Brazilian fighter Charles Oliveira has withdrawn from his rematch against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, which was scheduled to take place on October 21 at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, due to injury. This was officially announced by the UFC press office.
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski agreed to replace Oliveira on short notice. Recall that Makhachev and Volkanovski have previously met in the octagon at UFC 284, held in February of this year. Islam won that fight by unanimous decision.
Volkanovski last stepped into the octagon against Yair Rodriguez in July of this year at UFC 290. Alex won that fight by technical knockout in the third round. He has 26 wins and two losses on his record. Makhachev has 24 wins and one loss.