UFC 294 has come and gone and it delivered on all levels as expected. We saw some fighters emerge as contenders and then we saw some fighters solidify themselves as the best in the world which is exactly what Islam Makhachev did when he stunned Alexander Volkanovski knocking him out in the first round.
Islam Makhachev was getting ready to face off against Charles Oliveira who had to withdraw due to a gash above his right eye. The UFC then gave a call to Alexander Volkanovski who couldn't say no to the opportunity of becoming champ-champ so he jumped at the chance on just 10 days' notice. While many believe that could have been the deciding factor as to why Volkanovski lost this matchup, they still can't take away what Makhachev was able to do that no one in the UFC was able to accomplish and that is put away one of the greatest fighters in the history of the UFC.
Makhachev has proven that he should be the pound-for-pound best fighter that the UFC has to offer and he will now be looking to go down in lightweight history when he attempts to tie the record for most title defenses (3) in lightweight history which is held by his longtime training partner Khabib Nurmagomedov. Let's take a look at what is next for the lightweight king as he moves forward in his historic UFC career.
Charles Oliveira
This seems to be a no-brainer as the next possible opponent for Islam Makhachev. These two were originally scheduled to face off against one another at UFC 294 but an unfortunate cut derailed this rematch. Since losing his title to Makhchev, Oliveira was able to get back into the win column with a knockout victory against the surging Beneil Dariush who was looking to contend for the title for the first time in his UFC career.
The first fight between these two wasn't particularly close as Makhachev looked like he was getting the better of Oliveira in all aspects of the fight. From the grappling to the striking, he was even able to submit the high-level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt to win the lightweight championship in the second round. Oliveira will be looking to right his wrong and put on a better showing when he gets his second crack at becoming the lightweight champion when he squares off against the lightweight king Islam Makhachev.
Justin Gaethje
After a rough showing against Charles Oliveira in his second attempt to become the undisputed lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje was able to battle back and get two big wins back-to-back. He first had a hard-fought win against Rafael Fiziev where he went to war with an elite striker for 15 minutes winning a majority decision. Then much like Makhachev did to Volkanovski, Gaethje's head kick knocked out Dustin Poirier in the second round of their highly anticipated rematch between the two.
These two wins put Gaethje right at the top of the list of potential contenders for the lightweight championship. Gaethje's last two losses were only title shots against former champions Charles Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov. The two most deserving of a title shot right now are Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje and depending on the extent of Oliveira's absence Gaethje could be lined up next for Makhachev who will not turn down a fight against anyone.
Leon Edwards
This is one of the more farfetched opponents out of the bunch and this all depends on whether Leon Edwards is able to reclaim his welterweight championship when he takes on Colby Covington. Makhachev has shown interest in moving up in weight and competing for the welterweight championship. He certainly is maybe one to two fights away from making that jump as by then he would have defended the lightweight championship more times than anyone in the history of the UFC.
This also could come sooner rather than later if the opportunity presented itself from the UFC and if Oliveira or Gaethje weren't ready to step up in time for their title shot. This would be a chance for Makhachev to go down in the history books and become the next champ-champ in the history of the UFC and one of the best fighters to ever do it. He will look to follow in the footsteps of his training partners Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov in hopes of going down as one of the greatest fighters in not only the history of the UFC but this history of the sport.
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