In front of a capacity crowd at the Qudos Bank Arena, Alexander Volkanovski delivered a championship-level performance and retained the UFC featherweight championship in the main event of UFC 325.
With the win, Volkanovski now ties Jose Aldo for most featherweight title fight wins with eight total.
Lopes looked to bring some forward pressure as the two feinted and felt each other out. Volkanovski made good use of his strikes, including from range, but Lopes landed plenty of kicks as he continuously came forward.
Volkanovski landed a couple of cracking blows upstairs on Lopes during the second round. Lopes went for a takedown in the final minute. Volkanovski countered with a guillotine attempt, only to get grounded by Lopes, who went for a standing choke attempt before the horn.
Volkanovski landed a strong pair of hands late in the third round, though Lopes appeared to recover quickly. Lopes got a shot of his own with a quick right hand in the last minute of the third round, dropping Volkanovski, but the champ was right back to his feet. Though Lopes landed well with the calf kick, Volkanovski seemed to be ahead of him on the exchanges in the fourth round.
Lopes went for the finish anywhere that he could, threatening a choke at one point during the fifth round, and an armbar in the fight’s final minute. It was for naught, however, and Volkanovski nearly swept the scorecards for a decision win.
Alexander Volkanovski Retains Featherweight Title Vs. Diego Lopes At UFC 325
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Volkanovski defeated Lopes to claim the then-featherweight championship in the main event of UFC 314 in April. Volkanovski’s first reign began with a win over Max Holloway at UFC 245, retaining the title against Holloway (twice), “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung-Jung, Brian Ortega, and Yair Rodriguez.
Volkanovski, who also had two failed attempts to capture the lightweight title, lost the title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.
Lopes rebounded from the initial loss to Volkanovski with a finish of Jean Silva in the main event of Noche UFC 3 in September. Lopes’ three losses in the UFC have come against Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev.
