Two UFC 294 fighters miss weight, Khamzat Chimaev signs new deal, Islam Makhachev has one demand from his opponent: MMA News Roundup
Find out about the biggest UFC updates and other stories with Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup.
Today's issue will discuss UFC 294 weigh-ins, Khamzat Chimaev's new contract, and more.
#3. Two fighters miss, all headliners make weight at UFC 294 weigh-ins
Every UFC 294 fighter except two successfully made weight for the mega event set to go down on Saturday, October 21 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Viktoriia Dudakova weighed in at 0.6 pounds above the strawweight limit of 116 lbs, but the fight with Jinh Yu Frey will go ahead with the Russian forfeiting 20% of her purse to her opponent.
The second fighter to miss weight was Mike Breeden, who came in 3.5 pounds heavier than the lightweight mark of 155 lbs. Per Megan Olivi, Breeden's opponent Anshul Jubli has accepted the fight but Breeden is yet to be medically cleared to compete as of the time of writing this article.
Despite stepping up on short notice, both Kamaru Usman (184.5 lbs) and Alexander Volkanovski (154.5 lbs) comfortably made weight, as did their opponents. Islam Makhachev tipped the scale at 155 pounds, while Khamzat Chimaev came in at 185.6 pounds.
Watch the full UFC 294 official weigh-ins below:
#2. Khamzat Chimaev signs new contract
Days before going up against former champion Kamaru Usman, Khamzat Chimaev inked a new deal with the UFC to extend his current contract.
Chimaev's manager, Majdi Shammas, told ESPN that the undefeated Chechen signed the dotted lines on Tuesday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it ensured 'Borz' would be exclusive to the promotion for the near future. He had two fights remaining on his contract which was extended with the new deal.
In a fun segment with MMA media personality Nina-Marie Daniele, Chimaev calculated that seven fights would earn him around $20 million, which got fans to wonder if he is making close to $3 million for each fight as per the new contract.
#1. Islam Makhachev wants Alexander Volkanovski to say 'thank you'
Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski engaged in mild trash-talking at the UFC 294 press conference on Thursday.
After initially claiming that Volkanovski only took the short-notice fight for money, Makhachev went on to demand gratitude from his opponent:
"What he put? Nothing. He just come to make money. He not bring his belt. I put my win streak. I put my belt... You have to say thanks to me. I can choose any other opponent. We have [Mateusz] Gamrot, we have [Dustin] Poirier. Everybody ready [to] fight [for] the belt, but I give you second time chance. Just say thank you. Just say thank you. That's it."
Check out Makachev's comments below:
Makhachev has previously claimed that the promotion had reached out to Poirier and Gaethje after Charles Oliveira was forced out of the fight due to an injury.