Islam Makhachev Dominates in Brutal Fashion, Cements Status Among UFC’s Best

Islam Makhachev has long been hailed as the next Khabib Nurmagomedov, but after Saturday’s UFC 294 event in Abu Dhabi, there is reason to believe he may be even better than his predecessor.

Makhachev was back in action in the event’s headlining attraction, defending the lightweight belt that his friend and training partner Nurmagomedov once held, against the UFC’s reigning featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski.

It was the pair’s second meeting after Makhachev defeated Volkanovski with a contentious decision this past February. The outcome of that first fight has been debated ever since, but the second time around, Makhachev put a decisive end to their rivalry, felling the featherweight champion with a deftly timed head kick in Round 2.

It was one of the most stunning finishes of the year so far.

“We always did this in the locker room, in training,” Makhachev said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, breaking down the finishing sequence. “[My coaches] push me very hard. That’s why it happened today.”

Makhachev’s (25-1) knockout win over Volkanovski (26-3) is arguably the best victory of his career. Volkanovski entered the fight as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound fighters and has never lost as a featherweight. Beating him is a massive achievement for any fighter.

It bears mentioning, of course, that Volkanovski stepped into Saturday’s rematch on a mere 10 days’ notice, replacing Makhachev’s original opponent, Charles Oliveira, who was forced off the card with a cut.

While Volkanovski deserves plenty of credit for taking the fight, and can hardly be faulted for losing, the way that Makhachev won renders the short-notice circumstances somewhat irrelevant. It’s not as though he wore Volkanovski out over a few rounds, capitalizing on the fact that the featherweight champion didn’t get a full camp. He knocked him out inside a round with an expertly set trap that could have just as easily occurred in a fight that both men had spent months preparing for.

Volkanovski himself seemed to recognize this and was quick to give the lightweight champion props before laying out plans to head back down to featherweight.

“Great setup, good kick,” Volkanovski told Cormier after Makhachev’s post-fight interview. “I don’t like losing. It hurts me, but he’s a great champion.

“My job here [at lightweight] is done for now.”

While Volkanovski’s time as a lightweight may have come to an end, Makhachev’s job as the champion of the division has only just begun.

Having put his rivalry with Volkanovski to bed, he will now need to shift his focus to a growing queue of dangerous contenders, including Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Mateusz Gamrot, all of whom have legitimate claim to a title shot. Dustin Poirier, Beneil Dariush and even Conor McGregor will also have their sights set on the Russian.

UFC president Dana White said after the fight that Oliveira is the most deserving, per CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri.

It remains to be seen which fighter will get the opportunity to vie for the lightweight belt next, but the champion, much like his mentor Nurmagomedov, was adamant in his post-fight interview that he doesn’t care who he fights.

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has also said he doesn’t care who he defends his title against next, but after the UFC 294 co-main event, we have the answer to that question.

The next middleweight title shot will go to the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev, who picked up the biggest win of his career with a decision defeat of former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the penultimate bout of the night.

Chimaev (13-0) deserves a ton of respect for beating Usman (20-4). However, Usman stepped into their fight on even shorter notice than Volkanovski, replacing Chimaev’s original opponent Paulo Costa just over a week out from fight night.

The fact that Chimaev could not finish the former welterweight champion—despite a lopsided first round—casts some doubt on his longstanding reputation as a future champion. There is no question that he’s a world-class fighter, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that he can be beaten, especially if he can be taken into the later rounds.

In fact, it’s arguable Usman could have won their fight had it been a five-rounder—particularly if he’d had a full camp.

Needless to say, Chimaev will have plenty of questions to answer when he steps into the Octagon with Strickland—who has precisely the skill set to drag the Russian into a long, grueling fight—but in MMA, sometime all it takes to justify the hype is one highlight-reel strike or well executed submission.

Makhachev proved that in Abu Dhabi, and it’s possible Chimaev will too when he gets his title shot.