Tag: UFC 294

Ex-UFC Champ Urges Alexander Volkanovski to Take Some Time off and Heal: ‘He’s not the same guy’

Alexander VolkanovskiFormer two-division champion Henry Cejudo believes Alexander Volkanovski may have unintentionally exposed himself following his devastating loss to Islam…

Alexander Volkanovski

Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo believes Alexander Volkanovski may have unintentionally exposed himself following his devastating loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 294.

After narrowly dethroning the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ in their February Fight of the Year contender, Volkanovski accepted a rematch on just 11 days’ notice, stepping in for Makhachev’s originally scheduled UFC 294 opponent, Charles Oliveira. Despite the short-notice nature of the matchup, ‘The Great’ went into the bout with the utmost confidence.

Tragically, Volkanovski would come crashing back down to reality just three minutes into the contest when Islam Makhachev landed a perfectly timed head kick that spelled the end of Volkanovski’s dreams to become a dual-world champion.

Following the event, an emotional Alexander Volkanovski revealed his “struggle” to remain active inside the Octagon, even in the most unfavorable of situations.

“I put myself in his position,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “I think the biggest mistake that Alexander could do is share a lot of who he is as a person to the people. Why do I say that? ‘I’m going through anxieties, I need to stay busy guys, I go crazy if I don’t stay busy or if I don’t fight.’ If I’m a competitor and I’m seeing all that, especially seeing him get knocked out, you know what I’m gonna be doing? I’m gonna be picking at him.”

“If I’m Ilia [Topuria], if I know that he’s concussed, and I know that he goes crazy when he’s not fighting or he’s at home or he goes through anxiety. If I’m Ilia Topuria, you guys know what I’m thinking? I’m thinking about calling this dude out and getting him to step up still on January 20th to have a better chance of actually beating him. You see, there’s times when you’ve gotta keep things to yourself. When you don’t keep things to yourself, you start to expose yourself” (h/t MMA Mania).

Henry Cejudo Urges Volkanovski to take him time

Despite the setback in Abu Dhabi, Volkanovski remains in talks to defend his featherweight title against No. 5 ranked contender Ilia Topuria at UFC 297 on January 20 in Toronto. That would give ‘The Great’ less than three months to prepare for what could very well be the toughest test of his reign as the 145-pound champion.

“If I’m Ilia Topuria on the flip side, you know what I’m thinking? I have to pick a fight with him,” Cejudo continued. “I have to get him to fight me on January 20th because the simple fact that he’s concussed. He’s concussed, it’s not the same Alexander Volkanovski that was out here finishing all these opponents … he’s not the same guy.

“If I’m Alexander Volkanovski on the flip side, you know what I’m doing? I gotta humble myself,” Cejudo said. “I gotta allow my brain to heal for the next six months. I’ve been concussed. Being concussed or going through a knockout, it takes you a minute for you to really kind of start walking that straight line. So there’s two sides. Volk, take your damn time. I wouldn’t necessarily be in a rush. You’re gonna have to humble yourself. Yeah, I’m saying humble yourself because it shouldn’t be about ego or pride. It should be about winning.”

The UFC is expected to make an announcement regarding UFC 297 in the coming weeks.

Paulo Costa calls for December return, blasts rival Khamzat Chimaev following ‘Weak’ fight at UFC 294

Paulo Costa blasts Khamzat Chimaev for weak win at UFC 294 targets December fight returnRecovering from multipl surgical procedures to address a nasty bursitis infection in his elbow, former undisputed middleweight title challenger,…

Paulo Costa blasts Khamzat Chimaev for weak win at UFC 294 targets December fight return

Recovering from multipl surgical procedures to address a nasty bursitis infection in his elbow, former undisputed middleweight title challenger, Paulo Costa remains hopeful of fighting this year despite his withdrawal from UFC 294 over the course of last weekend, claiming he would be open to fighting arch-enemy, Khamzat Chimaev as soon as December. 

Costa, the current number six ranked middleweight contender, was slated to fight at UFC 294 last weekend against rival, Chimaev, until a bursitis infection in his elbow – which has required three surgical procedures to address, forced his exit from the co-main event slot.

Attending the event nevertheless in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Costa watched on from fighter row as Chimaev took home a close, majority decision win over former welterweight champion and prior pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman in a short-notice middleweight title-eliminator.

Paulo Costa laughs off Khamzat Chimaev’s “weak” win at UFC 294

Providing an update on his own respective fighting plans, Costa, who has been sidelined since a decision win over ex-champion, Luke Rockhold in August of last year – claimed he could fight as soon as December, as well as mocking Chimaev’s performance against Usman, describing it as “weak”.

“It was a horrible fight, in my opinion, for (Khamzat) Chimaev,” Paulo Costa told Submission Radio. “I think Usman did what he could do. Usman was very short notice. You know, nine, 10 days training. And you need to fly to Abu Dhabi. You don’t have time to train. So, I think Chiamev messed with his opportunity to fight for the title. I don’t think he gonna fight for the title next, because Usman is not a legit middleweight. He was 170 pounds, very good fighter, we know.”

“And I think if Usman had a little bit more time to train, like, three weeks, he would have beat him for sure,” Paulo Costa explained. “So, I truly believe, to be honest, to be fair, you need to fight a legit middleweight to be able to deserve something. So, I’m here, right here. So, why not? I will be able to fight in December. You can do this in December or January. I don’t know, I think December is time enough. I have been training for this fight for entire year since January when UFC contacted me about the fight. And yeah, I don’t need too much time. Just finish to healing this arm and jump in the training camp for five weeks is enough for me. I’m ready.” 

Who would you like to see Paulo Costa fight in his return to the UFC?

Paulo Costa calls for December return, blasts rival Khamzat Chimaev following ‘Weak’ fight at UFC 294

Paulo Costa blasts Khamzat Chimaev for weak win at UFC 294 targets December fight returnRecovering from multipl surgical procedures to address a nasty bursitis infection in his elbow, former undisputed middleweight title challenger,…

Paulo Costa blasts Khamzat Chimaev for weak win at UFC 294 targets December fight return

Recovering from multipl surgical procedures to address a nasty bursitis infection in his elbow, former undisputed middleweight title challenger, Paulo Costa remains hopeful of fighting this year despite his withdrawal from UFC 294 over the course of last weekend, claiming he would be open to fighting arch-enemy, Khamzat Chimaev as soon as December. 

Costa, the current number six ranked middleweight contender, was slated to fight at UFC 294 last weekend against rival, Chimaev, until a bursitis infection in his elbow – which has required three surgical procedures to address, forced his exit from the co-main event slot.

Attending the event nevertheless in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Costa watched on from fighter row as Chimaev took home a close, majority decision win over former welterweight champion and prior pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman in a short-notice middleweight title-eliminator.

Paulo Costa laughs off Khamzat Chimaev’s “weak” win at UFC 294

Providing an update on his own respective fighting plans, Costa, who has been sidelined since a decision win over ex-champion, Luke Rockhold in August of last year – claimed he could fight as soon as December, as well as mocking Chimaev’s performance against Usman, describing it as “weak”.

“It was a horrible fight, in my opinion, for (Khamzat) Chimaev,” Paulo Costa told Submission Radio. “I think Usman did what he could do. Usman was very short notice. You know, nine, 10 days training. And you need to fly to Abu Dhabi. You don’t have time to train. So, I think Chiamev messed with his opportunity to fight for the title. I don’t think he gonna fight for the title next, because Usman is not a legit middleweight. He was 170 pounds, very good fighter, we know.”

“And I think if Usman had a little bit more time to train, like, three weeks, he would have beat him for sure,” Paulo Costa explained. “So, I truly believe, to be honest, to be fair, you need to fight a legit middleweight to be able to deserve something. So, I’m here, right here. So, why not? I will be able to fight in December. You can do this in December or January. I don’t know, I think December is time enough. I have been training for this fight for entire year since January when UFC contacted me about the fight. And yeah, I don’t need too much time. Just finish to healing this arm and jump in the training camp for five weeks is enough for me. I’m ready.” 

Who would you like to see Paulo Costa fight in his return to the UFC?

Khamzat Chimaev lands at #9 in middleweight division in new UFC rankings update ahead of title fight

Khamzat Chimaev debuts as #9 in new middleweight rankings after UFC 294 title eliminator winOff the back of his close, majority decision win over former undisputed welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman in an officially…

Khamzat Chimaev debuts as #9 in new middleweight rankings after UFC 294 title eliminator win

Off the back of his close, majority decision win over former undisputed welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman in an officially billed championship-eliminator at UFC 294 over the course of last weekend, undefeated contender, Khamzat Chimaev has only landed at number nine in the 185lbs weight class, as part of the latest rankings update.

Chimaev, who returned to the Octagon for the first time since he co-headlined UFC 279 back in September of last year, managed to turn in a close, majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28) victory against former pound-for-pound number one, Usman in Abu Dhabi, UAE – in the pair’s official title-eliminator, 

Improving to 13-0 with his judging win as a result, Khamzat Chimaev has been immediately pegged to challenge for middleweight gold against incumbent division champion, Sean Strickland in his return to the Octagon – having defeated Usman in what UFC CEO, Dana White officially branded as a championship-eliminator bout.

Khamzat Chimaev debuts at #9 in new middleweight rankings update

However, as part of the new official rankings update today, the Chechen-born force has only debuted at number nine in the pile, behind other contenders, Jack Hermansson, Roman Dolidze, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori, Jared Cannonier, Robert Whittaker, Dricus du Plessis, and ex-champion, Israel Adesanya. 

And as far as the above-mentioned, Strickland is concerned, while he has no issue fighting Chimaev in the future, off the back of his UFC 294 win over Usman on just 10 days’ notice, he’s not sure the undefeated contender has earned his shot thoroughly. 

“The only thing I like about (Khamzat) Chimaev is that he sells fights,” Sean Strickland said. “For some reason, people f*cking like him or don’t like him, I don’t know. To me, he’s a f*cking paycheck. He sells a lot of fights. People pay to watch but he f*cking hasn’t earned it [title fight].”

“He doesn’t f*cking deserve it but here we are,” Sean Strickland explained. “Give it to him. He sells a lot of fights. I’ll go f*cking fight the man for five rounds. But no, he has not earned it. He doesn’t f*cking deserve it and getting a decision with a welterweight off the couch does not f*cking earn it.”

Does Khamzat Chimaev deserve a title fight after his UFC 294 victory?

Islam Makhachev knocks Alexander Volkanovski from pound for pound perch with stunning UFC 294 title fight win

Islam Makhachev knocks Alexander Volkanovski from pound for pound list with UFC 294 knockout winOff the back of his stunning first round high-kick knockout win over featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski in the main…

Islam Makhachev knocks Alexander Volkanovski from pound for pound list with UFC 294 knockout win

Off the back of his stunning first round high-kick knockout win over featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 294 last weekend, Islam Makhachev has toppled the Australian from the number two spot in the official pound-for-pound rankings – however, has yet to land at number one, in place of heavyweight kingpin, Jon Jones.

Featuring in the main event of UFC 294 over the course of last weekend in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Makhachev turned in a spectacular first round win over New South Wales native, Volkanovski, dropping and stopping the featherweight titleholder with a first round left high-kick knockout win.

Islam Makhachev moves to #2 in the UFC pound-for-pound list

The victory came as Makhachev’s second on the trot against Volkanovski, who had taken the Russian the distance over the course of five rounds back in February in Perth, Australia, suffering a unanimous decision loss to the former in his first promotional defeat.

“Islam Makhachev (@MAKHACHEVMMA) moves up to No.2 in the official #UFC pound-for-pound rankings following his impressive #UFC294 victory, but Jon Jones retains the No. 1 spot,” John Morgan posted on his X account. “Alexander Volkanovski drops to No. 3 with the loss in the latest rankings update.” 

Expected to weigh up a potential welterweight move in the near future in search for a second championship reign, Makhachev has been tipped, however, to immediately share the Octagon with former titleholder, Charles Oliveira in a rescheduled rematch by UFC CEO, Dana White.

In response to White’s plans to put the two together in a title re-run, Makhachev has warned Oliveira how pursuing a rematch with him would be a massive mistake on his part.

“It’s not my job [to book my next fight],” Islam Makhachev said after UFC 294. “Dana (White) has to work on this, and I will sign the contract. Just send me the name. But in my opinion, I feel like I already had two opponents. Okay, I will beat Charles. Then who is going to be next? (Justin) Gaethje –  he will wait. I don’t think it’s a good idea. But it is what it is. If they [the UFC] say Charles, okay, If they say, Gaethje, okay. Doesn’t matter, I’ll be ready.”

Can Islam Makhachev eventually move to the top of the pound-for-pound list?

Video: Israel Adesanya Reacts to Islam Makhachev’s Brutal Head Kick KO of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294

Israel AdesanyaFormer two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was left understandly distraught after seeing his teammate, Alexander Volkanovski, go down to…

Israel Adesanya

Former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was left understandly distraught after seeing his teammate, Alexander Volkanovski, go down to a vicious first-round head kick in the UFC 294 headliner.

Stepping into the Octagon to run back their February Fight of the Year contender on just 11 days’ notice, Alexander Volkanovski was as confident as ever that he could solve the puzzle that the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ presents. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as the reigning featherweight champ succumbed to a perfectly-timed head kick three minutes into the contest.

Watching from the comfort of his home, Volkanovski’s City Kickboxing teammate Israel Adesanya was hoping to see his friend leave Abu Dhabi as a double champion. Instead, ‘The Last Stylebender’ would be left in shock after seeing Volkanovski come up short for the second-straight time against the lightweight world champion.

“F*ck. It was that left kick from southpaw,” Adesanya said in his reaction video on YouTube. “It went over the head and just clipped him. I think he caught him with it in the first fight, maybe. Still the best, bro. I love you, dude. F*ck! It was there, but it just scraped over him. F*ck.”

Coming up short of claiming his second UFC title, Alexander Volkanovski will likely return to the 145-pound division where Ilia Topuria anxiously awaits his opportunity to challenge for the featherweight championship.

Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya will continue to sit on the sidelines and enjoy some time away from the Octagon after his own devastating defeat at the hands of Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September. The loss came five months after reclaiming the belt from long-time foe Alex Pereira. The ‘Stylebender’ has not provided any sort of timeline for his return to the Octagon, but he did acknowledge that it would be “a long time” before we see him compete again.