We’re just a few days away from a highly anticipated matchup between Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev. However, Makhachev was supposed to face Charles Oliveira in a rematch at UFC 294 on October 21, 2023, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately, Oliveira suffered a serious cut on his eyebrow just a few days before the fight. This meant that he had to pull out, and the UFC had to find a short-notice replacement. The Dagestani will now face the Australian for the second time at UFC 294 with the lightweight belt on the line. Makhachev won his previous fight, which was against ‘The Great’, via a unanimous decision and earned over $1 million. The MMA community is now curious to know how much money the lightweight champion will make from the rematch set to take place this weekend.
The UFC was able to put together a fight between Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski, who accepted the fight on 11 days’ notice. This is set to be one of the most anticipated fights of the year and will surely bring in huge PPV numbers. With that being said, let’s take a closer look at how much money Islam Makhachev and Volkanovski will make at UFC 294.
Islam and Alexander Volkanovski set to walk away with massive paydays
According to reports, for his first fight against ‘The Great’ at UFC 284, Islam Makhachev made around $1 million, as mentioned above. Needless to say, he will be making a lot more this time around. Sources suggest that Makhachev will get $500,000. In addition to that, he will receive $500,000 in PPV points and a $100,000 win bonus. To round it all off, he will be paid $42,000 from sponsorships. This brings the grand total to $1,142,000.
Volkanovski, on the other hand, is set to make $500,000 to show and $32k in sponsorship money. While Volkanovski is the underdog in this fight, it will be the biggest win of his career and one of the biggest upsets in UFC history if he is able to secure a win on Saturday night.
Makhachev, meanwhile, looks to claim the #1PFP ranking by defeating the Australian, who currently holds the second spot on the list. The Dagestani wanted to be on the top of PFP rankings post his win over ‘The Great.’
However, it didn’t happen. The PFP list is currently topped by Jon Jones and recently Makhachev did not shy away from taking a dig at the UFC heavyweight champion.
Islam Makhachev takes shots at Jon Jones
In the build-up to the fight, Makhachev did not miss his chance to take a shot at Jon Jones. During the media day press conference, he pointed out how he is different from Jon Jones. Makhachev said:
“This is what a UFC champion has to do. Like a real champion. If you’re a real champion you have to take the fight, it doesn’t matter how many days, who it’s going to be, not like your pound-for-pound champion [Jon Jones] when they gave him Chael Sonnen. When you’re a real champion, you have to fight.” (2:09-2:34)
The heavyweight champion famously refused to take a short-notice fight against Chael Sonnen at UFC 151. Jones was supposed to face Dan Henderson who withdrew due to an injury. Jones refused to face Sonnen on short notice and the event was eventually scrapped. Makhachev pointed out that unlike Jones he saved the event by taking on a fight against another champion on just 11 days notice.
With that said, the main event of UFC 294 has got all the fans excited. The champion vs champion fight will likely have a huge impact on their careers given the magnitude of the fight.
