The stakes are high and legacies are on the line after a reshuffling of the UFC 294 main and co-main events give fans a special night of fights when the UFC returns to Abu Dhabi on October 21.
Following an injury to Charles Oliveira, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski stepped up on 10 days’ notice to challenge Islam Makhachev in a rematch for the UFC lightweight championship. The co-main event finds former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman moving up a weight class on short notice to face the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev after Paulo Costa was forced out after underdoing elbow injury.
Volkanovski will be in pursuit of history as the current featherweight champion looks to become a two-division champ on his second try against Makhachev. The last time these two squared off, Makhachev won a unanimous decision but Volkanovski’s late adjustments saw him pick up momentum while leaving many curious about how a rematch would play out.
Now they get to find out.
Makhachev is riding a 12-fight winning streak and has been relatively dominant over the past eight years with wins over Charles Oliveira, Drew Dober, and Arman Tsarukyan along the way. He won the title by submitting Oliveira in 2022 and successfully defended it against Volkanovski earlier this year.
Volkanovski is currently the longest reigning champion in the UFC having held the featherweight title since December 2019 when he defeated Max Holloway. After making four successful title defenses, Volkanovski took the leap to lightweight but fell short against Makhachev. He returned to featherweight to defend his title for a fifth time by stopping Yair Rodriguez but wants to correct his only blemish in his UFC career. The opportunity presented itself and now it’s up to Volkanovski to make it right.
Chimaev has steamrolled the opposition ever since he debuted in the UFC back in 2020. He’s finished all but one of his opponents with a brutal mixture of striking and grappling. Many have anointed him as the next UFC champion and he may get his opportunity should he come out on top against an opponent who was once considered on his way to becoming the greatest UFC welterweight champion of all time.
Usman is the former #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world who reigned supreme over the 170-pound division from 2019 to 2022. But after falling short in two fights against Leon Edwards, the 36-year-old will look to make 185 pounds his new home and attempt to become a champion in a second division. But he’ll have to cut his teeth against perhaps the most frightening fighter in the division.
Can he pull it off?
The Sporting News will provide live coverage of all the action at UFC 294.
Stay tuned!
UFC 294 results, highlights
2:48 p.m. ET: We’re closing in on the main and co-main event but this light heavyweight tilt between Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker has high stakes for a division that has been volatile with injuries and upsets.
Ikram Aliskerov obliterates Warlley Alves in one round
2:43 p.m. ET: That went exactly as you’d expect as Aliskerov hurt Alves with a jab, followed it with a flying knee and finished him with a barrage of punches. It took just two minutes to get the job done. The UFC is going to have to match him up with better opposition. He only has one loss in his career and that was to Khamzat Chimaev. After a snooze of an undercard we now have two first-round finishes in two fights.
2:34 p.m. ET: Ikram Aliskerov attempts to continue his rapid rise up the middleweight ranks in a showdown with Warlley Alves. This might be the biggest mismatch on the entire card. But we’ll have to see what happens with the fight starts.
Said Nurmagomedov secures quick guillotine submission win over Muin Gafurov
2:23 p.m. ET: Sheesh. Gafurov made the mistake of sticking his head right into a Nurmagomedov guillotine and was forced to tap before going to sleep in just 73 seconds. Nurmagomedov now owns two of the fastest submissions in the history of the division.
2:21 p.m. ET: We’re kicking things off with Said Nurmagomedov facing Muin Gafurov in a battle of bantamweights.
1:59 p.m. ET: Muhammad Mokaev improved to 5-0 in the UFC with yet another submission in the final round. It was a scrappy fight with Tim Elliott but Mokaev used a beautiful takedown, quickly advanced position and clamped on an arm triangle with just under two minutes left. The prelims weren’t great but hopefully business will pick up on the main card.
1:08 p.m. ET: Well, things did not pick up. As a matter of fact, they slowed down. An inadvertent low blow from Javid Basharat to Victor Henry rendered Henry unable to continue and that fight ended in No Contest. Whew. Tough sledding so far at UFC 294.
12:41 p.m. ET: Hello everyone, and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of UFC 294. After a trio of ho-hum decisions, we got our first knockout of the day as Mike Breeden came from behind to stop Anshul Jubli in the final round. But then we went back to another relatively lackluster fight with Sedriques Dumas sneaking by Abu Azaitar for a unanimous decision. Hopefully, things will pick up.
When is UFC 294: Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski 2?
UFC 294 begins at 10 a.m. ET with the prelims, with the main card at 2 p.m. ET. Makhachev and Volkanovski should make their way to the octagon around 5:15 p.m. ET, depending on how long the undercard fights last.
Here’s how that translates to different timezones globally:
| Region | Date | Prelims Start Time | Main Card Start Time | Main Event Start Time (approx.) |
| USA and Canada (ET) | Saturday, October 21 | 10 a.m. ET | 2 p.m. ET | 5:15 p.m. ET |
| USA and Canada (PT) | Saturday, October 21 | 7 a.m. PT | 11 a.m. PT | 2:15 p.m. PT |
| UK and Ireland | Saturday, October 21 | 3 p.m. BST | 7 p.m. BST | 10:15 p.m. BST |
| Australia | Sunday, October 22 | 12 a.m. AEST | 4 a.m. AEST | 7:15 a.m. AEST |
How to watch UFC 294: Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski 2
| Country | Date | Channel + Live Stream (main card) |
| United States | Saturday, October 21 | ESPN+, ESPN PPV |
| Canada | Saturday, October 21 | BELL, Rogers, Shaw, SaskTel, Videotron, Telus, Eastlink, UFC PPV on UFC Fight Pass |
| United Kingdom | Saturday, October 21 | TNT Sports |
| Australia | Sunday, October 22 | Main Event, Kayo Sports, Fetch TV, UFC PPV on UFC Fight Pass |
Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski 2 PPV price: How much does UFC 294 cost?
In the U.S., the UFC 294 main card is available via pay-per-view on ESPN+, which also requires a subscription. The PPV price for UFC 292 is $79.99 for current subscribers. New subscribers can pay a bundle price of $134.98 for the UFC 294 pay-per-view and an ESPN+ annual subscription, which offers savings of more than 30 percent.
WATCH: UFC 294: Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski 2, exclusively on ESPN+
| Product | Prices |
|---|---|
| ESPN+ Monthly Subscription | $10.99/mo |
| ESPN+ Annual Subscription | $109.99/yr |
| The Disney Bundle w/Hulu Ad-Supported | $14.99/mo |
| The Disney Bundle w/Hulu No-Ads | $24.99/mo |
| UFC PPV Standalone | $79.99 each |
| UFC PPV Package (UFC PPV & ESPN+ Annual) | $134.98, then $109.99/year |
| UFC PPV & The Disney Bundle |
$79.99, then $14.99/mo |
Click here to learn about the different pricing and bundling options with the ESPN+ platform.
UFC 294 fight card
Main card
- Islam Makhachev (c) vs. Alexander Volkanovski 2 for the UFC lightweight title
- Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev; Middleweights
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker; Light Heavyweights
- Ikram Aliskerov def. Warlley Alves via 1st round TKO (flying knee, punches) (2:07)
- Said Nurmagomedov def. Muin Gafurov via 1st round submission (guillotine choke) (1:13)
Prelims
- Muhammad Mokaev def. Tim Elliott via 3rd round submission (arm triangle) (3:03)
- Trevor Peek def. Mohammad Yahya via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 & 30-27)
- Javid Basharat vs. Victor Henry ends in No Contest
- Sedriques Dumas def. Abu Azaitar via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28)
- Mike Breeden def. Anshul Jubli via 3rd round KO (punch) (3:00)
- Muhammad Naimov def. Nathaniel Wood via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28)
- Victoria Dudakova def. Jinh Yu Frey via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28)
- Sharabutdin Magomedov def. Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27)