UFC 294: Ex-UFC Fighter Believes Makhachev vs Volkanovski Better Than Oliveira Fight

Another significant change has been made to UFC 294, and a well-known successor Volkanovski has been appointed to face Makhachev in place of Oliveira.

UFC president Dana White revealed on social media on Wednesday that Islam Makhachev will compete for the UFC lightweight championship against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 294. When Charles Oliveira, the former lightweight champion, suffered a cut during training and had to withdraw from the Makhachev fight, that fight finally happened on Tuesday.

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Ex-UFC Fighter Believes Makhachev vs Volkanovski Better For UFC 294 Than Oliveira Fight

With Charles Oliveira being forced to withdraw from his rematch for the lightweight championship against Islam Makhachev in the main event, UFC 294 has a little different look at the top. On less than two weeks’ notice, the featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski steps in for his chance at redemption.

On a brand-new episode of Between the Links, the panel discusses if the fight is more intriguing than the original booking, whether Volkanovski is in a win-win situation and other topics in response to the new main event for the UFC pay-per-view event taking place the following weekend.

Ex-UFC Fighter Brendan Schaub has also shared his opinion on the same on X, stating “ Khamzat v Usman+ Volk v Islam are better fights than the original fights.”

Hot take! Khamzat v Usman + Volk v Islam are better than the original fights. Insane they pulled it off. 🔥 https://t.co/dJebpl5l8s

— Brendan Schaub (@BrendanSchaub) October 11, 2023

Fans had to share their opinion on the same:

😂

No they are not. They would have been if it wasn’t short notice and fighters had time to prepare. But what do you expect Volk and Usman to actually do, coming in on short notice to fight fighters training to grapple for 5RDs for months.

— ED (@EdTGO) October 11, 2023

Exactly what I’m saying.

— N (@Nocturnal) October 11, 2023

Not a hot take amigo 🫦

— Veetz (@DONCXR) October 12, 2023

Is it still gonna be good fights without the replacements having a full camp tho?

— N (@Nocturnal) October 11, 2023

A “hot take” is when you come up with something different and controversial.

— Doctor Remulak (@Doctor__Remulak) October 11, 2023

I would say equal. I preferred the original card but I can't complain about this one.

— carrotxake10203 (@CarrotCake56829) October 11, 2023

I was definitely excited for Islam/Charles 2 but the Co-Main just got a whole lot better imo

— Marcus Carey (@_marcuscarey) October 11, 2023

Very true. Australia will be awake at 5am on a Sunday for this one, it’s massive.

— Crypto Prophet (@CryptoProfet) October 12, 2023

https://twitter.com/J_Capz13/status/1712534498217439629

By name only, Volk and Usman havent had full camps.

— 🐺 (@El_Lobo18_) October 12, 2023

When the main event and co-main event were in danger, the UFC 294 card as a whole was destroyed. Due to injuries, Paulo Costa and Charles Oliveira had to withdraw. The unexpected event was a shocker for the combat community, but it appears that UFC CEO Dana White has more options at his disposal.

The inaugural UFC 294 event had just 9 days left, but UFC officials were adamant about finding Khamzat Chimaev a challenger. They may have really improved the UFC 294 in their efforts to save it. This comes from Dana White himself, who confirmed that Chimaev’s backup will be Kamaru Usman.