Russian fighter Petr Yan, former champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), said that he could not evaluate which opponent is better for UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in promotional tournament number 294 – Brazilian Charles Oliveira or Australian Alex Volkanovski. His words were reported by the press service of the Archangel Michael club.
“The UFC’s task is to maintain interest in the fight. They had already fought among themselves, it was an interesting fight. I think the upcoming fight will also be interesting, but this time it will be more difficult for Alex because the fight is not taking place on his territory,” said Yang.
Initially, Makhachev was supposed to fight Oliveira, but abandoned the fight due to the damage he received. UFC 294 takes place on October 21 and will take place in Abu Dhabi. The headline of the match will be the fight between Makhachev and Volkanovka.
On February 12, Makhachev defeated Volkanovski by unanimous decision after five rounds at UFC 284 in Perth. For the Russian, this victory was the 24th victory with a single loss in his professional career.
Makhachev won the UFC lightweight championship by defeating Oliveira by second-round submission on October 22, 2022.
Previously Volkanovski made Statement regarding the fight with Makhachev at UFC 294.