Islam Makhachev vs Charles Oliveira 2 Headliner Official for UFC 294
Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira will clash in a rematch for UFC Lightweight Championship to headline UFC 294 PPV.
The announcement came from UFC President Dana White on UFC’s social media channels late night on July 20. UFC 294 is set to take place on October 21, 2023, at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Makhachev and Oliveira clashed at UFC 280 PPV for the vacant lightweight title at the same venue. On that night, Makhachev got the win via second-round submission to become the champion. He has since defended it successfully against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 event via unanimous decision.
Makhachev is currently on a 12-fight winning streak in UFC since his only loss in MMA at his UFC debut back in 2015. He has defeated the likes of Dan Hooker, Bobby Green, Drew Dober and Thiago Moises during this run apart from the win over Oliveira.
Oliveira has also won 12 of his last 13 bouts in UFC with Makhachev being his only loss. He won UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 262 by beating Michael Chandler and defended it against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269. He was stripped off the title at UFC 274 where he missed weight before his title defense against Justin Gaethje. However, Oliveira was able to beat Gaethje at the event to be confirmed as the #1 contender for the title.
Amid rumbling for their match, Oliveira recently said that he might not be ready in time for a bout against Makhachev at UFC 294, and asked for the bout to be booked in November or December. There is no update on what changed Oliveira’s mind to agree to fight in October itself.
White also announced two more fights for UFC 294. Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov were set to fight on UFC 291, but they both now have new opponents at UFC 294. Costa will take on Khamzat Chimaev, while Aliskerov will face Nassourdine Imavov in separate middleweight bouts.
Tim Elliott vs Muhammad Mokaev flyweight bout is the only other bout reported or confirmed for UFC 294 for now.
First fights official for #UFC294 and they are HUGE!
— UFC (@ufc) July 20, 2023
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