{"id":292517,"date":"2023-10-21T10:24:21","date_gmt":"2023-10-21T10:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=292517"},"modified":"2023-10-21T10:24:21","modified_gmt":"2023-10-21T10:24:21","slug":"volkanovski-obsessed-with-exacting-revenge-against-islam-makhachev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/volkanovski-obsessed-with-exacting-revenge-against-islam-makhachev\/","title":{"rendered":"Volkanovski &apos;obsessed&apos; with exacting revenge against Islam Makhachev"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Alexander Volkanovski has been &#8216;obsessed&#8217; with exacting his revenge against Islam Makhachev while Kamaru Usman &#8216;was not the UFC&#8217;s first choice to face Khamzat Chimaev&#8217; as the pair prepare for short-notice showdowns at UFC 294<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Alexander Volkanovski\u00a0reportedly &#8216;obsessed&#8217; with rematching Islam\u00a0Makhachev<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Featherweight champion stepped in on 11 days notice for UFC 294 main event<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>UFC explored other options for co-main event before turning to Kamaru Usman\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Alexander Volkanovski has reportedly been &#8216;obsessed&#8217; with the prospect of rematching Islam Makhachev ahead of their lightweight title fight at UFC 294.<\/p>\n<p>The UFC Featherweight Champion takes on Makhachev on Saturday night as a short-notice replacement having had just 11 days to prepare for the event&#8217;s headline bout.<\/p>\n<p>However, the 35-year-old has been chomping at the bit for the chance to take on Makhachev once more, after the lightweight king handed him his first UFC defeat earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>After the promotion returned to Volkanovski&#8217;s native Australia for UFC 293 last month, Volkanovski met with UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell to discuss the next defence of his 145lb title.<\/p>\n<p>However, according to a report from ESPN, while plans were made for a future clash with featherweight contender Ilia Topuria, what stood out to Campbell was Volkanovski&#8217;s burning desire to exact revenge against Makhachev.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/21\/10\/76832603-0-image-a-15_1697881069027.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Alexander Volkanovski has reportedly been &#8216;obsessed&#8217; with the prospect of rematching Islam Makhachev\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/21\/10\/76832609-0-image-a-26_1697881231132.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Makhachev handed the Australian his first defeat inside the Octagon at UFC 284 earlier this year<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/21\/10\/76832635-0-image-a-27_1697881271491.jpg\" height=\"454\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>But Volkanovski will get his shot at redemption when the pair face off at UFC 294 on Saturday<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;[Volkanovski] kept saying to me, &#8216;I know that if I get another opportunity, I can beat him,&#8217; Campbell said. &#8216;He was obsessed with it.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Makhachev was given the nod at UFC 284 following an action-packed five rounds that divided fans, with some arguing that Volkanovski deserved the decision.<\/p>\n<p>It was expected that the pair would meet again inside the Octagon at some point possibly next year, but fate has brought the Australian back into the fold.<\/p>\n<p>After Charles Oliveira was forced to withdraw from his own highly-anticipated rematch with Makhachev, Volkanovski wasted no time in accepting the opportunity to replace the Brazilian in a bid to become a two-weight world champion.<\/p>\n<p>While Volkanovski was the UFC&#8217;s first choice as a late-notice replacement in Saturday&#8217;s main event, the same could not be said for Kamaru Usman.<\/p>\n<p>After weeks of speculation Paulo Costa was ruled out of his co-main event clash with Khamzat Chimaev, with the former welterweight champion announced as the Brazilian&#8217;s replacement to much fanfare.<\/p>\n<p>However, prior to Costa being officially removed from the event the UFC explored multiple options before ultimately turning to Usman.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/21\/10\/76832615-0-image-a-29_1697881320410.jpg\" height=\"428\" width=\"306\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/21\/10\/76832611-0-image-a-30_1697881320421.jpg\" height=\"428\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>The UFC contacted both Sean Strickland and Jared Cannonier to replace Paulo Costa against Khamzat Chimaev<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/21\/10\/76831765-0-image-a-23_1697881122935.jpg\" height=\"458\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>But with both unavailable the promotion turned to former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The promotion are said to have first turned to Sean Strickland as a potential replacement, a move that would&#8217;ve elevated the co-headliner into a middleweight title bout.<\/p>\n<p>Just six weeks removed from his triumph over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, though, Strickland reportedly declined the fight, noting that the timing did not make sense for him.<\/p>\n<p>Perennial middleweight contender Jared Cannonier was also contacted as a potential replacement, but the American then suffered his own injury in training, ruling him out of the fight.<\/p>\n<p>With two potential options unavailable, the UFC turned to Usman and the 36-year-old agreed to take the fight with the stipulation that he will be granted a middleweight title shot should he hand Chimaev his first defeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/mma\/article-12656281\/Alexander-Volkanovski-obsessed-exacting-revenge-against-Islam-Makhachev-Kamaru-Usman-not-UFCs-choice-face-Khamzat-Chimaev-pair-prepare-short-notice-showdowns-UFC-294.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Alexander Volkanovski has been &#8216;obsessed&#8217; with exacting his revenge against Islam Makhachev while Kamaru Usman &#8216;was not the UFC&#8217;s first choice to face Khamzat Chimaev&#8217; <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/volkanovski-obsessed-with-exacting-revenge-against-islam-makhachev\/\" title=\"Volkanovski &amp;apos;obsessed&amp;apos; with exacting revenge against Islam Makhachev\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292516,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Volkanovski &amp;apos;obsessed&amp;apos; with exacting revenge against Islam Makhachev - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/mma\/volkanovski-obsessed-with-exacting-revenge-against-islam-makhachev\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Volkanovski &amp;apos;obsessed&amp;apos; 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