Islam Makhachev made a statement in his rematch with Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates this past weekend (Oct. 21, 2023).
The UFC Featherweight champion, Volkanovski, knew the risk he was taking by fighting his old foe, Makhachev, on just 11 days’ notice after Charles Oliveira went down with an injury. Unfortunately for “The Great,” it didn’t pay off as he suffered a first round technical knockout loss via a head kick and punches (watch highlights).
Although he wasn’t live in person on the call, longtime UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan, still caught the action in real-time from the comfort of his Houston, Texas podcast studio. After the first encounter between Makhachev and Volkanovski this past February 2023, which went to Makhachev via unanimous decision (watch highlights), Rogan felt the Australian had done enough to get the nod. This time around, there was no room left for debate on who was the better man.
“What a shocker,” Rogan said on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast. “He head kicked him. Who would have saw that coming? It was amazing. Shin to the dome, son. Opened up a cut, it was perfect.
“He showed a bunch of new s—t,” he continued. “That front kick and he was throwing that kick to the body and then he threw the same kick to the head. It’s a solid win. The way it went down, this was not, ‘He was tired.’ No, he got caught. He got caught with an amazing kick.”
The loss for Volkanovski is only the third of his 29-fight career and second by strikes. The first came in the fourth fight of his career, and at Welterweight, against Corey Nelson. Coincidentally, that was also a head kick and punches finish. Then the other loss was, of course, Volkanovski’s previous bid for Lightweight supremacy against Makhachev.
Makhachev, 31, typically hasn’t been a finisher on the feet despite his ever-improving striking ability. The win was just his fifth time beating an opponent via strikes, with his prior coming against Bobby Green on the ground in February 2022 (watch highlights).
“I’m just so impressed that he won that way,” Rogan said. “He showed so much improvement. He really made adjustments.
“Perfect head kick,” he concluded. “Look, he knocked down Oliveira in the last fight, remember, his striking was his weakest point and now it’s f—king dangerous as anybody in the division. You knock out Volkanovski, s—t.”
For complete UFC 294 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.