Khabib Nurmagomedov says Islam Makhachev is more motivated and excited for his rematch with Alexander Volkanovski than he was for Charles Oliveira.
Makhachev was set to defend his lightweight title on Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi at UFC 294 in a rematch against Oliveira. However, less than two weeks out, it was revealed that Oliveira was out of the fight and Volkanovski stepped up on short notice to rematch Makhachev.
Many fans think Volkanovski vs. Makhachev is the better fight. Even Khabib Nurmagomedov feels the same way, saying that Makhachev seems more excited about this rematch than the one with Oliveira.
Nurmagomedov details why Makhachev is more motivated than Volkanovski
“Islam’s camp was amazing, to be honest. When it was like 100 days before the fight, Islam began to train hard since this day. Today was (the) last hard sparring day,” Nurmagomedov said on UFC Embedded. “All hard work is finished. Volkanovski is different than Charles Oliveira. So, yeah, we’re gonna change some things. But, goal is the same. Same goal, same place. But, I think Islam have more motivation… Islam is a warrior. When he goes to the cage, he always fights. He’s gonna go deep ocean, it doesn’t matter how deep… And still.”
Khabib Nurmagmedov certainly has a point that Islam Makhachev would have more motivation for the Alexander Volkanovski rematch than Charles Oliveira. Makhachev dominated Oliveira and stopped him in the second round while Volkanovski vs. Makhachev was a very close fight and some thought the Aussie should have gotten the win.
Heading into the fight, Islam Makhachev is currently a -245 favorite while Alexander Volkanovski is a +200 underdog. Those odds are much closer than the first fight, as Volkanovski showed he can have success against Makhachev.
Islam Makhachev enters his UFC 294 title defense with a record of 24-1 and is currently riding a 12-fight win streak.
