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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Farah Hannoun

UFC champ Islam Makhachev explains ‘big motivation’ to beat Charles Oliveira again

Rematching Charles Oliveira in the same place is deja vu for UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, but his motivation hasn’t faltered.

Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) will run things back with Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) in the UFC 294 headliner on Oct. 21 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

Makhachev dominated Oliveira en route to a second-round submission at UFC 280 last October. They will fight again just a year later, and Makhachev admits the same circumstances aren’t ideal.

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