UFC 294 ‘Embedded,’ No. 5: What Alexander Volkanovski had to say immediately after first Islam Makhachev faceoff

The adrenaline flows through Alexander Volkanovski as he walks away from the UFC 294 press conference in the fifth “Embedded” episode.

The UFC is back for its regular fall trip to Abu Dhabi, and the popular “Embedded” fight week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.

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+.

In the main event, lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) takes on featherweight champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC), who once again will try to become a two-division titleholder. Volkanovski stepped up on short notice when Charles Oliveira pulled out. He lost to Makhachev in the UFC 284 main event earlier this year in Australia.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Khamzat Chimaev[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is at middleweight after he badly missed weight a little more than a year ago at 170 pounds. He takes on former welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC), who will make the move up to 185 for the first time – and on short notice after Paulo Costa pulled out.

The fifth episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:

We officially will get the REMATCH between Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev, and despite the short notice, Volk says he’s the most dangerous he’ll EVER be. Alexander “The Great” tells DC he won’t go for a 25-minute fight, he’s there to “put hands on his chin and get the finish.” And Alexander Volkanovski breaks down why Makhachev may be stressing too much ahead of this fight. Plus, Volk reveals how it all went down when he got the phone call from the UFC!

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