Volkanovski has guts, but is a short-notice fight vs. Makhachev the right move?

At the start of this week, Alexander Volkanovski was targeting early 2024 for his next UFC bout, likely a featherweight title defense against Ilia Topuria. But things can change quickly and drastically in the MMA world.

After news broke Tuesday that Charles Oliveira suffered an injury in training and was out of his UFC 294 title fight against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, Volkanovski agreed to replace Oliveira without thinking twice. For the second time this year, Volkanovski will move up in weight and challenge Makhachev for 155-pound gold in the Oct. 21 main event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The first fight between Makhachev and Volkanovski at UFC 284 in February was one of the year's best. Makhachev retained the title by unanimous decision, but Volkanovski gained plenty of respect for giving the Russian his hardest test in years in what was a compelling, competitive, and high-level showdown. This time, Volkanovski will try to actually walk away as a two-division champion.

One thing is certain: Volkanovski has a ton of guts. He competed fairly recently, finishing Yair Rodriguez in the UFC 290 main event in July. After that fight, Volkanovski underwent surgery on his left arm to repair a lingering injury and was unable to do full-contact training for about six weeks. Now, he is scheduled to fight one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world - at a heavier weight class and without a training camp. Not everybody would take on this kind of challenge.

But was agreeing to face Makhachev on 11 days' notice the right call? Will the juice be worth the squeeze, as they say?

Volkanovski has been back in the gym for a while - possibly with Makhachev on his mind, just in case an opportunity to step in presented itself - but this is still a short-notice fight. Of course, Volkanovski is as good as an MMA fighter gets. He's ranked No. 2 on the UFC's men's pound-for-pound list - above Makhachev, who's No. 3 - and is the longest-reigning active champion. But Volkanovski won't be at his best when he steps into the Octagon next weekend. Fighters do eight- or 10-week training camps for a reason, and trying to prepare for someone as elite as Makhachev in less than two weeks is a brutal ask.

Volkanovski has a lot to gain at UFC 294, but he's still taking a big risk. If he loses to Makhachev again, he'd still have a UFC belt and could carry on at 145 pounds as if nothing happened. But this rematch is something Volkanovski has wanted since the first fight. Second chances are hard to come by in MMA, and very few people get a third crack at anything - who knows if Volkanovski will ever fight for the lightweight title again if he loses next weekend. He needs to make the most of this opportunity; it would be a shame if he wastes it by putting forth a subpar performance.

This situation was avoidable, too. Volkanovski could have fought Topuria in January and then, with a victory, have every right to a lightweight title shot sometime in 2024. UFC president Dana White has always wanted to run Makhachev-Volkanovski back - it was a matter of when, not if. Volkanovski could've had a full training camp, spent considerable time breaking down his first fight with Makhachev, and not been in a rush, which would have maximized his odds of becoming the fourth simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history.

Instead, Volkanovski is being a company guy and saving a pay-per-view event. That's great and all - White is already singing his praises - but when has doing the UFC a solid ever benefited a fighter in the long run?

Of course, it's the fight game, and anything can happen when Makhachev and Volkanovski square off Oct. 21. Volkanovski pushed Makhachev to the brink of defeat eight months ago and may do the same in the rematch. A training camp is almost always going to be beneficial, but there is an argument to be made that the short-notice aspect could actually work in Volkanovski's favor. Makhachev had been training for Oliveira for the last three months. This is, in a way, a short-notice fight for Makhachev, too. Oliveira and Volkanovski are different fighters and have very different styles. Perhaps Volkanovski will catch Makhachev off guard.

A fight of this magnitude deserves a proper buildup - and both fighters deserve a full camp - but sometimes this is the way the biggest fights in this wacky sport have to happen. It's not hard to figure out why Volkanovski said yes when the UFC came calling. If Volkanovski pulls off the upset on 11 days' notice, it would go down as one of the greatest victories in MMA history and be a huge addition to Volkanovski's already tremendous and legendary resume.

The odds may be stacked against Volkanovski. But to him, the perks of beating Makhachev were worth the risk.