If Alex Volkanovski was unable to commit, due to his recent surgery and heavier-than-normal weight, we could have seen Islam Makhachev fighting Dustin Poirier.
Hunter Campbell had a wild couple of days.
Not only did he have to patch and putty the UFC 294 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, thanks to an untimely injury to middleweight contender Paulo Costa, the promotion’s Chief Business Officer also had to find an opponent to replace Charles Oliveira in the five-round lightweight headliner after “Do Bronx’ got busted open in training camp.
Justin Gaethje was Campbell’s first choice to face lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, according to ESPN, but “The Highlight” was walking around at 188 pounds and unable to drop the weight in time for the Oct. 21 fight card in Abu Dhabi. That’s when calls went out to both Dustin Poirier and UFC 294 back fighter Mateusz Gamrot, before the decision was made to book Alexander Volkanovski.
“Not just said he would do it,” Campbell told ESPN about his conversation with Poirier. “But bugging me — ‘What’s up, man? C’mon, brother. Tell me.’”
Maybe Poirier just wanted a ride in that Bentley.
“The reality is Gamrot is a gamer and he’s still the backup at this stage,” Campbell said. “But we had enough time where we had an opportunity to make one of the greatest fights of this generation. Champ versus champ.”
Champ vs. champ … Part 2.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 294 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 10 a.m. ET, followed by the UFC 294 PPV main card start time at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 294: “Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the complete UFC 294 fight card and PPV lineup click here.