UFC 294 Pre-fight Discussion Islam M. vs. Alexander V. Sat. Oct. 21 10AM ET! PPV & ESPN+

[The_Renaissance]

With it being a 3pm kickoff, I'll definitely tune in for the entire card with some beers, its a good 8/10 in general but that's mainly based on 3-4 fights.

 

[michi972]

Whole card. Blessing for european fans

 

[balkanbomber85]

Its a pity our bank holidays are this year on different days so Ill start my autum vacation only on the 26th.... I really enjoyed the AD card last year on the very first vacation day. No stress, no responsibilities, only MMA and good food, drinks and weed.... At least I can still enjoy a good event at a reasonable time.

 

[Kryptt]

Main should be ending round when our game starts so that's actually a plus fer me this time. Prolly hazy headed still at 10am but...

 

[PurpleStorm]

Storylines to Watch at UFC 294

BRIAN KNAPP OCT 17, 2023
Pound-for-pound power struggles always provide plenty of palpable intrigue. Alexander Volkanovski will once again put his featherweight title on ice and move up the scale to challenge Islam Makhachev for the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight crown when their rematch shoulders the UFC 294marquee on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Aussie wound up on the wrong side of a five-round unanimous decision against Makhachev in their first champion-versus-champion superfight at UFC 284 in February, though it was contentious enough that there were immediate calls for a rematch.

The incomparable Volkanovski steps up to the plate as a short-notice fill-in for the injured Charles Oliveira, having rattled off 23 victories across his past 24 appearance. He last competed at UFC 290, where he put away “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” winner Yair Rodriguez with third-round punches to retain his featherweight championship on July 8. Volkanovski’s 13-1 record in the UFC includes three wins over Max Holloway and another against Jose Aldo.

On the other side of the equation, Makhachev appears to have the 155-pound weight class on lockdown. The Khabib Nurmagomedov protégé enters the Octagon on the strength of a 12-fight winning streak that now spans more than eight years. His 13-1 mark in the UFC includes finishes of Oliveira, Bobby Green, Dan Hooker, Thiago Moises, Drew Dober, Kajan Johnson, Gleison Tibau and Leo Kuntz. Makhachev has not fought since he swept the scorecards from Volkanovski a little more than eight months ago.

The Makhachev-Volkanovski rematch and its impact on the immediate future of two divisions is but one storyline to watch at UFC 294. Here are four more:

https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/Storylines-to-Watch-at-UFC-294-191416

 

[PurpleStorm]

Main should be ending round when our game starts so that's actually a plus fer me this time. Prolly hazy headed still at 10am but...

Cool. See ya in the play by play!

 

[BEATDOWNS]

2 good fights.

 

[P4p Islam]

Islam gonna dominate volk again

 

[KOPPE]

Bruno Silva went from KOing everyone and surviving Pereira to the bottom of the perlims

 

[Davidjacksonjones]

Enjoy the fights guys
Fingers crossed I don't have to work on Sunday so I can stay up at 3am to watch this amazing card

 

[PaddyO'malley]

Trust me my UFC friends. I know the way.

Spoiler

 

[PurpleStorm]

Preview: UFC 294 Prelims
Mokaev vs. Elliott
TOM FEELY OCT 18, 2023

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday will return to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with UFC 294 and an interesting slate of prelims. The best fight of the batch takes the featured slot at Etihad Arena, where flyweight uber-prospect Muhammad Mokaev looks to break into the Top 10 at 125 pounds against Tim Elliott, who figures to be his toughest test to date. In terms of pure action, a bantamweight battle between Javid Basharat and Victor Henry stands out, and the long-waited promotional debut of middleweight Sharabutdin Magomedov serves as the other main point of interest.

Now to the preview for the UFC 294 “Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2” prelims:

https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/1/Preview-UFC-294-Prelims-191429

 

[PurpleStorm]

Preview: UFC 294 ‘Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2’
Makhachev vs. Volkanovski
TOM FEELY OCT 19, 2023

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s annual trip to the United Arab Emirates on Saturday looks much better now than it did two weeks ago. Initially slated to see Islam Makhachev defend his lightweight crown against Charles Oliveira, the UFC 294headliner at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi received a surprising upgrade a week and a half out, as Oliveira was replaced by featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovskifor a rematch of their classic encounter in February. Meanwhile, the co-main event sees former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman move up to 185 pounds to take on Khamzat Chimaev—a far more intriguing bout than the original pairing between Chimaev and Paulo Costa. The other major attraction on this card sees Magomed Ankalaev look to return to light heavyweight contention against Johnny Walker. Those three fights alone are worth the price of admission.

Now to the UFC 294 “Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2” preview:

https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/1/Preview-UFC-294-Makhachev-vs-Volkanovski-2-191436

 

[Zanmato]

There are half a dozen muslims on this card in UAE, that are all probably favourites to win, this will be the Free Palestinest card of the century

 

[Ladron4sherdog]

There are half a dozen muslims on this card in UAE, that are all probably favourites to win, this will be the Free Palestinest card of the century

Palestine being free seems to trigger some. Would love to see Palestinian flags!

 

[Zanmato]

Palestine being free seems to trigger some. Would love to see Palestinian flags!

I wonder if there will be any pre fight briefing re: staying away from the subject. Not really the venue to be discussing politics I think. Expecting a lot of it though

 

[PurpleStorm]

Stoked for this card. Enjoy the fights!

 

[Yorick]

Looking at blonde Dudkova, I still remember with horror Yoder's freakishly cut face.
Yuck!

 

[TempleoftheDog]

Big card this week. Lots to talk about. SD is totally divided on a cpl of these fights.

There are some squash matches according to the odds. 6 undefeated fighters on the card. And 5 with only one loss.

This Magomedov guy seems like a complete psychotic scumbag to me. That escalator/sucker punch incident about a year and a half ago. And kicking that guy in a bjj tourney about 6 months ago.

Respect for competing with a serious disability. But, he’s a lowlife. Will he be allowed to fight in the US under an American AC? Bisping said he had to fool the AC Doctors when he was fighting. Magomedov’s eye issue is well known, though.

He might even be refused admission to the US for all I know. I’ve tried to research it but can’t really find anything concrete about an AC and his eye. Or whether his arrest is an issue. Conor never has issues entering the US.

11-0 with 10 KO/TKO. It’s just too bad he’s completely unlikable. But Silva is a nice test. I will pick the undefeated streak to remain intact. Then I guess we see what happens with his eye, and his arrest.

Only one wmma fight on the card. 38 year old natural AW Jinh Yu Frey vs 24 year old undefeated Victoria Dudakova. The odds pretty much reflect the realities of the situation. They are ranked 38, and 39 on Tapology. But they are headed in opposite directions in the rankings.

I’ve always liked Frey going back to her debut in Invicta. It’s tough because she is a natural AW. But did miss weight at least a cpl of times. Including her last fight in Invicta. I’m not sure what her contract status is. But this might be 4 losses in a row.

She might retire, or get cut with a loss here. I’m picking Dudakova to win.

Ankalaev vs Walker. On paper it seems pretty obvious. Ankalaev can just control him on the ground and easily win on points. And Walker is not known for a great chin either. He’s been KOd a few times.

Walker has done well in his last 3 fights. He’s made a nice turnaround since losing 4/5 a while back. Could Walker catch Ankalaev with something on the feet? I suppose, but it just doesn’t seem too likely, to me. But I really would like to see that happen. It would make for a cool story, imo.

I’m going with Ankalaev in this one.

Co-Main.. It’s ridiculous that the winner gets the next TS at MW and we all know it. But that’s a whole different conversation. It’s about fucking time Borz fights again. The hype has dropped off pretty heavily. But there’s not a lot of logic behind it, imo.

A lot of people hating on Borz here. Usman has been favoured in almost all of his fights. But not too many people actually liked the guy. Because he’s simply not likable. I’ve seen many people say it’s the first time they’ll be cheering for Usman. That pretty much says it all, right there.

I think many people are making predictions with their hearts, and not their heads. Way too many people picking Usman to win a 3 round fight, imo. If it was 5 rounds it might be a different story. But Usman isn’t going to win two rounds by wall and stall, or lay and pray.

He has no physical advantages except for an inch of reach. Way too much is being made of the fight each of them had with Burns. It’s still just another form of mmath and has zero bearing on this fight.

Late replacement moving up in weight. And coming off of the worst performance he’s ever had in the UFC. He got caught in the rematch. He flat out lost in the trilogy. And now there’s a possible knee injury, as well.

Borz by early sub is going to be my pick.

ME.. This is weird. It is nothing like what it was going into their first fight. There is no way Alex is in peak form. How could he be? The deck is totally stacked against him in this fight.

The only question I have is about Islam’s weight cut. But he’s fighting on “home” turf. We all know it. He may not even actually have to make championship weight as such. And what are the exact rules about IV usage in Abu Dhabi?

I’m picking Islam to win this fight. I think it’s just too much of an uphill climb for Alex. It’s not just being a late replacement. There was the surgery, and who knows how much training Alex has been able to do since then? It just seems like a really tall order. If he were to win that would be massive. But there’s too much not in his favour. If not for the surgery. I might take a flyer on Alex. But I just can’t see it under ALL of the circumstances surrounding this fight.

I do reserve the right to change any picks I’ve made until after I see the weigh ins. But my Tap card is already done (hidden). I’m pretty confident with my picks.

8:00am start for me. I’ll make sure to hit up the beer store, and weed store tomorrow.

Enjoy the fights everybody. I hope for no controversy and may the better fighters win.

Thanks for the thread @PurpleStorm

 

[Hank Grill]

Big card this week. Lots to talk about. SD is totally divided on a cpl of these fights.

There are some squash matches according to the odds. 6 undefeated fighters on the card. And 5 with only one loss.

This Magomedov guy seems like a complete psychotic scumbag to me. That escalator/sucker punch incident about a year and a half ago. And kicking that guy in a bjj tourney about 6 months ago.

Respect for competing with a serious disability. But, he’s a lowlife. Will he be allowed to fight in the US under an American AC? Bisping said he had to fool the AC Doctors when he was fighting. Magomedov’s eye issue is well known, though.

He might even be refused admission to the US for all I know. I’ve tried to research it but can’t really find anything concrete about an AC and his eye. Or whether his arrest is an issue. Conor never has issues entering the US.

11-0 with 10 KO/TKO. It’s just too bad he’s completely unlikable. But Silva is a nice test. I will pick the undefeated streak to remain intact. Then I guess we see what happens with his eye, and his arrest.

Only one wmma fight on the card. 38 year old natural AW Jinh Yu Frey vs 24 year old undefeated Victoria Dudakova. The odds pretty much reflect the realities of the situation. They are ranked 38, and 39 on Tapology. But they are headed in opposite directions in the rankings.

I’ve always liked Frey going back to her debut in Invicta. It’s tough because she is a natural AW. But did miss weight at least a cpl of times. Including her last fight in Invicta. I’m not sure what her contract status is. But this might be 4 losses in a row.

She might retire, or get cut with a loss here. I’m picking Dudakova to win.

Ankalaev vs Walker. On paper it seems pretty obvious. Ankalaev can just control him on the ground and easily win on points. And Walker is not known for a great chin either. He’s been KOd a few times.

Walker has done well in his last 3 fights. He’s made a nice turnaround since losing 4/5 a while back. Could Walker catch Ankalaev with something on the feet? I suppose, but it just doesn’t seem too likely, to me. But I really would like to see that happen. It would make for a cool story, imo.

I’m going with Ankalaev in this one.

Co-Main.. It’s ridiculous that the winner gets the next TS at MW and we all know it. But that’s a whole different conversation. It’s about fucking time Borz fights again. The hype has dropped off pretty heavily. But there’s not a lot of logic behind it, imo.

A lot of people hating on Borz here. Usman has been favoured in almost all of his fights. But not too many people actually liked the guy. Because he’s simply not likable. I’ve seen many people say it’s the first time they’ll be cheering for Usman. That pretty much says it all, right there.

I think many people are making predictions with their hearts, and not their heads. Way too many people picking Usman to win a 3 round fight, imo. If it was 5 rounds it might be a different story. But Usman isn’t going to win two rounds by wall and stall, or lay and pray.

He has no physical advantages except for an inch of reach. Way too much is being made of the fight each of them had with Burns. It’s still just another form of mmath and has zero bearing on this fight.

Late replacement moving up in weight. And coming off of the worst performance he’s ever had in the UFC. He got caught in the rematch. He flat out lost in the trilogy. And now there’s a possible knee injury, as well.

Borz by early sub is going to be my pick.

ME.. This is weird. It is nothing like what it was going into their first fight. There is no way Alex is in peak form. How could he be? The deck is totally stacked against him in this fight.

The only question I have is about Islam’s weight cut. But he’s fighting on “home” turf. We all know it. He may not even actually have to make championship weight as such. And what are the exact rules about IV usage in Abu Dhabi?

I’m picking Islam to win this fight. I think it’s just too much of an uphill climb for Alex. It’s not just being a late replacement. There was the surgery, and who knows how much training Alex has been able to do since then? It just seems like a really tall order. If he were to win that would be massive. But there’s too much not in his favour. If not for the surgery. I might take a flyer on Alex. But I just can’t see it under ALL of the circumstances surrounding this fight.

I do reserve the right to change any picks I’ve made until after I see the weigh ins. But my Tap card is already done (hidden). I’m pretty confident with my picks.

8:00am start for me. I’ll make sure to hit up the beer store, and weed store tomorrow.

Enjoy the fights everybody. I hope for no controversy and may the better fighters win.

Thanks for the thread @PurpleStorm

Samsies, weed and booze and watching your football team lose, it's a good Saturday.