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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matt Erickson

UFC 294 predictions: Will Alexander Volkanovski become a dual champ at Islam Makhachev’s expense?

The UFC is back in the Middle East this week with history at stake – again – at the top of the card.

UFC 294 takes place Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view at a special time of 2 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

Get pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below.

Muin Gafurov vs. Said Nurmagomedov

Said Nurmagomedov vs. Muin Gafurov

Records: Gafurov (18-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC), Nurmagomedov (17-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC)
Division: Bantamweight
Betting odds: Nurmagomedov -220, Gafurov +180
Junkie pick results: Nurmagomedov 11, Gafurov 0

Ikram Aliskerov vs. Warlley Alves

Ikram Aliskerov vs. Warlley Alves

Records: Aliskerov (14-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Alves (14-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Betting odds: Aliskerov -470, Alves +360
Junkie pick results: Aliskerov 11, Alves 0

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker

Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker

Records: Ankalaev (18-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC), Walker (21-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC)
Division: Light heavyweight
Betting odds: Ankalaev -350, Walker +275
Junkie pick results: Ankalaev 8, Walker 3

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman

Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev

Records: Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), Usman (20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Betting odds: Chimaev -250, Usman +200
Junkie pick results: Chimaev 10, Usman 1

Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Records: Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC), Volkanovski (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Betting odds: Makhachev -350, Volkanovski +205
Junkie pick results: Makhachev 8, Volkanovski 3

Preliminary card picks

Victoria Dudakova vs. Jinh Yu Frey

Although fights on the prelims don’t count toward the standings in the MMA Junkie staff picks, we still pick each fight. Here are some key results:

There are two unanimous picks on the prelims. Javid Basharat (14-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is an 11-0 pick from our staff members in his bantamweight fight against Victor Henry (23-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC). Basharat is the second biggest betting favorite on the card at 6-1. And fellow unbeaten fighter Victoria Dudakova (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), more than a 5-1 favorite against Jinh Yu Frey (11-9 MMA, 2-5 UFC) at strawweight, is a unanimous pick – though she missed weight Friday.

While not 11-0 shutouts, there were some other blowouts on the prelims. Arguably the most interesting is Abu Azaitar (14-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who is a 10-1 pick over Sedriques Dumas (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at middleweight – even though Dumas is a -245 betting favorite.

Mohammad Yahya (12-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has a 9-2 picks edge over Trevor Peek (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC). Muhammad Mokaev (9-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is an 8-3 pick over Tim Elliott (19-12-1 MMA, 8-10 UFC) in the featured prelim, as is India’s Anshul Jubli (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) over Mike Breeden (10-6 MMA, 0-3 UFC) and Shara Magomedov (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) over Bruno Silva (23-9 MMA, 4-3 UFC).

Check out all the main card picks below.

UFC 294 main card picks

Makhachev
vs.
Volkanovski
Chimaev
vs.
Usman
Ankalaev
vs.
Walker
Aliskerov
vs.
Alves
Gafurov
vs.
Nurmagomedov
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
174-95

Volkanovski
(61%)

Chimaev
(63%)

Ankalaev
(70%)

Aliskerov
(87%)

Nurmagomedov
(93%)
Nolan King
@mma_kings
176-98

Makhachev

Chimaev

Ankalaev

Aliskerov

Nurmagomedov
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
175-99

Volkanovski

Chimaev

Ankalaev

Aliskerov

Nurmagomedov
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
173-101
2018, 2022 Champion

Makhachev

Chimaev

Ankalaev

Aliskerov

Nurmagomedov
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
173-101

Makhachev

Chimaev

Ankalaev

Aliskerov

Nurmagomedov
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
172-102
2014 Champion

Makhachev

Chimaev

Ankalaev

Aliskerov

Nurmagomedov
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
165-109
2017 Champion

Makhachev

Chimaev

Ankalaev

Aliskerov

Nurmagomedov
Matt Erickson
@MattE
165-109

Volkanovski

Usman

Walker

Aliskerov

Nurmagomedov
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
164-110

Makhachev

Chimaev

Ankalaev

Aliskerov

Nurmagomedov
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
162-112

Volkanovski

Chimaev

Walker

Aliskerov

Nurmagomedov
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
162-112

Makhachev

Chimaev

Walker

Aliskerov

Nurmagomedov
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
155-120

Makhachev

Chimaev

Ankalaev

Aliskerov

Nurmagomedov

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.

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