He narrowly fell short at the first time of asking and now, on 12-days notice, Alexander Volkanovski will get a second chance at defeating Islam Makhachev and claiming the lightweight title.
The Australian accepted a late-notice call up to replace the injured Charles Oliveira in the UFC 294 main event in Abu Dhabi.
Makhachev did just enough to earn the victory when they first met at UFC 284 in Perth but Volkanovski is coming into the rematch full of confidence, having finished their first fight in a dominant position.
MORE: Everything you need to know about UFC 294
Here's what time the fight will start in Australia:
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Islam Makhachev 2: Start time in Australia
The rematch at UFC 294 will take place in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, October 21 local time (Sunday, Oct. 22 in Australia).
Main card action will start from 5am AEDT, while we can expect Volkanovski vs. Makhachev to begin around 8:15am AEDT, depending on the length of earlier bouts.
Another late-notice replacement, Kamaru Usman will take on Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event, with that bout expected to start around 7:20am AEDT.
Volkanovski vs. Makhachev 2: TV channel in Australia
You can catch all the action from the UFC 294 main card live on pay-per-view through Kayo or Main Event.
WATCH: Tune into Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 on Kayo
For the die-hard Aussie fans, the UFC 294 prelims will begin on ESPN and Kayo at 1am AEDT before the broadcast switches to PPV at 5am AEDT.
UFC 294 PPV price: How much does the card cost?
In Australia, UFC 294 costs $59.95 on both Kayo and Main Event.
WATCH: Tune into Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 on Kayo
Where is Volkanovski vs. Makhachev 2?
Volkanovski's rematch with Makhachev will headline UFC 294 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Situated on the city's Yas Island, Etihad Arena has a capacity of 18,000.
UFC 294 fight card
Main card
- Islam Makhachev (c) vs. Alexander Volkanovski 2 for the UFC lightweight title
- Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev; Middleweights
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker; Light Heavyweights
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. Warlley Alves; Middleweights
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Muin Gafurov; Bantamweights
Prelims
- Tim Elliott vs. Muhammad Mokaev; Flyweights
- Mohammad Yahya vs. Trevor Peek; Lightweights
- Javid Basharat vs. Victor Henry; Bantamweights
- Abu Azaitar vs. Sedriques Dumas; Middleweights
- Mike Breeden vs. Anshul Jubli; Lightweights
- Nathaniel Wood vs. Muhammad Naimov; Featherweights
- Victoria Dudakova vs. Jinh Yu Frey; Strawweights
- Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Bruno Silva; Middleweights
