LIGHTWEIGHT FIGHT: DAN HOOKER VS. ISLAM MAKHACHEV — 3:54 p.m. ET
Islam Makhachev is ready for his title shot.
Makhachev (21–1) earned his ninth consecutive victory with an outstanding showing against Dan Hooker.
The fight did not even go three minutes. As soon as Makhachev landed a right hook and then a double leg takedown, he was in complete control. He won the fight with a kimura submission, the same way Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Michael Johnson at UFC 205. And Nurmagomedov was in Makhachev’s corner as he tore apart Hooker (21–10).
We are in the midst of a very important couple of weeks for the lightweight division. There is a heavily anticipated lightweight fight next week at Madison Square Garden at UFC 268 pitting Justin Gaethje against Michael Chandler, and it appeared that the winner would be poised for a title fight against the winner of Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier, who meet in December. But Makhachev made an emphatic statement with this win, making short work of an elite fighter and staking his claim for a title shot.
HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT: ALEXANDER VOLKOV VS. MARCIN TYBURA — 3:12 p.m. ET
Alexander Volkov held onto his No. 5 ranking, defeating Marcin Tybura by unanimous decision.
Volkov (34–9) ended a winning streak for Tybura (22–7), who had won five in a row. He was able to land more and cause more damage against Tybura, but the win places Volkov in a challenging spot. Though he has won three of his past four, he has struggled against the upper echelon of the division. His last three losses are to Ciryl Gane, Curtis Blaydes, and Derrick Lewis, who are all opponents he will need to defeat in order to become a genuine title contender.
WELTERWEIGHT FIGHT: LI JINGLIANG VS. KHAMZAT CHIMAEV — 2:49 p.m. ET
Khamzat Chimaev is for real.
The undefeated phenom ran through Li Jingliang, winning with a dominant first-round submission victory.
If anyone doubted him, Chimaev (10–0) made them believers. He was relentless against Jingliang (18–7), who had been ranked 11th in the division yet looked completely overmatched. The rear-naked choke was too much for Jingliang, who was in immediate trouble when he lost his back. There has now been only one shot landed on Chimaev in the past four fights, which is remarkable, and he is primed for a ranking in the top 10.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT: MAGOMED ANKALAEV VS. VOLKAN OEZDEMIR — 2:16 p.m. ET
Magomed Ankalaev picked up his seventh straight win, defeating Volkan Oezdemir by unanimous decision in the opening bout of the 267 main card.
Ankalaev (16–1) was accurate in his strikes, and he landed a brutal shot on the left eye of Oezdemir (17–6). Ankalaev looked dominant throughout the fight, and as the seventh-ranked light heavyweight entering the fight, he more than held his ground against eighth-ranked Oezdemir.
With no clear next opponent for Jan Blachowicz, there is a potential for Ankalaev to jump to the front of the line for a title shot. At the very least, he has earned a fight against a top-five opponent.
Jan Blachowicz has a chance to reassert his dominance at UFC 267.
Blachowicz defends his light heavyweight title against Glover Teixeira, who is seeking to make the most of his final shot at gold. Teixeira is riding a five-fight win streak, but he has not met anyone quite like Blachowicz during that stretch, who has captured nine of his last 10.
Petr Yan is also expected to regain his bantamweight title, which he likely would not have lost had it not been for an illegal shot in his last defense against Aljamain Sterling. That illegal knee cost Yan the title via a disqualification loss, but Sterling was unable to compete at this card due to injury. So Cory Sandhagen, coming off a loss to T.J. Dillashaw, now gets his shot at the interim bantamweight title, which is an uphill battle against the talented Yan.
Unlikely to be a high-drawing pay-per-view, 267 is free to all ESPN+ subscribers. The card does not offer much in terms of star power, but there should be entertaining fights, including Dan Hooker against Islam Makhachev and a potential massive upset if Li Jingliang can find a way to defeat Khamzat Chimaev.
