In front of a deafening Sydney crowd, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski survived a fifth-round rally attempt from Diego Lopes to win yet another unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45) in their rematch at UFC 325 on Sunday morning.
Just like their first meeting last April at UFC 314, Lopes (27-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) wouldn’t let Volkanovski (28-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) coast easily, as the first three rounds saw Lopes take Volkanovski’s best shots and deliver some of his own. But Volkanovski retaliated with adjustments throughout, utilizing the clinch to cut Lopes’s cage room off.
Volkanovski’s win was his first title defense during his second reign, ushering in a reinvigorated era at featherweight moving forward.
But for Volkanovski, winning his first fight in his home country in nearly three years with full backing of the Australian crowd felt different.
“I didn’t want to stand (with Lopes) for 25 minutes, but we got the job done,” Volkanovski said. Volkanovski said he’s excited to get back in the Octagon soon, saying he would “see what’s next” with his team.
Lopes was humble in defeat, although he had a visible reaction to the one judge who ruled all five rounds in Volkanovski’s favor.
“I think Volkanovski is one of the best in the division and has been for this long,” the Brazilian competitor said.
Lopes called this part of the journey “step-by-step,” as he prepares for an uncertain next fight after his second failed championship match against the future Hall of Famer.
Lightweight Benoit Saint Denis of France effortlessly defeated New Zealand’s Dan Hooker by second-round TKO with punches from the mount position in the night’s co-main event.
Saint Denis (17-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) has put himself in a firm position to remain in title contention this year with four straight wins, while Hooker (24-14 MMA, 14-10 UFC) has dropped back-to-back fights and will continue to go back to the drawing board.
A devastating right hand from lightweight Mauricio Ruffy of Brazil marked the beginning of the end of a high-stakes featured bout opposite Rafael Fiziev of Azerbaijan. Ruffy (13-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) secured a TKO victory with 30 seconds left in the second round, bouncing back from a loss to Saint Denis for his eighth win in the last nine fights.
As for Fiziev (13-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC), he has lost four of his last five outings since his six-match win streak was snapped in March 2023.
In the second bout of the main card, heavyweights took center stage as Brazil’s Tallison Teixeira outworked Australia’s Tai Tuivasa to win a unanimous decision 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 using crisp striking and dominant wrestling through the first two rounds to put Tuivasa in survival mode entering Round 3.
A rally by Tuivasa in an attempt to secure a comeback KO/TKO stoppage fell short. Teixeira (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) handed Tuivasa (15-9 MMA, 8-9 UFC) his sixth straight loss dating back to September 2022.
The UFC 325 main card opened with lightweight Quillan Salkilld doing his part by not fooling the oddsmakers, making quick work of Jamie Mullarkey with a rear-naked-choke submission finish at 3:02 of the opening round in a battle of Australian competitors.
Salkilld (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) closed at DraftKings Sportsbook at -1050, making him the largest betting favorite on the card. Meanwhile, Mullarkey (18-9 MMA, 6-7 UFC) has lost three of his last four.