Khamzat Chimaev

Islam Makhachev has long been hailed as the next Khabib Nurmagomedov, but after Saturday's UFC 294 event in Abu Dhabi, there is reason to believe he may be even better than his predecessor.

Makhachev was back in action in the event's headlining attraction, defending the lightweight belt that his friend and training partner Nurmagomedov once held, against the UFC's reigning featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski.

It was the pair's second meeting after Makhachev defeated Volkanovski with a contentious decision this past February. The outcome of that first fight has been debated ever since, but the second time around, Makhachev put a decisive end to their rivalry, felling the featherweight champion with a deftly timed head kick in Round 2.

It was one of the most stunning finishes of the year so far.

"We always did this in the locker room, in training," Makhachev said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, breaking down the finishing sequence. "[My coaches] push me very hard. That's why it happened today."

Makhachev's (25-1) knockout win over Volkanovski (26-3) is arguably the best victory of his career. Volkanovski entered the fight as one of the sport's top pound-for-pound fighters and has never lost as a featherweight. Beating him is a massive achievement for any fighter.

It bears mentioning, of course, that Volkanovski stepped into Saturday's rematch on a mere 10 days' notice, replacing Makhachev's original opponent, Charles Oliveira, who was forced off the card with a cut.

While Volkanovski deserves plenty of credit for taking the fight, and can hardly be faulted for losing, the way that Makhachev won renders the short-notice circumstances somewhat irrelevant. It's not as though he wore Volkanovski out over a few rounds, capitalizing on the fact that the featherweight champion didn't get a full camp. He knocked him out inside a round with an expertly set trap that could have just as easily occurred in a fight that both men had spent months preparing for.

Volkanovski himself seemed to recognize this and was quick to give the lightweight champion props before laying out plans to head back down to featherweight.

"Great setup, good kick," Volkanovski told Cormier after Makhachev's post-fight interview. "I don't like losing. It hurts me, but he's a great champion.

"My job here [at lightweight] is done for now."

While Volkanovski's time as a lightweight may have come to an end, Makhachev's job as the champion of the division has only just begun.

Having put his rivalry with Volkanovski to bed, he will now need to shift his focus to a growing queue of dangerous contenders, including Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Mateusz Gamrot, all of whom have legitimate claim to a title shot. Dustin Poirier, Beneil Dariush and even Conor McGregor will also have their sights set on the Russian.

UFC president Dana White said after the fight that Oliveira is the most deserving, per CBS Sports' Shakiel Mahjouri.

It remains to be seen which fighter will get the opportunity to vie for the lightweight belt next, but the champion, much like his mentor Nurmagomedov, was adamant in his post-fight interview that he doesn't care who he fights.

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has also said he doesn't care who he defends his title against next, but after the UFC 294 co-main event, we have the answer to that question.

The next middleweight title shot will go to the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev, who picked up the biggest win of his career with a decision defeat of former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the penultimate bout of the night.

Chimaev (13-0) deserves a ton of respect for beating Usman (20-4). However, Usman stepped into their fight on even shorter notice than Volkanovski, replacing Chimaev's original opponent Paulo Costa just over a week out from fight night.

The fact that Chimaev could not finish the former welterweight champion—despite a lopsided first round—casts some doubt on his longstanding reputation as a future champion. There is no question that he's a world-class fighter, but it's becoming increasingly clear that he can be beaten, especially if he can be taken into the later rounds.

In fact, it's arguable Usman could have won their fight had it been a five-rounder—particularly if he'd had a full camp.

Needless to say, Chimaev will have plenty of questions to answer when he steps into the Octagon with Strickland—who has precisely the skill set to drag the Russian into a long, grueling fight—but in MMA, sometime all it takes to justify the hype is one highlight-reel strike or well executed submission.

Makhachev proved that in Abu Dhabi, and it's possible Chimaev will too when he gets his title shot.

Khamzat Chimaev successfully ran his undefeated record up to 13-0 with a majority decision win over Kamaru Usman in the co-main event of UFC 294 from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Chimaev wasted little time in getting right to work. He went after a single-leg in the opening moments of the fight. While Usman initially defended it well, Chimaev stayed persistent and got the Nigerian Nightmare to the floor.

From there, he controlled the duration of the round, spending most of the period on Usman's back and threatening with submissions.

The fight took on a much slower pace in the second round. Chimaev did not press the wrestling issue for most of the round, opting to strike in a slow kickboxing bout. He did land a takedown with 30 seconds left in the round, but didn't do much with it.

That set up an interesting third and final round. Usman started off with a nice rally. He controlled the distance and landed some solid boxing, but his momentum came to a screeching halt when Chimaev changed levels and landed a double-leg takedown.

Usman ultimately worked his way back to the feet in the final 30 seconds where both men put the finishing touches on their case to win the feet.

The win only serves to grow the legend of Chimaev. At this point, the only thing to beat the Dagestani grappler is the scale. Borz was well on his way to a welterweight title shot, but he missed weight for a fight gainst Nate Diaz by 7.5 pounds before an opponent change (Kevin Holland) and a catchweight (180 pounds) was agreed upon.

Regardless, Chimaev has found a new home at middleweight and a win over Usman has shown that he can carry the weight well. Usman is now on a three-fight losing streak with two losses to Leon Edwards, but he had five consecutive title defenses at welterweight leading to that point.

Chimaev was supposed to fight Paulo Costa in this spot, but he withdrew from the fight due to an elbow injury and Usman accepted the fight on 10 days' notice.

With a win over the former champion now in hand, he will likely get a chance to grab some UFC gold of his own. Dana White recently said as much in an interview on The Pat McAfee Show:

"That is an absolute fact," White said (h/t Nolan King of MMA Junkie). "The fact that these guys are taking this fight on short notice, (the winner) will get the next shot at the title barring injuries and other things that can possibly happen."

The middleweight division has been thrown into a state of flux recently with the upset loss of Israel Adesanya to Sean Strickland. The Last Stylebender had been the dominant champion outside of a loss to Alex Pereira but the tides have shifted.

It looks like Strickland might have a lot to prove with a much different test on tap with Chimaev.

UFC president Dana White confirmed on Thursday that the winner of UFC 294's co-main event, Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman, will get a middleweight title shot.

"That is an absolute fact," he said on The Pat McAfee Show (1:47:00 mark). "The fact that these guys are taking this fight on short notice, (the winner) will get the next shot at the title barring injuries and other things that can possibly happen."

Sean Strickland is the current champion after beating Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision at UFC 293 in September.

Usman, 36, won the UFC welterweight title back in 2019 at UFC 235 against Tyron Woodley and defended it five times before losing to to Leon Edwards at UFC 278 in 2022. He took on Edwards again at UFC 286 in March and lost again.

In total, he's 20-3 in his professional MMA career.

Chimaev, 29, is one of the up-and-coming stars in the sport, with a 12-0 career record in professional MMA. He last fought in Sept. 2022 at UFC 279, defeating Kevin Holland by submission. He has finished six of his seven fights via stoppages.

He has already fought twice at middleweight, so his adjustment to that weight class should be fairly seamless.

Usman was a stand-in for Paulo Costa, Chimaev's original opponent. The UFC replaced him with Usman after Costa had elbow surgery three weeks ago. Costa had intended to remain in the fight.

"I will not pull out of this fight," he texted ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Oct. 9. "I can beat him 99 out of 100 times. Only if the doctor doesn't allow me. I want that fight."

The other main event will see UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev put his belt on the line against Alexander Volkanovski, the current featherweight champion. Charles Oliveira was originally slated to face Makhachev but suffered a cut in training, taking him out of the running.

UFC 294 has seen another change at the top of the card, as Khamzat Chimaev will have a new opponent in the co-main event after Paulo Costa wasn't cleared following elbow surgery.

UFC president Dana White announced Wednesday that former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will be moving up to middleweight to fight Chimaev on short notice.

The change to the UFC 294 co-main event comes a day after it was announced that UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has been inserted into the main event to challenge lightweight champion Islam Makhachev on Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi after Charles Oliveira was forced to withdraw due to a cut sustained in sparring.

Costa underwent a procedure on his elbow just a few weeks ago, and he revealed on Wednesday that he has a bacterial infection that caused doctors to hold him out of the fight:

Usman (20-3) is largely considered to be among the greatest welterweight fighters in UFC history. He started his career with 15 straight wins, including five straight title defenses, before dropping back-to-back fights against current welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

Usman and Chimaev had been circling each other for quite some time. However, the former champ initially insisted that a fight between the two of them take place at 170 pounds.

Chimaev has a well-documented history of weight-cutting issues, so he unsurprisingly chose to move up to middleweight. Now, he gets his wish of facing Usman in a 185-pound bout. This will be his first fight in over a year after he improved to 12-0 with a submission win over Kevin Holland in a 180-pound catchweight fight at UFC 279 in September 2022.

Both Usman and Chimaev are known for their wrestling prowess, so it will be interesting to see which one of them will be able to impose his will. Chimaev will likely have a size advantage on fight night, so Usman could be in for a tough challenge.