Makhachev Willing to Face Oliveira or Gaethje, But Not Excited About Another Rematch

Islam Makhachev was proud to showcase another element to his game in the UFC 294 headliner.

The reigning lightweight champion retained his title with a first-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski in their rematch at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Makhachev hurt his foe with a head kick and finished the job with follow-up punches at the 3:06 mark of Round 1. It was a far cry from their first meeting: a hard-fought unanimous decision win for Makhachev at UFC 294 in February.

“My coaches have told me I have a good head kick. I always try to land the kick when I fight,” Makhachev said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “For an opponent like Volkanovski, who’s a little bit shorter, it’s the best plan to land some kicks. When you have short opponent, it’s easy to land. I show him low kick, body kick and show him head kick. This is the plan.

“(I was) really happy to finish him (in the ) first round,” he added. “If it happened in championship rounds, people start to talk, ‘he took the fight on short notice and he’s not ready for championship rounds.’”

With the book closed on his rivalry with Volkanovski, talk quickly turned to Makhachev’s next opponent. UFC CEO Dana White revealed that he is leaning toward booking the champion against originally scheduled foe Charles Oliveira, even though Justin Gaethje has been lobbying hard for his own championship opportunity.

“You’ve got to give it to Oliveira,” White said. “Oliveira is ready to go. Unfortunately he got cut. I think you give it to Oliveira. But again, these are all questions that I really can’t answer right now.”

As for Makhachev, he’s willing to take on all comers.

“It’s not my job. Dana has to work on this,” Makhachev said. “I just will sign the contract. Just send me the name. But my opinion, I feel like I already have two opponents. Charles? OK, I will beat Charles, but who’s going to be next? Gaethje? He will wait? I don’t think it’s a good idea, but it is what it is. If they say Charles, OK. If they say Gaethje, for me it’s OK. It doesn’t matter – I will be ready.”

However, while Makhachev might be a company man when it comes to accepting fights, he made it clear that he’s not exactly thrilled with the possibility of another rematch.

“When you have rematch, it’s like the same. Exactly the same opponent. You have the same camp. It doesn’t make you happy,” he said. “Training last couple months for the same opponent…I said (during interviews) I have the same feeling. Last year I was here, the same gym, same team.

“When you prepare for some new opponents, it’s different. And you become a good fighter when you’re training for other opponents. Because every other opponent has something more, something different. When you’re training for the same opponent, it’s like you stay in one level.”

Makhachev defeated Oliveira via second-round submission in their first meeting at UFC 280, and he anticipates a similar result should they square off again in the near future.

“It’s not going to be different,” Makhachev said. “I will show him, and he will feel a hard time. He will give up, and I will choke him or finish him.”