Although it isn’t the UFC 294 fight week we had been looking forward to, it is certain not to disappoint. After both Charles Oliveira and Paulo Costa were forced to withdraw from the event, we still have a lightweight title fight, as well as a #1 contenders fight in the middleweight division.
The main event sees a rematch between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski. The two fought to a closely contested decision back in January, with Makhachev getting his hand raised.
The co-main event will see Kamaru Usman look to snap a two-fight losing skid when he steps up to middleweight to take on Khamzat Chimaev.
We give you the UFC 294 best bets!
Best Bets for UFC 294
Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Jinh Yu Frey
Viktoriia Dudakova returns for her second UFC bout and after just a 34 second debut, she’ll be raring to go. Coming off the contender series, her full UFC debut ended via an injury to her opponent and was certainly unfulfilling for the Russian.
She makes the walk to take on Jinh Yu Frey, a woman without a win in her previous three fights. What’s worrying for fans of the American is that these losses haven’t even come at the hands of the elite of the division.
This one is Dudakova’s to lose. She’s younger, better and without a doubt the more hungry fighter in there. With six finishes across her seven wins, Dudakova will be looking to get in and out the octagon quickly once more.
Pick – Dudakova via submission
Muhammad Mokaev vs. Tim Elliott
Muhammad Mokaev is taking on the toughest test of his young career at UFC 294 as he steps into the octagon to face off against former title challenger, Tim Elliott. Mokaev is undefeated in his short career and has ambitions to become the youngest-ever UFC world champion. He’ll have to get past Elliott in his tenth professional bout if he is to have any reality of doing this, however.
Elliott is a wiley customer with bags of experience. In Abu Dhabi, he’ll be making his 32nd walk to the octagon, with varied success. Although he has 12 losses, Elliott is 4-1 in his last five fights, having dropped three on the spin prior to that.
Five of his six finish losses have come via submission and with a takedown defence of 60%, we can expect this one to go to the ground at some point with Mokaev in search of the submission finish. Mokaev has 22 takedowns in his four UFC fights, so expect him to mix in the wrestling game from the off.
Elliott should be able to hold off the submission game of Mokaev for the full 15 minutes, however.
Pick – Mokaev via Decision
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman
The co-main event is an epic middleweight battle between the former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman and soaring contender, Khamzat Chimaev. We now know that the winner of this will face Sean Strickland for the title next.
Despite taking this on short notice, don’t expect the moment to get to Usman. He’s a seasoned professional with 23 professional fights. He hasn’t competed across just three rounds since 2018, which means we can ignore any cardio issues for The Nigerian Nightmare. Although he’s lost his last two fights, fans are seemingly forgetting just how good he was before he ran into Leon Edwards.
Khamzat Chimaev: “If you are the best in the world why have you lost?”
#UFC294 | Saturday, 5PM | LIVE on TNT Sports & discovery+ pic.twitter.com/uo5abSK9ov
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) October 19, 2023
Chimaev has looked almost flawless throughout his career thus far, however, hasn’t faced anyone even close to the calibre of Usman. His best win is Gilbert Burns which was a closely contested decision between the men.
Despite being the underdog, don’t expect Usman to get run through. This one will be close, and competitive for the full 15 minutes. Don’t expect a finish, this one should go the full distance with both men putting on a showcase of high level MMA.
Pick – Fight to go the distance
Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski
The main event sees an epic rematch between the featherweight king, Alexander Volkanovski and the lightweight king, Islam Makhachev. After their first meeting, we get to see a highly anticipated round six.
In the final round of their first bout, Volkanovski seemingly was getting the better of Makhachev and will likely enter the fight full of confidence, despite taking it on short notice. There is a worry that he hasn’t been able to prepare fully for Makhachev, will be worried too much about the takedown threat and get caught on the feet.
He was arguably dropped against Makhachev in an exchange early on, however, it wasn’t counted on UFC stats so we know Makhachev has the power.
The lightweight champ is coming to make a statement in Saturday's rematch
#UFC294 pic.twitter.com/HqMudshttz
— UFC (@ufc) October 19, 2023
All the pressure is on Makhachev in this one. He’s the one who has been preparing for this date, the one with the win previously, the more natural lightweight and most importantly, fighting in his adopted home. Expect him to turn up, massively. Let’s go for a risky pick in this one.
Pick – Makhachev via round four TKO
