Joe Rogan Left Stunned by Islam Makhachev’s Epic Head Kick KO at UFC 294: ‘I’m Just So Impressed’
Joe Rogan was in awe of Islam Makhachev after the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ finished featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski with a perfectly-timed head kick in the opening round of their UFC 294 headliner.
Eight months removed from their Fight of the Year contender at UFC 284, Islam Makhachev left no questions unanswered this time around has be managed to stop Alexander Volkanovski just past the three-minute mark of the opening round.
No longer traveling out of the country for UFC events, longtime commentator Joe Rogan watched the festivities unfold alongside friends including former heavyweight standout Brendan Schaub and comedian Bryan Callen. Needless to say, the popular podcaster was left stunned by Makhachev’s performance against one of the greatest fighters to ever grace the Octagon.
“Oh my God! He head kicked him,” Rogan said. “Wow! What a shocker. Who would have saw that coming? It was amazing. Shin to the dome, opened up a cut. It was perfect. Islam, man. He showed a bunch of new sh*t. That front kick, and he was throwing that kick to the body, and then he threw the same kick to the head.”
“I’m just so impressed that he won that way,” Rogan added. “He showed so much improvement. He really made adjustments because they must have trained for Volkanovski again, even though he wasn’t fighting Volkanovski (originally). I’m sure they went over all the different things that Volkanovski did, and what are the counters to those things, and he shut a lot of it down. He shut down that switch kick to the outside leg, throwing that front kick up the middle, set up the head kick.”
“He knocked (down) Oliveira in the last fight – remember, his striking was his weakest point. Now it’s f*cking as dangerous as anybody in the division. You knock out Volkanovski? Sh*t” (h/t MMA Junkie).
With Makhachev going two-up on Alexander Volkanovski, ‘The Great’ will likely return to his throne at 145 while the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ turns his attention back toward a loaded lightweight top-ten and potential matchups with his original UFC 294 opponent, Charles Oliveira, and/or current BMF titleholder Justin Gaethje.
