This event, full of flying fists and devastating blows, changed the fan’s views on every fighter that participated. The Ultimate Fighting Championship 294, or UFC 294, was held on October 21 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The Early Preliminary and Preliminary matches were filled with thrilling bouts, but of course, the main card fights got the crowd the most riled up.
Starting off, the first main card fight was Said Nurmagomedov versus Muin Gafurov. Gafurov put pressure with jabs on Nurmagomedov but swung too wildly, letting Nurmagomedov connect with a guillotine hold, ending the match with Gafurov passing out.
Kicking at Ikram Aliskerov’s legs was Warlley Alves, trying to put the pressure on Aliskerov for the second main card bout. However, Aliskerov dropped Alves with a jab, following up with an almost textbook perfect double knee to Alves’s chin. Afterwards, Aliskerov deals out a barrage of blows, causing Alves to drop to the ground and giving Aliskerov the win with a TKO.
Head and leg kicks were a common scene in Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker’s bout. Walker was caught with a counter to the body after missing one of his leg kicks. He tried to rush in for a finish but missed a knee and ended up on the ground. Ankalaev then landed an illegal knee to a grounded Walker, causing a doctor to come inspect Walker’s status. After being asked where he was and what round it was, Walker did not reply, leading to the fight being called off and ending in a draw.
In the co-main event, Kamaru Usman vs Khamzat Chimaev, Khamzat was dominating round one with chokes and taking Usman’s back. In the second round, Usman tried to slow the pace but Khamzat was able to get a takedown and stay on top until the end of the round. Usman would not change his strategy, leading to Khamzat hitting him with another takedown. Khamzat achieves victory via majority decision.
Starring Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski, the UFC 294 main event had fans riled up to witness these pound for pound fighters go at it. After multiple exchanges of kicks and punches, Makhachev set up and landed a devastating head kick to Volkanovski, followed up by a beatdown on the ground for a TKO finish. Volkanovski had stepped up for Charles Oliveira with a less than optimal condition, causing many to wonder how this fight could have gone.
Oliveira is a popular fighter with a record of thirty-four wins, nine losses, and one draw. Excitement had been building up due to Oliveira and Makhachev’s rematch being twelve months in the making, their first match ending in Makhachev’s win.
UFC 294 was still filled with heart-pounding fights and the proving of multiple fighter’s worth, exciting fans for the next bouts.
