Islam Makhachev will risk the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight crown when he squares off with featherweight titleholder Alexander Volkanovski in a champion-versus-champion rematch atop UFC 294 on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev takes on Kamaru Usman in the three-round middleweight co-headliner at 185 pounds.
6: Organizations for which Makhachev has plied his MMA trade. He has gone 13-1 in the UFC, 5-0 in M-1 Global, 2-0 in Tsumada Fighting Championship, 2-0 in Professional Fighting Championships, 1-0 in Lion’s Fights and 1-0 in Siberian Fighting Championship.
12: Consecutive calendar years in which Volkanovski has fought at least once. In addition to his 1-1 mark in 2023, he went 1-0 in 2012, 3-1 in 2013, 5-0 in 2014, 2-0 in 2015, 3-0 in 2016, 2-0 in 2017, 3-0 in 2018, 2-0 in 2019, 1-0 in 2020, 1-0 in 2021 and 2-0 in 2022.
73: Rounds completed by Usman as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 11 different occasions and carries a 10-1 record in those bouts.
100: Significant strikes by which Chimaev has outlanded the opposition in his six UFC appearances. He has connected on 220 such strikes while absorbing only 120 of them in return.
16: Johnny Walker wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 76% of his career total (21). His list of UFC victims: Paul Craig, Ryan Spann, Misha Cirkunov, Justin Ledet and Khalil Rountree. Walker confronts Magomed Ankalaev in a three-round light heavyweight showcase.
150,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Ankalev across his 11 assignments in the UFC. He has been awarded “Performance of the Night” three times.
1,646: Days since Ikram Aliskerov last experienced a defeat. The KHK MMA Team prospect was undone in a first-round knockout loss to the aforementioned Chimaev at a Brave Combat Federation event on April 19, 2019. Aliskerov puts a six-fight winning streak on the line against Warlley Alves in a three-round middleweight feature.
34: Seconds needed for Alves to subdue Wallace Oliveira with a rear-naked choke under the Celeiro Combat flag in April 2011. More than 12 years later, it remains his fastest finish to date.
2: Sub-minute stoppages on the Said Nurmagomedov resume. He punched out Mark Striegl in 51 seconds at UFC Fight Night 180 and put away Cody Stamann with a guillotine choke in 47 seconds at UFC 270. Nurmagomedov takes on Muin Gafurov in a three-round bantamweight appetizer.
7: Gafurov victories by submission, accounting for 39% of his career total (18). His methods of choice: four armbars, two guillotine chokes and one rear-naked choke.
23: Years of age for Muhammad Mokaev. The youngest fighter on the card, he was born on July 30, 2000 in Buynaksk, Russia. Mokaev meets former Titan Fighting Championship titleholder Tim Elliott in a three-round flyweight prelim.
38: Years of age for Jinh Yu Frey. The oldest fighter on the card, she was born in Crossett, Arkansas, on May 20, 1985. Frey faces the unbeaten Victoria Dudakova in a three-round women’s strawweight prelim.
.817: Cumulative winning percentage between the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event. They boast a combined record of 388-86-3. Volkanovski has the most victories (26) of anyone on the card, while Elliott has been saddled with the most losses (12).