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UFC 294 was put through the ringer last week with fight cancellations and replacement opponents.

Despite losing both Charles Oliveira and Paulo Costa from the main and co-main events, respectively, many fight fans are feeling even more excited for the Abu Dhabi-held event now.

In place of the two Brazilians, Alexander Volkanovski will step in to rematch Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title and Kamaru Usman will move up to middleweight to take on Khamzat Chimaev.

Whilst both fights are tough matchups on less than two weeks' notice for the replacements, Daniel Cormier recently questioned whether there is much for them to lose.

In an episode of Funky & The Champ, Cormier revealed a recent conversation that he had with Makhachev, during which the Dagestani said that Volkanovski took this fight because it is a "no lose" situation for him owing to a built-in excuse.

"Are those guys in positions where it's now no lose? You make a ton of money, if you lose, you're supposed to, you took the fight on 10 days. Uf you win, now you're going to god mode. I mean, you're the man if you win."

Askren Disagrees With Makhachev's Stance On Volkanovski Stepping In On Late Notice

Following on from Cormier's question, Ben Askren gave his thoughts on the potential no-lose factor of Volkanovski stepping in on late notice.

Though he agreed with that point in relation to Usman, he pointed out that there is more at stake for the reigning UFC featherweight champion should he lose on Saturday night.

Having campaigned for this rematch after how close their first meeting was, two defeats to Makhachev would likely rule out a trilogy matchup, meaning that the built-in excuse of taking the fight on late notice would hold little weight.

"I would say for Usman the answer is yes, because it's the shortest path to a title fight," Askren explained. "For Volkanovski, I say no because if he loses again, there's no way they're making the fight for a third time, right?

"And he lost once, it was very competitive, a lot of people may think he won. If he loses again, they're not making it, so this is his chance," Askren continued. "This is his chance, he saw his chance, he took it, and he actually already has a title fight defense at 145 set up, which now they're saying he may or may not do."      

Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.

This article first appeared on MMA News and was syndicated with permission.

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