Makhachev To Face Volkanovski In UFC 294 Rematch After Oliveira’s Withdrawal

Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski will rematch each other at UFC 294 after Charles Oliveira pulled out with an injury.

Makhachev and Oliveira were set to face each other on October 21st, 2023, in Abu Dhabi in a bout for the lightweight title. However, Oliveira withdrew after suffering numerous cuts near the eyebrow during some sparring, which required stitches. And now Volkanovski will have the chance to avenge his loss as he has agreed to step in with less than two weeks to go.

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

THIS IS NOT A DRILL 😱

Charles Oliveira is out of next Saturday's #UFC294 main event, @AlexVolkanovski is replacing in a rematch for the Lightweight title with @MakhachevMMA

[ @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/zR3Nlqzl7P

— UFC (@ufc) October 11, 2023

In their first encounter at UFC 284, Makhachev won via a unanimous decision. Thereafter, Volkanovski dropped back down to 145 pounds to defend his featherweight title as he beat the interim champion Yair Rodriguez with a third-round stoppage at UFC 290. Meanwhile, Makhachev has not fought since beating Volkanovski.

Full Card

Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker

Said Nurmagomedov vs. Muin Gafurov

Ikram Aliskerov vs. Warlley Alves

Tim Elliott vs. Muhammad Mokaev

Sedriques Dumas vs. Abu Azaitar

Jinh Yu Frey vs. Victoria Dudakova

Bruno Silva vs. Sharabutdin Magomedov

Mohammad Yahya vs. Trevor Peek

Anshul Jubli vs. Mike Breeden

Javid Basharat vs. Victor Henry

Nathaniel Wood vs. Muhammad Naimov