that it supposedly came out of Oliveira’s camp.

We’ll keep you updated with any new developments on this story throughout the week.

How do you feel about the fact that Charles Oliveira is out of UFC 294? Let us know, BJPENN Nation!