It was 14 months ago when Alexander Volkanovski lost his third straight fight and suffered his second straight knockout, losing the UFC featherweight world championship in the process.
Now, with Ilia Topuria moving up to lightweight, Volkanovski made the most of his opportunity to earn back the gold, defeating Diego Lopes in the main event of UFC 314 in Miami to win the vacant title.
Volkanovski made history with his victory by becoming the first UFC fighter 35 years or older to win a UFC championship at a weight class below welterweight. He also becomes the second man, joining Jose Aldo, to regain the UFC's 145-pound title.
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The two were patient to feel each other out, but Volkanovski was the first to get his striking going, landing a series of low kicks before a right hand. Lopes looked for a flurry, but Volkanovski managed to land another straight. Volkanovski cracked Lopes with less than two minutes into the round, rocking him. Volkanovski managed to score a takedown, and while Lopes was quickly back to his feet, he ate a harsh knee to the face. Volkanovski got Lopes back to the ground and troubled him with ground-and-pound until the horn.
Despite the rough start, and expert opinions his best chances were rushing forward with offense, Lopes continued to be patient in the second round. Volkanovski's striking continued to remain on point despite Lopes shrugging off a takedown attempt. With less than two minutes in round two, Volkanovski rocked Lopes again in an exchange, bringing Lopes over to the fence to try for another takedown. Lopes was able to get out of it, and the two had another exchange in the closing seconds. Suddenly, Lopes dropped Volkanovski before the horn with a right-left combination, and thoughts circled as to if momentum would change.
Alexander Volkanovski Becomes Two-Time UFC Featherweight Champion With Decision Win Over Diego Lopes At UFC 314
Lopes' corner begged him for more aggression, according to the commentary team, but the round seemed to be a slower-paced one. Volkanovski, however, continued to have more activity, clipping Lopes with a left hand about halfway through the round. Even when Lopes tried to get something going, including stopping a Volkanovski takedown attempt, the former champion was ready with something.
The championship rounds saw the fight continue the pace it was on. But with just over two minutes to go, Lopes caught momentum with an uppercut that bothered Volkanovski's eye and rocked him. Lopes continued to chase Volkanovski down, landing a number of shots despite Volkanovski's attempts to shake off the cobwebs.
Lopes landed another right hand early in the fifth round as he looked to find a way to get the win as the minutes slipped away. Volkanovski was firing back, however, sometimes landing a number of jabs before Lopes lands his next strike. Lopes continued to eat jabs as Volkanovski had more activity and got the better of the exchanges. Lopes looked to turn things up in the final minute, but Volkanovski was ready, answering back and keeping distance until the final horn.
This marked Volkanovski's first fight since losing the UFC featherweight championship to Topuria at UFC 298 last year. Volkanovski came into this fight with a three-fight losing streak, having lost two lightweight title fights with Islam Makhachev within the year prior to the fight with Topuria.
After coming up short in his short-notice UFC debut against Movsar Evloev at UFC 288, Lopes entered tonight on a five-fight win streak, scoring finishes of Gavin Tucker, Pat Sabatini and Sodiq Yusuff, as well as decisions over Dan Ige and Brian Ortega.