UFC 294 Results and Recap: Makhachev Knocks Out Volkanovski To Retain Lightweight Title; Chimaev Outworks Usman

Abu Dhabi, October 22: Islam Makhachev retained the lightweight title following a first round stoppage of Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 pay-per-view, which took place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Sunday (October 22).

Fans in Abu Dhabi took an emotional roller-coaster of highs and lows during an event that produced some key results inside the Octagon as five fights ended in stoppage, six went the distance and two were declared a no contest to the disappointment of some fans.

While there was no fight of the night award on the night, the main eventer - Makhachev and three more fighters - Ikram Aliskerov, Said Nurmagomedov and Muhammad Mokaev, on the undercard took home an extra USD50K as performance bonuses for their respective stoppage wins.

UFC 294 Recap

In their second meeting, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev denied UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski the possession of another belt with a head kick and punches for a first round KO in the main event.

Leaving no doubt who stays the king of the lightweights, Makhachev said, "Honestly, I have a great team and we always did this (head kick) in the locker room. They pushed me very hard and that's why it happened today.

"I showed him some low kicks and then went high. We planned it for Oliveira and used it for Volkanovski. This is my second home, this is because of you who support me, thank you. Thank you to Volkanovski, he's a real champion."

In the middleweight title eliminator co-main event, former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev engaged in a competitive, fascinating back-and-forth battle for the full 15 minutes.

Chimaev's wrestling took center stage, although Usman had bright moments of action as he tried to fight off on the ground. But in the end, the scorecards delivered Chimaev a majority decision.

Following the win Chimaev said: "I was a school kid when he was fighting. I'm a big fan of Usman and his coaches. Thank you my coaches, you made me who I am today.

"I didn't come here for the title - to come here, make money, be happy and fight somebody. I'm happy today to have money and do good for my mom."

Also on the main card, Johnny Walker and Magomed Ankalev's light heavyweight battle ended in no contest after the latter's accidental knee forced the referee to follow the doctor's order to call off the contest.

However, the other three fights on the main card did not disappoint as Aliskerov, Nurmagomedov and Mokaev claimed stoppage wins over their respective opponents - Warlley Alves, Muin Gafurov and Tim Elliot.

Aliskerov claimed a first-round TKO of Alves, while Nurmagomedov locked in the guillotine choke for the first-round submission win over Gafurov and Mokaev applied the arm-triangle choke to force Elliot to tap out in the third round.

On the preliminary card, India's Anshul Jubli was fantastic in the opening two rounds in his debut, but faded in the third where Mike Breeden mounted a crazy comeback for a TKO win, which was the only stoppage on the prelims. Here is a look at the UFC 294 results:

UFC 294 Results

A total of 13 fights took place on the UFC 294 card with six on the main card that saw five end in stoppages and one go the distance, and seven on the preliminary card that saw only two end in stopagges and five go the distance.

Main Card Results

1. Lightweight Championship Bout: Islam Makhachev defeated Alexander Volkanovski by KO (strikes) at 3:06 of Round 1
2. Middleweight Title Eliminator Bout: Khamzat Chimaev defeated Kamaru Usman by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
3. Light Heavyweight Bout: Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker declared a no contest (accidental foul) at 3:13 of Round 1
4. Middleweight Bout: Ikram Aliskerov defeated Warlley Alves by TKO (strikes) at 2:07 of Round 1
5. Bantamweight Bout: Said Nurmagomedov defeated Muin Gafurov by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:13 of Round 1
6. Flyweight Bout: Muhammad Mokaev defeated Tim Elliott by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:03 of Round 3

Preliminary Card Results

1. Lightweight Bout: Trevor Peek defeated Mohammad Yahya by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2. Bantamweight Bout: Javid Basharat and Victor Henry declared a no contest (accidental low blow) at 0:15 of Round 2
3. Middleweight Bout: Sedriques Dumas defeated Abu Azaitar by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
4. Lightweight Bout: Mike Breeden defeated Anshul Jubli by KO (strikes) at 3:00 of Round 3
5. Featherweight Bout: Muhammad Naimov defeated Nathaniel Wood by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
6. Women's Strawweight Bout: Viktoriia Dudakova defeated Jinh Yu Frey by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
7. Middleweight Bout: Shara Magomedov defeated Bruno Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)