UFC 294: Islam Makhachev makes prediction for rematch against Alexander Volkanovski

Islam Makhachev says he wants to "finish all talk about this fight" as he puts his UFC lightweight title on the line in his rematch against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294.

The pair fought back in February 2023 at UFC 284 when Makhachev beat the featherweight champion by unanimous decision.

Now the two fighters meet in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, with Volkanovski taking the fight on short notice after replacing the injured Charles Oliveira.

At the press conference ahead of UFC 294, both fighers expressed their desire to have a rematch, with some questioning the result from the first fight.

"Everything has changed now [since first fight], I am going to try and finish him," said Makhachev.

"After the last fight there were many questions, all questions will be answered here.

"I wanted the rematch, last time I beat him in four of five rounds, this time everything will change. I want to finish him and I'll finish all the talk about this fight. 

"I've already beaten him once, but I want to smash everyone and finish everyone, everyone expected me to finish him first time but he gave me a hard time."

Defeat against Makhachev in February was just the second of Volkanovski's professional MMA career and came 10 years after his first - a TKO loss to Corey Nelson before his UFC days.

The Australian has since beaten Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 and is now ready to exact revenge on Makhachev.

"It is kill or be killed, that's that, I'm not here to play it safe," said Volkanovski.

"I'm not going to give up, I turn up every single time.

"I believe I'm the best fighter in the world, yes a lot is on the line but we get to put on a show and I can't wait for it."

Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 fight date, start time

• Date: Saturday, October 21
• Time: 2 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. UK time
• Main event cagewalks (approx): 5 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. UK time

The main card is set to get underway at 2 a.m. ET / 7 p.m. UK time with the main event cagewalks scheduled for 5 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. UK time. These timings could change due to the length of the undercard fights. 

What channel/stream is Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2?

• U.S.: ESPN+
• UK: TNT Sports

Fans in the U.S. will be able to stream the fight on ESPN+ (click here for more information), while TNT Sports will broadcast the fight in the UK. 

Where is the Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 fight?

The fight will take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. 

Islam Makhachev record and bio

• Nationality: Russian   
• Date of birth: October 27, 1991
• Height: 5' 10"   
• Reach: 70"   
• Total fights: 25   
• Record: 24-1   

Alex Volkanovski record and bio

• Nationality: Australian
• Date of birth: September 29, 1988   
• Height: 5' 6"   
• Reach: 71"   
• Total fights: 28   
• Record: 26-2   

Makhachev vs. Volkanovski fight card

Main Card

• Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski; for Makhachev's UFC lightweight title
• Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev; middleweight
• Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker; light heavyweight
• IIkram Aliskerov vs. Warllley Alves; middleweight
• Said Nurmagomedov v Muin Gafurov; bantamweight 

Preliminary card

• Tim Elliot vs. Muhammad Mokaev; flyweight
• Mohammad Yahya vs. Trevor Peek; lightweight
• Javid Basharat vs. Victor Henry; bantamweight
• Abu Azaitar vs. Sedriques Dumas; middleweight
• Mike Breeden vs. Anshu Jubli; lightweight
• Nathaniel Wood  vs. Muhammad Naimov; featherweight
• Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Jinh Yu Freyl; women's strawweight
• Shara Magomedov vs. Bruno Silva; middleweight