UFC 294: Dana White announces Islam Makhachev vs Charles Oliveira 2 & Costa vs Chimaev

Islam Makhachev will defend his lightweight title against Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 294. Makhachev won the vacant lightweight title by submitting to Oliveira in Abu Dhabi last October, and the pair will headline at the Etihad Arena nearly one year after. Since winning the championship, Makhachev, 31, has defended his title against Australian featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, and defeated him by unanimous decision in February. Meanwhile, in June, Oliveira rebounded from his loss to Makhachev by stopping Beneil Dariush in the first round.

3 things you need to know

• Charles Oliveira vs Islam Makhachev is scheduled to take place at UFC 294
• Oliveira and Makhachev met last year inside the Octagon at UFC 280
• Paulo Costa was on the fight card of UFC 291 but was taken off and is now scheduled to fight Khamzat Chimaev

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Charles Oliveira vs Islam Makhachev rematch to take place at UFC 294

Charles Oliveira, 33, won the lightweight title in 2021 after Khabib Nurmagomedov - Makhachev's coach and childhood friend - vacated it. Last May, Oliveira was stripped of the gold after failing to make weight one day before his scheduled title defense against Justin Gaethje, whom he defeated in Round 1 to set up his first fight with Makhachev.

In a late scheduling change, Chimaev will face former title challenger Costa at middleweight in the co-main event of UFC 294. Former title challenger Costa was scheduled to face Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291 on July 29, but he will now face Khamzat Chimaev later in the year at UFC 294.

Chimaev has fought in the UFC at both middleweight and welterweight, most recently facing Kevin Holland in a catchweight bout at 180 pounds in September. After missing weight and having his planned welterweight fight with Nate Diaz canceled, the Russian-born Swede submitted Holland in the first round.

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Will Paulo Costa be able to match the prowess of Khamzat Chimaev?

While a star-studded UFC 291 is already set to take place, UFC has prepared another dazzling event for the fight fans in the form of UFC 294. Islam Makhachev vs Charles Oliveira 2 was expected to take place soon, however, it took more than a year for the Lightweight contest to materialize. As for Costa vs Chimaev, it would be intriguing to see how the Brazilian would defend himself against the dominant ground game of Khamzat Chimaev. What do you think is going to happen in these fights?