UFC 294 Gets New Main Event After Injury, Charles Oliveira out

On Tuesday night, UFC 294 lost its original scheduled main event. Not long after, the upcoming ESPN+ pay-per-view fight card picked up a new headlining bout. Like the initially scheduled fight, Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira, the new main event is a rematch. That fight, confirmed by UFC CEO Dana White, is Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski. Makhachev’s UFC lightweight title is on the line when he faces the featherweight titleholder on Saturday, October 21, from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

After confirming the change for the upcoming PPV event, White went into details about why the former UFC lightweight champion was forced to withdraw from UFC 294.

“Round 5 of sparring last night (Monday), before he’s supposed to jump on a plane today, splits his eyebrow wide open and had it stitched up last night,” White said following Tuesday’s Dana White Contender Series event at the UFC Apex. “Obviously he can’t fly out there with that.

“We (the UFC) would have had him go to a plastic surgeon that would have sewed it from the inside out, get that thing done the right way. These guys never call us when they should when something happens. They call us after they get it stitched up. But on the flipside I can see him not wanting to risk it. Getting a shot like this.”

As for Volkanovski taking the fight on less than two week’s notice, White had nothing but praise for the current UFC featherweight kingpin.

“The Volkanovski crew. I mean, him and Israel (Adesanya), these guys are just absolute studs. He jumps in, and he accepts the fight.

Makhachev and Volkanovski competed in a hard-fought five-round contest at UFC 284. Makhachev walked away from that fight, which took place in Perth, Australia, with a unanimous decision win. The judges scored the fight 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 in the lightweight champ’s favor. The contest was Makhachev’s first defense of his UFC 155-pound title.

White also mentioned that Mateusz Gamrot, who was recently announced as the backup for the UFC 294 main event, was considered to replace Oliveira, but that he was not chosen. However, it is believed Gamrot will remain in the backup role for the event if the lightweight or featherweight champ can’t compete on fight night.

After White announced the main event change, Oliveira released a video entitled “I apologize” that showed off the cut that forced him out of the fight.

Makhachev won the vacant UFC lightweight title in the main event of UFC 280 by submitting Oliveira in October 2022. The belt was vacant because Oliveria missed weight at UFC 274. The UFC stripped Oliveira of the title for coming in heavy for his fight against Justin Gaethje for that May 2022 scrap. Oliveira defeated Gaethje by first-round submission. He then faced Makhachev for the vacant belt in his next outing.

UFC 294 is an early card in the States. The ESPN+ pay-per-view card begins at 2:00 p.m. ET, following prelims on ESPN+ at 10:00 a.m. ET.