The UFC 294 main event took place on October 21, 2023, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The match featured last-minute replacement Alexander Volkanovski against Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. The lightweight champion reigned supreme over the featherweight champion via knockout in the very first round. Makhachev was set to face Charles Oliveira in a rematch at the event, but Oliveira had to pull out due to injury. This made way for Volkanovski who accepted the fight on 11-days notice to face Makhachev. Although the Australian ended up on the losing side he was able to take home a big fight purse.
Defeating the Dagestani fighter by taking the fight on a short notice period was always going to difficult. However the Great seemed confident pre fight press conference and stated that he knew what he had to do to win the fight. Makhachev commended Volkanovski for his courage but mentioned during the press conference that the Australian was fighting for money.
How much money did Alexander Volkanovski earned at UFC 294?
‘The Great’ won his previous fight against Yair Rodríguez, via KO/TKO at UFC 290 and earned over $1 million, as per the source. However, the MMA community is curious to know how much money the current UFC featherweight champion made from the rematch.
According to sources, Volkanovski earned $1,011,000 which included a base pay of $1 million and an incentive pay of $11,000. He was also expected to earn more through pay-per-view points but that was subject to the qualification.
‘The Great’ had expressed how important the rematch was for him as he waited desperately to beat Islam Makhachev post his defeat in their previous fight at UFC 284. The match turned out to be a huge disappointment for the featherweight champion as he got knocked out at 3 minutes 6 seconds of the very first round.
The result of the match is also most likely going to impact the PFP rankings as both Volkanovski and Makhachev were in an intense chase for the number 1 spot on the list.
Islam Makhachev takes a dig at Jon Jones and pound-for-pound rankings
‘The Great’ and Makhachev had a bout for PFP ranking at UFC 284 and even though Makhachev emerged as the winner he was not ranked above Volkanovski. Post the event, UFC released its rankings in which Volkanovski was ranked #2 in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings. On the other hand, Islam Makhachev stood at #3 with Jon Jones having the top spot.
The pound-for-pound ranking has been a constant ick for the lightweight champion and he even spoke about it during UFC 294 media day when he took a shot at Jon Jones. He said:
“This is what UFC champions have to do — like real champions. If you’re real champion you have to take this fight. Doesn’t matter how many days, who it’s going to be. Not like your pound-for-pound champion when they gave him Chael Sonnen. If you’re real champion, you have to fight.”
After UFC 294, the MMA community and fans around the world are keenly waiting to watch where the Dagestani fighter is placed after the fight. It will be interesting to see new PFP list and the rankings of the fighers.
