Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski are set to run it back in the main event of UFC 294.
The folks at the Overdogs Podcast just announced that Charles Oliveira is out of his lightweight title fight on Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi against Makhachev, and Volkanovski has agreed to step in on short notice to rematch Makhachev in less than two weeks. ESPN has since confirmed the news.
Can confirm: Charles Oliveira is OUT of his #UFC294 title Fight. UFC working on the rematch between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski as the new main event.
News was first reported by Overdogs podcast on instragam.
Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski fought back in February in the main event of UFC 284 in Perth, Australia. The fight was very competitive but it was Makhachev who got the decision to defend his belt for the first time. Since their matchup, Volkanovski beat Yair Rodriguez by TKO at UFC 290 in July, while Makhachev hasn’t fought since.
Islam Makhachev (24-1) is coming off the win over Volkanovski and before that, to win the title, he scored a submission win over Charles Oliveira. The Dagestani native is riding a 12-fight win streak and has notable wins over Bobby Green, Dan Hooker, Thiago Moises, Drew Dober, and Arman Tsarukyan among others.
Alexander Volkanovski (26-2) defended his featherweight title back in July with a third-round TKO over Yair Rodriguez. Prior to that, he suffered his first UFC defeat at the hands of Makhachev in his attempt to be a champ-champ. Volkanovski has defended his featherweight title five times and holds notable wins over Max Holloway, three times, Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, and Korean Zombie among others.
With Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski 2 now official, UFC 294 is now as follows:
