UFC featherweight champion and number 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter, Alexander Volkanovski is known for his resilience and thirst for challenges. The Australian fighter recently accepted a short-notice lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294.
Volkanovski got the call-up after the original opponent for Makhachev, Charles Oliveira suffered a brutal injury that forced him out of the competition. This would be the featherweight champion’s second attempt to become a double champion in a span of 9 months.
Incredibly stern remark was made following Alexander Volkanovski’s statement
In lieu of Alexander Volkanovski accepting a title shot at lightweight, the UFC on social media uploaded the speech he delivered at the pre-fight presser of UFC 284. Volkanovski faced off with Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in the Russian’s first defense of the title. At that time, Volkanovski was ranked 1st and Makhachev 2nd in the pound-for-pound rankings.
His statement during the presser, “I love challenging myself,” solidified his fearless reputation. A raw response from the fighting community quickly followed. A fan commented on the UFC post, ” Volk is a beast.”
Even though “The Great” lost at UFC 284, the rematch at UFC 294 offers Volkanovski a chance for redemption and Makhachev an opportunity to assert his dominance once again. With the stakes higher than ever and the fighting community buzzing with anticipation, UFC 294 promises to be a landmark event in the MMA calendar.
The MMA community was thrilled to see the Charles Oliveira rematch for Makhachev. They are even more thrilled to see the Alexander Volkanovski rematch. Furthermore, the co-main event of UFC 294 also had a change as Paulo Costa was replaced by Kamaru Usman as it would be Usman’s debut in the middleweight division.
UFC 294 bout potential
UFC 294 has the potential to be one of the most exciting cards of 2023. With the UFC failing to create a big card in Australia with UFC 293, UFC 294 was deemed as redemption by the fans. However, the fans were disappointed to lose Charles Oliveira in the main event. The sadness quickly became joy with the announcement of Alexander Volkanovski replacing him.
2023 had a string of good pay-per-view events for the promotion. It began with a massive pay-per-view event in Brazil with UFC 283, where both Brazilians in the main and co-main event were unable to be victorious. It was followed by UFC 284 in Perth which was also massive. UFC 285 had Jon Jones returning, UFC 286 had the Edwards Usman trilogy, UFC 287 had the Adesanya Periera rematch and UFC 288 had Henry Cejudo returning.
Moreover, UFC 289 witnessed Amanda Nunes retiring followed by Internation Fight Week pay-per-view, UFC 290 where Volkanovski defended against Yair Rodriguez. UFC 291 had the BMF title fight and UFC 292 witnessed the emergence of ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley as the bantamweight champion of the UFC.
With the number 2 and 3 ranked pound-for-pound fighters headlining the event and the co-main event having Kamaru Usman fighting Khamzat Chimaev, UFC 294 has also the ingredients to overshadow the previous pay-per-views, and the upcoming UFC 295: Jones vs. Miocic and UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington, of 2023.
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