The eyes of the mixed martial arts world will be on the United Arab Emirates in October when UFC 294 is staged at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
UFC 294 is the headline act of a week-long festival of events hosted by the promotion to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
Abu Dhabi first welcomed the UFC in 2019, when Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier went head-to-head in a lightweight title fight at UFC 242.
That belt will be on the line again on October 21 when Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira face each other in their eagerly -awaited rematch.
Read on as we look at the fights confirmed to date for UFC, before previewing what promises to be a blockbuster showdown for the lightweight title.
UFC 294: Fight Card
UFC 294 will be the promotion’s 18th event in Abu Dhabi and the first since UFC 280 was staged in October 2022. Here is the current confirmed line-up:
- Islam Makhachev vs Charles Oliveira – Lightweight
- Paulo Costa vs Khamzat Chimaev – Middleweight
- Nassourdine Imavov vs Ikram Aliskerov – Middleweight
- Muhammad Mokaev vs Tim Elliott – Flyweight
- Magomed Ankalaev vs Johnny Walker – Light Heavyweight
- Sedriques Dumas vs Abu Azaitar – Middleweight
- Bruno Silva vs Sharabutdin Magomedov – Middleweight
- Jinh Yu Frey vs Victoria Dudakova – Women’s Strawweight
More fights are scheduled to be added to the UFC 294 card over the next few weeks.
UFC 294: Makhavchev vs Oliveira Preview
The first fight between Makhavchev and Oliveira generated a ton of interest in online betting circles and their second meeting is expected to follow in the same vein.
Makhachev submitted Oliveira at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi to claim the title and has been installed as the 1/3 favourite to retain the belt in October.
However, astute bettors from the Middle East might find it worth considering the odds of 14/5 for Oliveira’s victory on 1XBET as indicative of good value for this occasion.
Prior to his defeat against Makhavchev, the Brazilian fighter had delivered plenty of winning returns for UFC bettors over the previous four years.
He had racked up an impressive 11-fight winning streak – a run which included victories over Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
The 33-year-old rewarded punters who kept the faith in his next contest by extending his UFC record of 20 finishes with a dominant performance against Beneil Dariush.
He controlled the centre of the cage from the outset in that fight and soon had his opponent on the back foot and covering up in the face of relentless attacks.
Oliveira is undoubtedly a more potent striker than Makhachev and that ability will be his primary weapon in his bid to upset the odds in Abu Dhabi.
A feature of Oliveira’s career has been his ability to learn from his mistakes and he may well put that talent to good use at UFC 294.
Makhachev heads into this contest on the back of a five-round unanimous decision victory over Alexander Volkanovski and it will be intriguing to see if that fight has left a lasting mark.
The Russian’s intensive style proved too hot for Oliveira to handle in their first meeting, with the latter falling into the trap of neglecting his defence.
He is unlikely to make the same mistake in the rematch, which could cause Makhachev to become frustrated as the fight progresses.
If Oliveira can adopt a more patient approach in Abu Dhabi, he could be the value bet to win the lightweight title for the second time in his career.
Elsewhere on the card, an exciting middleweight clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa could be another fight where the betting outsider prevails.
Chimaev took his professional record to 12-0 with a quickfire victory over Kevin Holland at UFC 279 last September but has not fought since then.
He has been touted as a potential future challenger for the middleweight title and will need to beast Costa comprehensively for that to become a reality.
However, Costa produced a sparkling performance when beating former champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 278 and his chances of victory in Abu Dhabi should not be underestimated.
Costa can be backed at 11/4 to halt Chimaev’s climb up the middleweight ranks and those odds will likely attract plenty of interest among Arab punters.
Do check out: UFC Schedule: Get All the Latest Updates on Fight Cards, Watch Times, and Live Stats
