Islam Makhachev proved his championship quality at UFC 294. He defeated the undisputed featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who took the fight on short notice, with a knockout. Nevertheless, Joe Rogan claims that Makhachev would have still beaten ‘The Great’ even if the Australian had fully prepared for the fight.

There was a lot of talk going on that Alexander Volkanovski could prove to be a tough opponent for Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. It was because of their last fight and how that turned out. However, Makhachev’s performance impressed Joe Rogan, who even lauded him for using some new techniques.

Joe Rogan claims Islam Makhachev showed a lot of new tricks at UFC 294

Islam Makhachev was fighting in Abu Dhabi to answer all the questions against Alexander Volkanovski. His 1st-round knockout win impressed Joe Rogan, who observed that the Dagestan native showcased some new tricks in the fight. Rogan said, “He showed a bunch of new sh*t. That front kick, and he was throwing that kick to the body, and he threw the same kick to the head.” Moreover, he believes that this was a legitimate win for the lightweight champion.

Joe Rogan believes this win put to rest all doubts about the caliber of fighter Islam Makahchev is. Moreover, he also claimed that Alexander Volkanovski was not tired, which most people are talking about since he did not have a long enough fight camp. Instead, the 56-year-old claimed that ‘Volk’ got caught with an impressive kick from Makhachev.

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“Oh, it’s a solid win, man. The way it went down. I mean, this was not because he was tired. He [Volkanovski] got caught. He got caught with an amazing kick,” said Joe Rogan. He also spoke about the probability of a trilogy fight between the two.

JRE host does not think there will be a third fight between Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski

After witnessing Islam Makhachev’s performance at UFC 294, Joe Rogan believed that he would have defeated Alexander Volkanovksi anyway. Moreover, it would have been the same result even if the featherweight champion had 12 weeks to train for the fight. Rogan further stated, “[It] very well could have [happened with a 12-week camp]. Very well could have.”

Moreover, he believes that Volkanovski’s next fight, which was scheduled to take place around December and early January against Ilia Topuria, may not happen. In addition to that, Joe Rogan also claimed that ‘The Great’ may not get another crack at Islam Makhachev ever again. “Now that’s [Volkanovski’s fight against Topuria] not gonna happen. And now this fight maybe never happens again,” said the 56-year-old.

After the loss in Abu Dhabi, the UFC handed a medical suspension to Alexander Volkanovski. This clearly means that he will be out for a considerable amount of time. As such, we will have to wait and see what lies ahead in the UFC career of the featherweight champion when he returns to action.

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