Biggest Winners, Loser From UFC 294

UFC 294 blew the roof off Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates yesterday (Sat., Oct. 21, 2023), which saw Islam Makhachev defeat Alexander Volkanovksi for a second time, knocking him out in the very first round this time out (highlights). In the co-main event, Khamazat Chimaev earned his shot at the Middleweight title by defeating former Welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman via majority decision in a close fight (see it again here).

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Biggest Winner: Islam Makhachev

Despite Makhachev’s big knockout win over the dominate Featherweight champion, there will be some who will likely try and discredit his win due to the fact that Volkanovski took the fight on super-short notice and had to drop a ton of weight to make it official. Nevertheless, Makhachev has now put “The Great” in his rear-view mirror for good, and will look ahead to challenging a true 155-pounder next. That fight will likely go to Charles Oliveira (sorry, Justin), according to Dana White’s comments post-fight. Makhachev improves his win streak to 13 straight, collects a $50,000 post-fight bonus award and becomes only the second man to stop the Australian buzz-saw.

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Runner Up: Khamzat Chimaev

Kamaru Usman gave Chiamev all he could handle, taking “Borz” the distance before losing a majority decision. Still, Chimaev showed what he can do in the face of adversity, fighting through the pain of a broken hand (suffered in the first round) to grind out the victory. Let’s not get it twisted, the win was impressive because at the end of the day, Usman is one of the most dominant former Welterweight champion’s UFC has ever had, so that’s a big feather in Chimaev’s cap. With the win he earns a shot at the Middleweight title currently held by Sean Strickland, which likely won’t happen until the first quarter of 2024 as a result of his injury. That said, there is no telling of Strickland decides to take on another challenge instead of waiting for “Borz” to heal up. But, the fact that Chimaev earns a title shot makes him a big winner.

Honorable Mentions: Ikram Aliskerov and Said Nurmagomedov

We can’t go on without giving just the headliners their flowers, we have to give credit to Aliskerov and Nurmagomedov, who scored impressive first-round stoppage wins. Aliskerov improves his win streak to seven in a row, 2-0 inside the Octagon, after scoring an impressive knockout win over Warlley Alves thanks to a flying knee (see it here). Aliskerov is another terrifying rising prospect that has already put the Middleweight division on notice. As for Nurmagomedov, he got back on the winning track with an impressive 73-second submission win over Muin Gafurov (highlights), improving his record to 7-2. Both men earned $50,000 post-fight bonus awards.

Biggest Loser: Magomed Ankalaev

Ankalaev has had the worst luck in his past two contests. After fighting to a split-draw against Jan Blachowicz in a fight for the vacant Light Heavyweight title 10 months ago, his follow up fight didn’t end any better. That’s because all hell nearly broke loose after the ringside doctor (who had his own bad night), stopped the fight after deeming Johnny Walker unable to continue after eating an illegal knee from Ankalaev (see it here). As the No. 2 ranked fighter at 205 pounds, it further delays his quest for another title shot with Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira getting ready to collide for the vacant strap next month. It’s been a rough year for Ankalaev to say the least.

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For complete UFC 294 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.