Alexander Volkanovski is once again a UFC champion. The featherweight legend made history on Saturday night with a grueling effort over Diego Lopes to recapture the 145-pound title and pick up an electric unanimous decision win in the main event of UFC 314 at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
In doing so, Volkanovski, 36, becomes the first fighter under 155 pounds to win a UFC championship over the age of 35. He also snaps the first losing streak of his brilliant MMA career following back-to-back knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria — a slump which left many within the sport wondering whether Volkanovski's time atop the featherweight division had come to an end.
The final scores came in 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46, all for the now two-time UFC titleholder.
Volkanovski (27-4) had not competed since his February 2024 knockout loss to Topuria, a 14-month stretch that represented, by far, the longest break of his nine-year UFC career.
“Man, a lot of people counted me out. Right? Coming off two knockout losses. The 35-year-old curse, 36 years old, big break — and come back and beat a gun like Diego Lopes, who comes and brings it? Mate, it’s good to be back," a relieved Volkanovski said post-fight. "For everyone watching, hey, adversity is a privilege. You hear people talk about that all the time. It truly is. This moment is incredible.
“Look what can happen. Break records. This is s*** people are going to write books about, this is going to be movies. That type of s***, that’s what it’s all about.”
Volkanovski was expected to rematch Topuria for the belt in 2025, however those plans changed once Topuria stunningly vacated his title to instead pursue two-division glory in the lightweight division. As a result, Lopes (26-7) stepped in to challenge Volkanovski for the vacant title on Saturday at UFC 314 — and the two delivered a five-round battle of attrition very much worthy of those championship stakes.
Volkanovski started out strong, setting a blistering pace in the opening round and repeatedly tagging Lopes with stiff jabs and looping hooks. Volkanovski also scored his only successful takedown in that early going, battering Lopes with heavy ground-and-pound in a vintage opening salvo.
But Lopes gamely rallied with an increased sense of urgency and aggression as the rounds wore on. He dropped Volkanovski with a picture-perfect right hand in the second stanza and opened up a wide cut under Volkanovski's right eye with his punches. Volkanovski continued to work in volume and land four or five strikes for each of Lopes' lone connections, but the power edge clearly belonged to Lopes as he put Volkanovski on the back foot multiple times throughout the contest.
Lopes' best work came when he bit down on his gumshield and launched hard combinations in the pocket, often eating an array of Volkanovski jabs and hooks to do so.
Volkanovski ultimately out-landed Lopes by a wide margin of 165-71 in total strikes and 158-63 in significant strikes, however the fight was far closer in reality than those numbers indicate.
“It was an honor to share the Octagon with a guy like Alexander Volkanovski, but I’ll be back,” Lopes said through a translator after his defeat.
“Tonight maybe I came up short in the technical piece, but I can see myself coming back. I have only two years in this organization, and I think I’m going to train better, I’m going to train better, and I’m going to come back and I’m going to be a champion.”
In addition to becoming the oldest UFC featherweight champion in history, Volkanovski also becomes just the second fighter ever in the division to recapture the title after losing it, joining fellow legend José Aldo in that elite category.
In the evening's co-main event, British fan-favorite Paddy Pimblett earned a monster statement victory in a brutal showing over one-time UFC title challenger Michael Chandler. After dominating the majority of the contest, Pimblett sealed the victory with a third-round stoppage due to strikes.
Catch full UFC 314: Volkanovski vs. Lopes results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned's play-by-play of the televised prelims and pay-per-view main card.
Main Card
Vacant featherweight championship: Alexander Volkanovski def. Diego Lopes via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
Lightweight: Paddy Pimblett def. Michael Chandler via TKO (strikes) at 3:07 of R3 | Watch finish
Featherweight: Yair Rodriguez def. Patricio Pitbull via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Featherweight: Jean Silva def. Bryce Mitchell via submission (ninja choke) at 3:52 of R2 | Watch finish
Light heavyweight: Dominick Reyes def. Nikita Krylov via KO (punches) at 2:24 of R1 | Watch finish
Prelims
Featherweight: Dan Ige def. Sean Woodson def. via TKO (punches) at 1:12 of R3 | Watch finish
Strawweight: Virna Jandiroba def. Yan Xiaonan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lightweight: Chase Hooper def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Julian Erosa def. Darren Elkins via TKO (punches) at 4:15 of R1 | Watch finish
Early prelims
Middleweight: Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Sedriques Dumas by TKO (strikes) at 2:49 of R1 | Watch finish
Flyweight: Sumudaerji def. Mitch Raposo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Middleweight: Marco Tulio def. Tresean Gore via TKO (strikes) at 3:16 of R2 | Watch finish
138-pound catchweight: Nora Cornolle def. Hailey Cowan via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:52 of R2 | Watch finish
Post a Comment