Islam Makhachev

A rematch between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira will not not headline Toronto's UFC 297 in January, Dana White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Sunday.

While White said Oliveira remains the most likely challenger for Makhachev's lightweight belt, he added that, "Anything is possible, it's whenever both are ready."

Makhachev's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told Okamoto that the lightweight champion wouldn't be ready to defend his title until March 9 at the earliest.

MMA reporter Ariel Helwani posted on Saturday that the plan was to have Makhachev face Oliveira at UFC 297, with Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria originally scheduled to be the main event but that fight pushed back to February.

He added that Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva, for the vacant women's bantamweight title, is also scheduled for UFC 297.

Makhachev, 32, defeated Oliveira at UFC 280 in Oct. 2022 by submission in the second round, winning the vacant lightweight belt. He then defended his title against Alexander Volkanovski twice, beating him by unanimous decision at UFC 284 in February and by a first-round knockout in October at UFC 294.

He is now 25–1 in his professional MMA career and 13-1 in the UFC.

Oliveira, 34, won the lightweight title at UFC 262 in May 2021, defeating Michael Chandler by TKO. He defended it against Dustin Poirier but was stripped of his belt after missing weight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 in May 2022, though he won the fight by submission.

Since his loss to Makhachev he beat Beneil Dariush by TKO at June's UFC 289, extending his UFC record for finishes to 20.

Makhachev and Oliveira were originally going to stage their rematch at UFC 294, but Oliveira suffered a cut during a training session that forced him to withdraw. He told reporters he was surprised by the reports of a January rematch and hadn't been approached with any offers, but that he wanted to reclaim his title.

"You'll see the Charles you always see, always going forward, always going for the submission, for the knockout, going for the win," Oliveira said. "I want to be champion. I want to be the next champion. That's what I want."

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.

Justin Gaethje wants a shot at UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev after he successfully defended his title against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 on Saturday.

Makhachev cruised to victory via TKO at 3:06 of Round 1 after landing a clean head kick and issuing a fierce ground-and-pound attack versus the featherweight champion.

Gaethje, who is ranked as the No. 2 contender for the lightweight belt, is the highest-ranking competitor in his division who hasn't faced Makhachev just yet.

Former champion Charles Oliveira, currently ranked as the No. 1 contender, previously fell to Makhachev via second-round submission in Oct. 2022.

He was supposed to face Makhachev in a rematch Saturday, but an injury (deep cut above his right eyebrow) suffered during an October 9 sparring session forced him out of the fight.

Gaethje may want that title shot, but it appears UFC president Dana White believes Oliveira deserves another chance more.

Regardless of who faces Makhachev next, it's clear the champion is pound-for-pound one of the world's top fighters. He's on a 13-game match streak that has boosted his professional record to 25-1. Makhachev has won 11 fights via submission and another five by knockout. Six of his last seven wins have ended via submission or knockout as well.

He entered Saturday as the UFC's No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter, but he'll probably move up a spot after taking down Volkanovski (ranked No. 2) for a second time.

Gaethje is an accomplished fighter in his own right, though, with a lifetime record of 25-4 (20 knockouts). He's enjoyed a great 2023 with wins over Rafael Fiziev via majority decision and Dustin Poirier by second-round knockout. The case against Gaethje, though, is that he lost to Oliveira by first-round submission in May 2022.

We'll see what transforms as far as Makhachev's next fight goes, but for now, the lightweight champion stays atop his lofty perch after another dominant win.