UFC 294 returns to Abu Dhabi on Saturday, October 21, and fans have eagerly been anticipating the announcement of the fight card for some time.
Dana White took to social media a few hours ago to end the speculation which had been mounting in recent days about the card, particularly regarding Khamzat Chimaev’s next opponent. Paulo Costa and Chimaev engaged in some back-and-forth on Twitter yesterday, confusing everybody about their rumored bout’s status. ‘Borrachinha’ seemed to confirm the fight was going ahead before Chimaev put this claim into doubt with his response.
Khamzat Chimaev V Paulo Costa
The confusion was ended thanks to Dana White’s announcement. He confirmed that Khamzat Chimaev will face Paulo Costa in the co-main event at UFC 294. Boasting a flawless 12-0 MMA record with eleven finishes, Chimaev faces a tough test against Costa, who has an almost ninety percent finish rate.
Costa was originally scheduled to fight at UFC 291 against Ikram Aliskerov, but that fight has now been scrapped to make way for the Chimaev fight. Aliskerov will also fight at UFC 294, but he will now face the number thirteen-ranked middleweight instead, Nassourdine Imavov.
Fans attending UFC 291 in Salt Lake City will be disappointed that a main card fight has been scrapped from the event less than two weeks out, but that card remains stacked from top to bottom, and in general, the announcement from Dana White is a positive one. Chimaev and Costa is a massive fight.
Islam Makhachev V Charles Oliveira
Before the announcement regarding Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa, Dana White confirmed the main event for UFC 294 would be a rematch between lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. Prior to Volkanovski’s victory over Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290, there were strong rumors that the featherweight champion would move up in weight once again to challenge Makhachev for the lightweight belt.
After having surgery on his arm, Volkanovski needs to spend some time on the recovery table. Instead, we’ll get another rematch instead, and fight fans will receive the announcement well. Oliveira has won twelve of his last thirteen fights, his only defeat coming during this run against Islam Makhachev. It’s hard to deny that Oliveira deserves another shot at the belt, as he is coming off an impressive victory over Beneil Dariush and has notable wins over Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Michael Chandler.
Makhachev has won his last twelve fights, and the only defeat in his MMA career came back in 2015. The rest of the fight card in Abu Dhabi is yet to be determined, but we expect the card to be stacked, given the UFC’s commitment to hosting big events in the region.
Confirmed fights for UFC 294
Islam Makhachev V Charles Oliveira – Lightweight
Paulo Costa V Khamzat Chimaev – Middleweight
Nassourdine Imavov V Ikram Aliskerov – Middleweight
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