Islam Makhachev And the Real Winners and Losers from UFC 294

It's the weekend and people were beating one another up in a cage.

Must have been a UFC Saturday.

The mixed martial arts conglomerate was back in its international playpen in the United Arab Emirates, where a 13-bout card went off at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The top five matches comprised the pay-per-view portion billed as UFC 294 and featured a pair of reconstructed headline bouts. Lightweight champ Islam Makhachev met familiar foe Alexander Volkanovski in a reconfigured title match at 155 pounds, while middleweight boogeyman Khamzat Chimaev fought ex-welterweight Kamaru Usman at 185.

Makhachev had been scheduled to meet the man from whom he won the belt, Charles Oliveira, while Chimaev was supposed to fight ex-title challenger Paulo Costa. Oliveira pulled out after suffering an eye cut in training while Costa sustained a staph infection in his elbow.

The B/R combat team was in place to take it all in and compile a real-time list of the show's definitive winners and losers. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the comments.

If you didn't know, now you know.

Islam Makhachev is a bad man.

The reigning lightweight champion had already won 13 of 14 fights in the UFC—including a pair of title fights—but never had his menace seemed more clear than when he strutted away from a prone and bloodied Alexander Volkanovski after barely more than three minutes of competition.

Yes, that Alexander Volkanovski. The long-reigning featherweight champion.

And the same fighter who'd gone 25 minutes with him while losing a narrow decision just 252 days ago.

A high kick with the left leg ended with Makhachev's shin connecting brutally on the side of Volkanovski's head barely halfway into the first round.

It left the Australian torn open over the left eye and reeling backward to the fence, where Makhachev immediately pounced with nine consecutive unfettered hammer fists that prompted Goddard's intervention at 3:06.

"He made a statement. It was phenomenal," Cormier said.

"And the way he did it there can be no questions."

The finish was set up by a series of kicks to the legs and body early in the round, and it was something Makhachev said he and his team had prepared to unleash from the moment the fight was assembled 11 days earlier.

"Low, low, high," he said. "My coaches push me very hard. This is why it's happening like this today. I showed him a couple low kicks and body kicks. Then I changed to the high kick."

For Volkanovski, it was the second loss in 15 UFC fights, both to Makhachev at lightweight.

"Great setup. Good kick. It's hard. I don't like losing," he said. "But he's a great champion. What do you do? If you don't prepare properly that's what he can do to you, he's that good. Great kick. What can I say?"

Two things became clear after 15 minutes of co-main event competition.

For those who thought Leon Edwards had beaten the championship mettle out of former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, you were wrong. And for those who believed Khamzat Chimaev was ready to take a step toward his own title challenge at middleweight, you were right.

The short-notice rivals are still ranked in the top five at 170 pounds, but their clash came together at 185 and, even though it arrived with less than two weeks' notice, it delivered in drama.

Chimaev scored a takedown in the fight's initial minute and looked ready to smother his smaller, less-prepared foe on the mat while racking up control time and chasing submissions, but Usman survived the session and held his own in the second while fighting nearly all the session in a stand-up position.

The Nigerian moved forward and did well when initiating exchanges in the third before Chimaev landed another key takedown and spent most of the final round's second half in control on the mat.

In the end, it was enough for a pair of 29-27 scorecards—thanks to 10-8 scores in the first—that overruled a 28-28 calculation and gave Chimaev the win by majority decision.

It was his seventh straight win in the UFC and propelled him into what's expected to be a shot against middleweight champ Sean Strickland.

For Usman it was a third straight defeat after two losses to Edwards, but his stock was raised by the performance, and he was specifically thanked after the fight by Dana White for stepping in to help save the pay-per-view card.

But rather than the typical zeal he displays after wins, Chimaev was low key in the aftermath, thanking White and UFC executives for the opportunity and showing respect for Usman and his team.

"I was a schoolkid when (Usman) was fighting. He has good coaches and a good team," Chimaev said. "I didn't come here for the titles. I wanted to make money and be happy. Because of (White and other UFC leaders) I am who I am today."

Another fight. Another circus.

What had already been a dubious show of officiating got even more suspect in Saturday's third-from-last bout, when the light heavyweight meeting between Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker ended in the card's second foul-prompted no-contest.

The premature end came this time when Ankalaev connected cleanly to Walker's jaw with his knee while the Brazilian's own knee was clearly grounded. Referee Dan Movahedi separated the fighters and the same cageside physician who'd become involved in the Basharat-Henry bout reemerged, this time to have a conversation with Walker to check his mental clarity.

Replays showed that the doctor asked Walker what country he was in and in which round the fight was, and Walker shrugged and blinked but did not answer. The doctor then reengaged Movahedi and told him Walker was unable to continue, prompting the wave-off at 3:13.

Walker instantly reacted to the decision and shoved the ref while motioning Ankalaev to resume the fight. He continued to flex toward security and even his own corner team until Dana White himself came into the cage to settle matters and signal for the official decision.

Neither fighter remained in the cage long enough to do a post-fight interview.

"We don't want a fighter to be competing when mentally compromised," Anik said, "so it goes into the books as an unceremonious no-contest."

It's step-up time for Ikram Aliskerov.

The 30-year-old Russian middleweight has now fought three times under the UFC banner, twice in the Octagon and once on Dana White's Contender Series, and no opponent has been able to take him beyond the halfway point of the initial round.

So, in the immediate aftermath of Aliskerov's latest blowout, a strike-prompted TKO of Warlley Alves in just 2:07, no less than Cormier made the callout for him.

"If you're anywhere outside the top 15," Cormier said, "you've got no chance against this dude. They've got to start matching him up."

Though Alves had won eight of 13 bouts under the UFC banner since 2014, he was no match for his less-tenured foe, nearly falling to the mat after taking a left jab, then reeling from a jumping knee along the fence. That blow left him rattled and a subsequent dozen or so punches drew an intervention from Bosacki.

"I always aim to finish quick," said Alikerov, who called for a top-10 foe, "so here we are."

Said Nurmagomedov doesn't covet overtime.

The Russian bantamweight had already racked up three first-round finishes across six UFC victories before Saturday and showed no interest in extending his working weekend in Abu Dhabi any longer than it had to be.

So when opponent Muin Gafurov landed a couple punches and ill-advisedly chased a takedown, the 31-year-old was only too happy to counter with a guillotine choke that quickly ended matters after just 73 seconds of competition.

Nurmagomedov stopped Ricardo Ramos in barely less than half a round in 2019, TKO'd Mark Striegl in 51 seconds in 2020, and choked out Cody Stamann in 47 seconds in 2022.

He encountered Gafurov after losing to Jonathan Martinez in March, while Gafurov had been looking for his first UFC win after losing on Dana White's Contender Series in 2021 and in his official octagonal debut in June.

The 27-year-old from Tajikistan slammed his hand on the canvas in frustration after Goddard's intervention, which actually came after Gafurov had tapped on the opposite side of Nurmagomedov's body and was released before Goddard arrived.

"I feel great," Nurmagomedov said. "I really was ready to get back after the last one."

It's official. Muhammad Mokaev is a championship-level talent.

Still just 23 and among the youngest fighters on the UFC roster, the Russian-born flyweight staked his claim to spiked rankings status with a comprehensive smothering of 10th-ranked 125-pounder Tim Elliott in Saturday's prelim feature bout.

The fight ended when Mokaev isolated Elliott's left arm and pushed his way into a head and arm choke that drew the veteran's tap-out surrender at 3:03 of Round 3.

But across 13 minutes before the finish, the combatants provided enough high-end mat wrestling to leave champ-champ turned Cormier giddy.

"Even wrestling can be pretty when done right," Cormier said. "A flyweight contender emerged tonight. He can wrestle and he's fun on the feet. He needed a statement win and that's what he got."

Indeed, though he was faced with an opponent in Elliott whose first takedown established a career flyweight record at 60, Mokaev seemed right at home on the mat.

He patiently outlasted Elliott's repeated tries for guillotine submissions in the early going, and deftly worked his way out of a jam in the third by sliding to his left and scooping Elliott for a quick slam that ultimately led to the position that ended with the choke finish.

It was his 11th straight win as a pro and fifth in the UFC, with four by submission, and in the aftermath Mokaev made a call for fifth-ranked contender Kai Kara-France.

"Tim Elliott is an ex-title contender," Mokaev said. "I needed a finish and I got it."

Most considered it a particularly brutal low blow. Some contended it was an acting job not seen since Brian Bosworth in Stone Cold. Either way, the star turn so desperately sought by unbeaten bantamweight Javid Basharat didn't happen.

The Afghan-based "Snow Leopard" arrived with a 14-0 pro record and three straight UFC wins but the rise was at least temporarily halted when his scheduled three-rounder with Victor Henry was deemed a no contest just 15 seconds into Round 2.

Combat ended and drama began when Basharat's left foot connected with Henry's testicles on a kick attempt, immediately sending the Californian face first to the mat in agony.

Basharat, meanwhile, contended that the blow had landed cleanly on Henry's left thigh, and a replay shown to the in-house crowd stopped as the foot completed a follow through and was indeed squarely on Henry's thigh.

The aftermath reached comical levels as Henry writhed in pain and a cageside physician arrived and seemed to argue with him about whether he ought to be suffering.

The announce team sided with Henry, with Felder suggesting "The replay may matter for the record book but that strike hit his groin. An official can't convince you that you didn't get hit in the balls. That'd be a case of all-time theatrics."

Henry was unable to continue after the prescribed five-minute recovery time and the no-contest declaration was issued as the stricken fighter was helped to the locker room. A subsequent report said he was vomiting and was being taken to a local hospital.

"I guess that means you can take the fighter at his word as to where that kick landed," Anik said.

Breeden wasn't the most popular fighter on the card.

And after missing weight by better than three pounds then losing the first two rounds to unbeaten lightweight prospect Jubli, he needed to change the narrative.

So he started talking. And gesturing. And barking.

Three minutes later, he was celebrating.

Making just his second UFC appearance in his eighth pro fight, Jubli was visibly flummoxed by the unorthodox attack and was on the receiving end of several hard blows as Breeden gained momentum. Ultimately, a hard left-right combination dropped Jubli to the mat and referee Marc Goddard immediately intervened, ending it by KO at 3:00 of the third.

"I just had to get in his head. This is what I do," said Breeden, who'd dropped three in a row in the Octagon after a decision loss on Dana White's Contender Series in 2020. "I know I have a bad record in the UFC, but I know I'm one of the best in the world. I needed to get my feet set in here. I'm a dog. You're gonna have to put me away to get me out."

Whaddya know? Dana White seems to know what he's looking at.

The UFC czar's "If You Don't Know, Now You Know" clip on Instagram had gotten more than 80,000 likes by midday Saturday and his suggestion that the featherweight bout matching Nathaniel Wood and Muhammad Naimov would be a banger was largely on target.

Unfortunately for Wood, so were Naimov's knees and feet.

Wood was dumped to the floor by a knee to the groin in the first round and rattled once again by a kick in the second, but neither of those infractions—nor grazing shots later in the fight—drew point deductions from referee Lukasz Bosacki.

The official's reticence to go beyond verbal warnings proved noteworthy in the end when Wood, a -310 favorite according to DraftKings, came out on the short end of three 29-28 scorecards and therefore saw a three-fight win streak end via unanimous decision.

Both Cormier and Felder expected a point deduction when Naimov's kick landed just after the start of the second round, not long after the knee had prompted a two-minute timeout toward the end of the first. But it never came, and Wood's frustration was visible when he yelled toward the crowd when boos rained down as he grimaced.

Naimov is now 2-0 in the UFC while Wood dropped to 7-3.

They're in a challenging position.

The broadcast table team of Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier, and Paul Felder is assembled by the UFC and not a third party, so it's understandable if they don't always stomp on the gas pedal when issues arise that aren't exactly complimentary to the promotion.

But they at least leaned toward impartial journalism on Saturday.

The team's ex-fighters, Cormier and Felder, were ready, willing and able to at least question, if not outright incinerate, the professionalism of Viktoriia Dudakova as she entered the cage a day after missing weight for a strawweight bout with Jinh Yu Frey.

Dudakova came in at 116.6 pounds, which was six-tenths beyond the contracted non-title limit of 116 and forced her to surrender 20 percent of her purse to Frey, who was right on the agreed-to weight number.

Only one of the remaining 24 fighters on the card, lightweight Mike Breeden, missed weight. The 34-year-old from Missouri came in 3.5 pounds beyond the 156-pound limit for his prelim bout with Anshul Jubli, who weighed-in at 155.5.

Breeden said a left eye cut sustained in training two weeks ago impacted his weight, but he also wound up victorious, stopping Jubli in three rounds.

"That's their No. 1 job, to get on the scale and make weight," Felder said, "and you have to question them if they don't do it. If you're a professional it's what you're supposed to do, no excuses."

Main Card

Islam Makhachev def. Alexander Volkanovski by KO (strikes), 3:06, Round 1

Khamzat Chimaev def. Kamaru Usman by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker declared no content (unintentional foul), 3:13, Round 1

Ikram Aliskerov def. Warlley Alves by TKO (punches), 2:07, Round 1

Said Nurmagomedov def. Muin Gafurov by submission (guillotine choke), 1:13, Round 1

Preliminary Card

Muhammad Mokaev def. Tim Elliott by submission (head/arm choke), 3:03, Round 3

Trevor Peek def. Mohammad Yahya by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Javid Basharat vs. Victor Henry declared no contest (unintentional foul), 0:15, Round 2

Sedriques Dumas def. Abu Azaitar by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Mike Breeden def. Anshul Jubli by KO (punches), 3:00, Round 3

Muhammad Naimov def. Nathaniel Wood by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Viktoriia Dudakova def. Jinh Yu Frey by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Shara Magomedov def. Bruno Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)