UFC 294: 7 biggest takeaways from a wild (and very bizarre) night in Abu Dhabi

10/22/2023 08:00 AM

Islam Makhachev remains the undisputed lightweight king. In a stunning performance, Makhachev knocked out featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovskiwith a first-round head kick to erase any debate over their rivalry and win UFC 294's short-notice main event, forever securing a 2-0 series lead over Volkanovski at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Makhachev's victory headlined a wild and bizarre night flush with storylines. With so much to discuss, let's dive right into our seven biggest takeaways from UFC 294.

1. This time, there was no controversy. So this should not be a controversial statement: As it stands today, Islam Makhachev is the best pound-for-pound male fighter on Earth.

Let us be clear about that.

He likely should've been anointed as such in February when he won a rollicking yet clear-upon-rewatch decision over Alexander Volkanovski in a champ vs. champ fight quite literally marketed as a battle for pound-for-pound supremacy, but I'll be the first with my hand up to admit I wasn't totally sold after UFC 284. I wrote as much in this space after the fact, and although I had Makhachev atop my next ballot, I confess I eagerly sprinted back to the Volkanovski side for No. 1 once "The Great" made short work of Yair Rodriguez in July.

That won't happen again. Makhachev is not only the current holder of the UFC's longest active win streak (13), but by handing Volkanovski his first stoppage loss in more than a decade — and doing so with his striking, no less — the champ both erased any lingering doubt over exactly who he is, and also authored a highlight distinct from any authored by the man who forever casts a shadow over his career, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

All in all, the visual was shocking to watch unfold — Volkanovski, having landed just four significant strikes, left to reconcile with a decision that may carry long-felt consequences for the rest of his career. And that was always the other side of this short-notice coin, why I never bought into the narrative that Volkanovski had "nothing to lose." He was already the oldest champion in UFC history under 170 pounds. He is already defying history and Father Time by remaining as dominant as he has as champ. And hell, there's a chance his historic run continues and he rattles off another handful of title defenses, but every result as drastic as Saturday's slices off just enough from the odometer in a way that is irreparable.

Volkanovski had plenty to lose at UFC 294. That may become clearer in the future.

One final Makhachev point: After he assumed the throne at UFC 280, I wrote that no one should be surprised if he breaks the UFC's all-time record for consecutive lightweight title defenses. He's at two now. The record is three, held in a three-way tie between B.J. Penn, Benson Henderson, and Nurmagomedov. Makhachev's next two challengers will likely be Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje in some order. If Makhachev is going to pull off what no lightweight in history has ever done before, we now know the roadmap.

(Spoiler alert: I think he's going to do it.)

2. As painful as Saturday was for Volk, it was also probably a best-case scenario for the health of two of the sport's deepest weight classes.

I wholly believe Volkanovski when he says he would've bucked history and been an active champ-champ, but UFC 294 hopefully signals the end of multi-division hijinks atop featherweight and lightweight for the foreseeable future. Too much young talent is already clamoring for its shot. Makhachev's win should ideally keep these lines moving along, while a Volk upset would've likely delayed everything further for an inevitable trilogy match.

Justin Gaethje and his manager Ali Abdelaziz (who also happens to represent Makhachev) have tried to get the ball rolling on Makhachev vs. Gaethje next, but first give me the fight we were originally supposed to see on Saturday — give me the Oliveira rematch. "Do Bronx" earned his spot by demolishing Beneil Dariush. He also trucked Gaethje inside four minutes just last year. As long as a fighter's injuries don't turn into Dominick Cruz-esque multi-year sagas, I'm never in favor of one losing their place in line because of bad luck.

Volkanovski's next step is more plain to see. He'll fight Ilia Topuria next, just as he planned to do before UFC 294's flurry of fallouts. Topuria will be a trendy pick whenever that fight happens; Volkanovski is 35 years old in a young man's division, and the world knows now what it looks like to see Volkanovski concussed on the mat. I was already all-in on that matchup. Now, I'm even more intrigued by it. I just hope the UFC saves Volkanovski from himself and doesn't allow the champ to turn around and fight in January, less than three months after getting colded in such brutal fashion by Makhachev.

We've seen it time and time again from fighters in Volkanovski's age cohort: Instant turnarounds to get back on the horse following brain-rattling stoppage losses are rarely anything but shortcuts to the end of a career. Just ask Michael Bisping. Volkanovski sounded very much like a man committed to keeping his word in his post-fight comments, so hopefully his team can talk some sense into him, because it'd be a shame to see the champ's legendary reign end because he rushed back before his brain was ready.

2b. Quick aside: Massive kudos are in order for Chris Unger for capturing what may not only be the MMA photo of the year, but also one of the coldest photos I've ever seen, period.

Seriously, how perfect is this?

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Instantly iconic. We're going to be seeing that shot for the rest of our lives.

Anyway, let's continue...

3. Let's get this out of the way first: Khamzat Chimaev checked the most important box.

At UFC 294, he became just the second man under the UFC banner to defeat Kamaru Usman, and for five surreal minutes, he looked like a genuine superhuman. Not only that, but his four takedowns against Usman were four times more than the former welterweight champion allowed throughout his previous 17-fight octagon run. Usman had defended 36 of the 37 takedowns attempted against him in the UFC before Chimaev entered the picture. That's a feather in Chimaev's cap regardless of the circumstances around this fight.

But also ... it's difficult to overlook those circumstances in the grand scheme, isn't it? Any concerns over Chimaev's gas tank may be justified after how he just looked against a 36-year-old welterweight on a two-fight slump who moved up a division on less than two weeks' notice. I would've been fascinated to see how Saturday played out if Usman had an additional two rounds to work, because he clearly had retaken momentum. An emotional Usman echoed a similar sentiment on the UFC's post-fight show.

Chimaev suspects he broke his hand in the first round, and hey, if that turns out to be true, all of this can be caveated. Saturday's result still gives me a bit of pause though. Chimaev has long felt destined to be a future UFC champ, but what is one of Sean Strickland's greatest strengths? Cardio. The man simply does not get tired. As long as Strickland can survive whatever kind of hell Chimaev throws at him in the opening round, a potential Strickland vs. Chimaev bout suddenly feels much more competitive than it did on Friday.

In a just world, though, we wouldn't even be entertaining these kinds of conversations anytime soon. Chimaev's win was admirable, no doubt, and a very nice name to add to the résumé. But it wasn't a performance that warrants him skipping an already crowded queue at 185 pounds. To put it in the most straightforward terms, which is more impressive: Dricus Du Plessis demolishing a full-camp Robert Whittaker inside two rounds, or Chimaev eking out a close decision over a no-camp Usman coming up a weight class to save a card?

This is as easy as it gets. Chimaev is the bigger star, yes, but some title shot claims are undeniable, and Du Plessis is on a singular run compared to his peers.

Don't lose sight of the meritocracy, UFC. Do the right thing.

4. Keep Mick Maynard in your thoughts, because good lord, I do not envy that man in his future efforts to matchmake for Ikram Aliskerov.

This two-minute knockout of Warlley Alves is about as brutal as it gets.

Aliskerov is now two fights into his UFC career and may already be the new boogeyman of the division. There aren't going to be many 185ers rushing to their inbox to accept Maynard's invites after Saturday's snuff film. (And before you throw out his prior loss to Chimaev, watch that fight first. It's more competitive than the result would have you think.)

We're in the midst of a great middleweight reshuffling, and there's an 88-percent chance Aliskerov winds up in the mix to be the era's next terror before all is said and done.

5. Look, I know we all love morning MMA, but someone needed to tell UFC 294's prelims to lay off a few mimosas and not get so rip-roaring drunk by 10 a.m. PT. Between an endlessly unpunished foul-fest, multiple fighters potentially competing with hidden staph infections, and whatever the hell was going on with the cageside doctor for Victor Henry vs. Javid Basharat, the early action Saturday may as well have been ripped out of UFC 1.

For real, peep this post-fight quote from Victoria Dudakova.

"For the past month, I had staph infection. And actually, my backside, my butt is completely bloodied up right now. I have staph infection in places that it's not necessarily OK to announce to the whole world," announced the Russian strawweight, who then went on to add, "I think after the fight or sometime during the fight, there was an abscess that appeared, and I think now it popped because everything is completely bloodied up."

Setting aside how utterly disgusting and dangerous it is — not to mention selfish — to put every person involved with this card's health at risk by hiding a highly contagious (and sometimes life-threatening) infection, it's also incredibly bizarre to ANNOUNCE IT IN GREAT DETAIL AFTER THE FACT once you managed to pull one over on the UFC. The man who robs the bank certainly does not return to the bank afterward to let them know how he did it.

Even Dana White agreed.

"If you're going to lie and hide injuries like that, lie all the way home," the UFC CEO said. "Why are you going to lie and do that and then sit up here and say, 'Oh, I had staph infection?' It's just a very f****** weird thing to do, to be honest with you. Very weird."

And he's 100-percent correct!

Yet somehow that wasn't the most off-the-rails exchange of the UFC 294 prelims.

That honor went to the cageside doctor who tried to convince Henry that he didn't get kicked in the balls as Henry writhed around in obvious pain after getting kicked in the balls.

Just look at this.

I've never seen anything like it.

Henry subsequently vomited backstage and was transported to the hospital with his kibbles 'n' bits swollen to the size of a small semi-seedless orange. You know, normal behavior for a faker. I don't know what kind of doctor could see a professional cagefighter shrieking in agony and decide that an appropriate reaction is to tell that cagefighter to sack up and stop chasing an Oscar, but remind me never to seek medical attention at this maroon's practice next time I'm in Abu Dhabi. Inexcusable. Dude needs to lose his medical license.

(Just know that somewhere out there in the suburbs of Chicago, Keith Hackney was watching all of this chaos unfold with a single tear in his eye and a wistful smirk on his face.)

6. Speaking of Dr. Balls, his ineptitude with Henry was somehow only a warm-up. He saved his magnum opus for the main card, when The M.D. We All Came To Abu Dhabi To See nearly ignited an in-cage melee by stopping Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker for no discernible reason. After an early eye poke, Henry's favorite doctor reportedly asked (in English, with a thick Arabic accent, to a native Portuguese speaker) if Walker knew where he presently was, to which Walker reportedly responded, "In the desert. I'm in the desert."

That was an unsatisfactory answer, apparently, despite it being objectively true and despite the whole scene being absurd on many levels, not the least of which is the obvious language barrier between the two. For most people, a logical next step would've been to follow up with Walker and continue the conversation, but nah, fella heard enough.

Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

White said afterward that the doctor was inexperienced and promised make the situation right between Ankalaev and Walker, but this is really just par for the course for the eternally cursed light heavyweight division, no? Consider Ankalaev, who may very well have been the best 205-pound fighter on the planet for upwards of two years now, who probably should've won the belt against Jan Blachowicz in late 2022 and was unfairly thrown under the bus after a not-nearly-as-dreadful-as-advertised performance, then languished on the sidelines for another year before still ending up still stuck in no man's land after UFC 294.

If that sentence doesn't perfectly illustrate the bizarro world that is 205, nothing will.

Ankalaev vs. Walker was basically a No. 1 contender fight with Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira on deck at UFC 295, so it still needs to happen for the division's sake. Re-book them as soon as possible and pray to the gods of your choosing that the light heavyweight curse doesn't chase us all the way out to Madison Square Garden come November 11th.

7. The great Nick Diaz taught us a lesson long ago: When all else fails? Just out-crazy your opponent and fortune may swing in your favor.

It implausibly worked when that uber-stoned lunatic badgered Takanori Gomi until he broke at PRIDE 33, and it worked on Saturday when a down-two-rounds-to-zero Mike Breeden went full Ruff Ryders and started straight barking and screeching in Anshul Jubli's face. Jubli looked like he'd seen a ghost. He was totally psyched out. And again, this is a fight he was winning handily! Breeden's post-fight quote after his stunning comeback knockout may as well have been, "Wow, I can't believe that worked." When the headline for your win includes the phrase "Mike Breeden goes feral," take a bow, you know you've done some wild s***.

After all of Saturday's bedlam, I'm confident this is a cause we can all get behind: When life hands you problems, normalize barking in people's faces.