UFC 294 ended quickly with a head kick from Islam Makhachev to Alexander Volkanovski. Prior to that fight, Kamaru Usman put up a good effort, but couldn't stop Khamzat Chimaev from earning the biggest win of his career. Makhachev and Chimaev put their dominance on display on Saturday, as did a number of rising prospects. Here's what Brett Okamoto and Marc Raimondi are taking away from a dramatic event in Abu Dhabi.


There's no longer room for any doubt: Islam Makhachev is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

On Saturday at UFC 294, Makhachev didn't just beat Alexander Volkanovski to defend his UFC lightweight title. He stopped Volkanovski, the featherweight champ, with authority -- a left kick upside the head that sent Volkanovski crashing to the canvas. Volkanovski had not been finished for 10 years, going back to his fourth career fight.

There is a caveat here, of course. Volkanovski came in on 11 days notice. Makhachev was already preparing to fight in Abu Dhabi against Charles Oliveira until Oliveira got a cut in training and was forced to withdraw. Was this the best version of Volkanovski? Of course not. But you also cannot discredit Makhachev, who was training to compete against a completely different style. Oliveira is a tall, lanky Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter who is dangerous with his Muay Thai. Volkanovski is a short, stocky all-arounder.

Furthermore, Makhachev already beat Volkanovski back in February at UFC 284. With a full camp for both. There's no asterisk on that one. If you have Makhachev and Volkanovski at Nos. 1 and 2 pound-for-pound, as many do, Makhachev is now 2-0 in that series. It's hard not to say the fighter from Dagestan is tops in the world right now.

The Jon Jones conversation is a different one, looking at him specifically as the current heavyweight champion. Jones has never truly lost in the Octagon and his résumé is better than anyone else's in the history of the sport. There's no doubt and no one is really even close. But right now, it's hard to say what he's doing is more impressive than Makhachev. If Jones goes out and steamrolls Stipe Miocic at UFC 295, we can revisit that conversation.

But what about the man who helped Makhachev get ready for this fight? Could he surpass the achievements of his dear friend and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov? Makhachev has 14 wins in the UFC, which is now one more than Nurmagomedov had. Further comparing, Nurmagomedov had three lightweight title defenses; this was only Makhachev's second. And then, of course, there's the fact that Nurmagomedov never lost and retired undefeated.

Makhachev tied Nurmagomedov's 13-fight UFC winning streak Saturday. That's the third longest mark in the history of the promotion. Only Anderson Silva (16) and Kamaru Usman (15) have had more. With another few wins, Makhachev will need to start being put in the conversation not only with Nurmagomedov, but among the greatest of all time.

Islam Makhachev defeated Alexander Volkanovski in the first round of their rematch at UFC 294. Chris Unger/Getty Images

This is a tough one. Justin Gaethje is deserving of the shot, and he's done nothing wrong. He fought who he needed to fight to put him back in this position. He accepted a fight against Rafael Fiziev, a guy no one really wanted to fight. He then knocked out Dustin Poirier in spectacular fashion. He deserves to fight for the belt, soon. But the problem is, Oliveira has done what was asked of him as well. He took out Beneil Dariush in July, and although it's maybe his 'fault' he couldn't make Abu Dhabi this month, I hate to see an opportunity lost due to an injury.

Oliveira has a win over Gaethje. I believe you probably should give the opportunity back to Oliveira, but this one is really tough.

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