Having shared the Octagon with Alexander
Volkanovski twice, Islam
Makhachev's take on the featherweight champ's upcoming title
defense holds considerable weight.

Volkanovski (28-4) is set to put his
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title on the line
against Movsar
Evloev (20-0) at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Makhachev believes it will be a highly competitive bout, which
Evloev is also aware of.

Makhachev backs Movsar Evloev to dethrone Volkanovski at UFC
333

Makhachev predicts that Evloev being five years younger will help
him dethrone the 37-year-old Volkanovski. The UFC welterweight
champ believes that while Volkanovski is still dangerous, he's past
his prime.

“[Movsar] knows himself that the fight won't be easy, that
Volkanovski is a tough opponent for anyone,†Makhachev said at a
recent presser in Russia. “But I think Movsar will manage with his
youth. Volkanovski, honestly speaking, is not at the same peak he
was a couple of years ago. Even though he is still one of the best
fighters. I think it'll be a very competitive fight but I hope
Movsar will do his job.â€

Volkanovski made two unsuccessful bids for the lightweight title
when Makhachev was the champion at 155 pounds. The Australian gave
Makhachev one of the toughest tests of his career in their first
outing in 2023, but suffered a decision loss. Makhachev then
knocked Volkanovski out with a head kick in their rematch later
that year.

Gregory
Rodrigues denies cheating against Anthony
Hernandez.

Rodrigues extended his win streak in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship to four with his decision win
over Hernandez at
UFC Sacramento. “Fluffy†later accused the Brazilian of
repeatedly grabbing the inside of his gloves and Rodrigues has now
responded.

Rodrigues responds to Anthony Hernandez's accusations after
their UFC Sacramento main event

Rodrigues did extensive damage to Hernandez's lead leg with calf
kicks, but the latter showed immense heart by continuing to
pressure forward. However, Rodrigues inflicted damage while
defending takedowns as well. At the post-fight presser, Hernandez
accused “Robocop†of grabbing his gloves in the wrestling exchanges
and claimed to have repeatedly complained to referee Herb Dean to no
avail.

Rodrigues denies the accusations and says that Hernandez also knows
that he didn't cheat. He argues that the referee would've
intervened if he was blatantly cheating and it would also be seen
on camera. While Rodrigues admits that he might have
unintentionally grabbed Hernandez's gloves, he believes he did
nothing illegal that changed the outcome of the fight.

“You can say whatever you want,†Rodrigues told Ariel Helwani. “The
fact is that I beat him with the leg kicks. I punched him. He
didn’t take me down. He didn’t do nothing. He put a pressure that
was good, but I didn’t cheat him; he knows that… If that was clear,
probably Herb Dean would probably say something or everyone’s gonna
see it on the TV. Sometimes, involuntary, my hands grab his gloves,
but it was nothing that would change the result of the fight. But
I'm still the same. A lot of respect for him. I know he's a
warrior.â€

Gregory
Rodrigues responds to Fluffy Hernandez accusing him of
cheating:

“He can say whatever he wants. The fact is that I beat him with the
leg kicks. I punched him. He didn’t take me down. He didn’t do
anything. He put a pressure that was good, but I didn’t cheat him,
he knows… pic.twitter.com/rANxOxp8l7

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
August 24, 2026

Merab
Dvalishvili recently opened up about his backstage altercation
at RAF Georgia.

Dvalishvili defeated fellow former
Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Henry
Cejudo in a wrestling match at RAF Georgia in July. He later
shut down talks of a potential wrestling match against Umar
Nurmagomedov in strong words. Nurmagomedov's friend, Ahmed
Gadzhimagomedov, then approached Dvalishvili and confronted him
about his comments.

Dvalishvili responded by slapping Gadzhimagomedov, leading to an
all-out brawl.

Dvalishvili says Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov grabbed him by the neck
before the RAF Georgia brawl

Dvalishvili says he was relaxing backstage when Gadzhimagomedov
grabbed him by the neck and loudly confronted him in Russian. While
“The Machine†barely understands Russian, he knew Gadzhimagomedov
was talking about Nurmagomedov.

Dvalishvili defends his action, saying Gadzhimagomedov had no
business meddling in the feud between him and Nurmagomedov. The
former UFC bantamweight titleholder also doubled down on his
dislike for Nurmagomedov and his manager Rizvan Magomedov for
allegedly insulting him on social media.

“I was super relaxed, super chilled and then somebody came and
grabbed my neck and pulled me over and started yelling at me in
Russian language, which I hardly understand,†Dvalishvili told
Ariel Helwani. “And he mentioned Umar. It took me a couple of
seconds to realize, ‘Who is this guy to tell me what to talk about
him? It's between me and Umar… I have so much respect for all
Dagestani people, especially fighters. The only guy who I don’t
like from Dagestan is Umar and his sneaky manager, Rizvan. The guy
who was helping Umar disrespect me on X and Threads.â€

Dvalishvili was initially hesitant to face Nurmagomedov in his
first bantamweight title defense, questioning whether the latter
deserved a title shot. They eventually locked horns at
UFC 311 in Los Angeles, where Dvalishvili handed the Dagestani
his lone professional loss, but the bitterness between the two
still persists.

Dvalishvili went on to defend his belt two more times before losing
it in his rematch with Petr Yan and
their trilogy bout is set for
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov picked up two wins after losing to
Dvalishvili and is set to take on Yadong Song
next at
UFC Shanghai.