MMA
UFC 294: What a rush! Volkanovski fell, Chimaev defeated a legend and the birth of a new star. See all the finishes
European combat sports fans had a harvest on Saturday. The UFC did visit Abu Dhabi, but that meant a European-friendly time for the UFC 294 gala. Stars such as Islam Makhachev, Alexander Volkanovski, Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev were in action. What did the tournament look like?
European combat sports fans had a harvest on Saturday. The UFC did visit Abu Dhabi, but that meant a European-friendly time for the UFC 294 gala. Stars such as Islam Makhachev, Alexander Volkanovski, Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev were in action. What did the tournament look like?
UFC 294 – Prelims
The prelims card wasn’t very attractive by name. For Czech fans, the names of Sedriques Dumas, who defeated Matej Peñaz in a UFC contract fight, or Javid Basharat, who fought in the Octagon, might have said something.
But there was no boredom, even though the wait for the first finish was quite long. For example, debutant Shara Magomedov did his best to entertain himself and the audience, moreover, he defeated his opponent unanimously on points, so he had the joy of victory as a bonus. He is now 12-0, only the second time he has not won by KO/TKO, but only on points.
It’s worth noting that Magomedov recently defeated Mikhail Ragozin, whose name has been linked to the Octagon. But his opponent now was Bruno Silva, who notched his fourth loss in his last five fights in the UFC.
Russian beauty Victoria Dudakova jumped into her second bout in the organization. At 24, she stepped on the 14-years more experienced Jinh Yu Frey and notched another win as she’s now 7-0. However, her opponent must be worried about her future, losing for the fourth time in a row.
Next up was a duel between Nathaniel Wood and Muhammad Naimov, which like all previous matches ended on points. This time it was Naimov who rejoiced in victory, registering his second win in the UFC.
The first finish came in the fourth fight
It wasn’t until the fourth bout on the prelims card that offered the first finish. It was taken care of by Mike Breeden, who knocked out Anshula Jubli in the third round. The Indian scored the first defeat of his career, it was Breeden, on the other hand, who reversed a three-fight losing streak to get back on a winning streak.
But then the aforementioned Dumas went into action. He didn’t make it through his first fight in the UFC after beating Peñaz, but now he scored his second win and is making amends for his initial hesitation. This time he was no match for Abu Azaitar, who lost on points.
Basharat followed with Victor Henry, but unfortunately there was no winner. In the second round, the former Octagon prospect kicked his opponent in the groin and the fight was stopped. However, Basharat remains undefeated.
The next fight already had a winner. It was Trevor Peek, who matured against Mohammad Yahya and after his first career loss is back on a winning streak (9-1). Yahya, however, has nothing to be ashamed of in his UFC debut, although he is definitely disappointed with the loss after five wins.
The card closed with a clash of generations. The talented and lauded Muhammad Mokaev (23) challenged the 13-years older Tim Elliott and continues his hobby of picking up wins. Elliott, in fact, was pinned in the third round on an arm-triangle. He notched his fourth win in the UFC and has a record of 10-0.
UFC 294 – Main Card
The main card opened with two first-round finishes
The main card started in style. Two intriguing fighters with a lot of potential faced each other. Said Nurmagomedov (17-3) faced the challenge that Muin Gafurov (18-5) was about to present. But would the fight last who knows how long? It didn’t.
At 1:13, it was over when Gafurov frantically ran into a guillotine and Nurmagomedov had no trouble finishing the fight. So, after his unexpected loss to Jonathan Martinez, he made amends.
Gafurov wasn’t so happy, he was upset after the fight. It was his second fight in the UFC, and he lost his first.
The second fight of the UFC 294 main card didn’t last too long either. In fact, it was only less than a minute longer than the first, even though it featured two great fighters. Specifically, Ikram Aliskerov, who has racked up 14 wins so far, losing only to Khamzat Khimaev, and Warlley Alves.
It’s worth noting that Chimaev has said of Aliskerov that he is the toughest opponent he has ever fought. And Alves recognized why that was the case when he first ate a hard jab, followed by a jumping knee, and that was the beginning of the end when it was all over at 2:07.
The Brazilian notched his third straight loss and his record deteriorated to 14-7, with the UFC at 8-7. Yet in 2015, he was able to defeat the likes of Colby Covington.
Aliskerov picked up his 15th career win and second in the UFC and after the fight he asked for a fight with a ranked opponent, as he would like to fight his way into the top 10 of the middleweight division. Will he get it?
The battle for Prochazka without result
While Jiri Prochazka’s battle with Alex Pereira is not scheduled until November, Magomed Ankalaev’s duel with Johnny Walker in Abu Dhabi was on the agenda. Whoever wins could claim a title shot, ideally against Procházka.
Both fighters have even commented on the Prochazka vs Pereira duel and revealed their predictions, but it seems that neither will be completely right. The reason is simple. Because neither won and the UFC will have a lot to deal with.
Ankalaev started the fight better, Walker tried to outpoint his opponent. When Ankalaev landed, Walker pretended he was hit hard. On one occasion in particular, it almost gave him the win when he simulated feeling it after a low blow and the Russian got caught. Only the Brazilian missed the surprise punch.
Later, Ankalaev pushed Walker to the net and tried to hit him. However, there was an illegal head kick and that was the beginning of the end. The game was stopped and the match was abandoned. The referee ruled it a no contest.
Walker and Ankalaev, however, continued to jostle in the cage for a while and seemed intent on continuing the fight. But they had to settle for the way things turned out, which is a big disappointment for everyone.
Chimaev defeated the UFC legend on points
One of the highlights of the night more or less lived up to expectations. A rising star faced a UFC legend. Kamaru Usman took a last minute risk and put on a not bad performance at all, only Khamzat Chimaev was better and beat the former dominant welterweight king.
The Chechen native dominated the first round. He didn’t let the Nigerian nightmare get anywhere. He quickly herded Usman to the fence, where he got on his back and dominated for the full five minutes. He threw punches, tried to set up a rear-naked choke, but his opponent defended well.
The second round was a little different. Except for the final seconds, when Chimaev took the fight to the ground, it was staggered and Usman had the upper hand, landing one good combination that rocked his opponent. In addition, it was becoming more and more apparent that he was tiring of the mounted body-lock in the first round and his reactions were getting slower.
But then came the third round, and in that round it was obvious that Usman ideally had to finish Chimaev. But that didn’t happen. He had the upper hand in his stance, he was unleashing different combinations, you could see that he was a bit better conditioned. But about halfway through the round, another takedown came and decided the fight.
Usman got up at the end and tried to end the fight, but he didn’t have time. Chimaev won on points, scoring the most valuable scalp of his career.
Two judges saw Chimaev win 29-27, one judge even saw it a 28-28 draw.
Makhachev stopped Volkanovsky in the first round
Even the main event of the UFC 294 gala had to be saved on short-notice. This time it was Alexander Volkanovski, who filled in for Charles Oliveira. Islam Makhachev thus had a tough rematch ahead of him.
He dominated the first match with Volkanovski on points and it was the toughest duel of his career. Now, however, they both had experience of how strong their opponent is and what works for whom. The Australian was at a disadvantage through not having had a training camp, but he was all the more hungry for it.
This time, however, it wasn’t a five-round battle. Makhachev had the slight upper hand from the start of the match and delivered a head kick with less than two minutes to go that was the beginning of the end. Volkanovski went down after it and the Dagestani went for the finish.
Makhachev thanked Volkanovski afterwards for the fight and praised him as a true champion who never gives up. The Australian earned the applause of the audience for his courage.
And what’s next? Volkanovski will likely return to defend back to featherweight, Makhachev declined to mention an opponent he would like to challenge. He says he’ll take whoever the UFC offers him.
Source: UFC, Twitter
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