The previous few weeks have been chaotic for the UFC and its high-profile UFC 294 PPV that was scheduled to air in Saudi Arabia. Charles Oliveira was replaced by Alexander Volkanovski after rumours surfaced that the boxer had sustained an injury during training, forcing him to withdraw from the contest.
Following the release of that information, word spread that Paulo Costa would also be unable to compete because of an elbow illness brought on by recent surgery. He was scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event.
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Unexpectedly, Kamaru Usman, a former welterweight champion, decided to go up to 185 pounds in order to fight ‘Borz’ and rescue the co-main event. Alexander Volkanovski, the reigning featherweight champion, jumped at the chance to face Makhachev again in the main event.
Given the circumstances, if all of that seems to be miraculously excellent news for the biggest MMA promotion in the world, there was also a word of warning. Top featherweight contender Ilia Topuria said that he was already in negotiations to face Alexander Volkanovski in January just before word of Oliveira’s withdrawal. It seems fairly obvious that the UFC 297 booking in Toronto would need to be rescheduled given that the “Great” will now compete at UFC 294 this week.
The turnaround time for a title bout in UFC history is not the quickest. Undoubtedly, compared to their contemporary opponents, some of the promotion’s early champions used to fight at a startling pace back in the day. Heck, even Jon Jones defeated Anthony Smith in his second attempt at the LHW championship only two months after defeating Alexander Gustafsson to claim the vacant belt. But maintaining that timetable is still quite difficult. Particularly given the likelihood that Volkanovski won’t be leaving UFC 294 with his hand raised.
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