Alexander Volkanovski shut down naysayers after making history at UFC 314 by defeating Diego Lopes to reclaim the featherweight title.
The Australian fighter stunned fans and fighters alike as he became the first fighter over 35 to hold a UFC title in any division over 155 pounds. He had previously lost his title to Ilia Topuria after a first-round knockout and entered the bout determined to redeem himself against Lopes.
The fight began with fast strikes from Volkanovski, who came into the cage with a huge left hook and a quick one-two combo that rocked Lopes. He followed up with devastating punches that left Lopes struggling to recover, but Lopes soon picked himself up and narrowly escaped a takedown attempt. Lopes proved he was still in the fight and landed a terrifying shot that dropped Volkanovski to the ground, but Volkanovski quickly recovered before round two came to an end.
Volkanovski bounced back in the next round and exchanged vicious shots with Lopes. The Brazilian stayed in the game and landed blow after blow until a deadly uppercut wobbled Volkanovski. Volkanovski took some time to recover but kept out of Lopes’s reach and remained patient. Over the next rounds, Volkanovski maintained composure, landing precise shots while Lopes pushed forward, struggling to find a knockout. Volkanovski continued to land damaging blows as Lopes tried to remain standing throughout the fight. The bout finally ended in a unanimous decision win for Volkanovski.
“It’s good to be back,” Volkanovski said after having the title wrapped around his waist again. “I’ve never felt the love so much. I was saying all week—I said I promised my girls I would bring the belt back to them. I think the message was a lot of people counted me out, coming off two knockout losses. Come back and beat a gun like Diego Lopes. It’s good to be back. Adversity is a privilege. This moment is incredible.
“This is the kind of shit people are going to write books about. There’s going to be movies. That type of shit. That’s what it’s all about.”
The win reassured Volkanovski and proved his strength and mettle in the cage, contrary to the belief of many. At the post-fight press conference, Volkanovski reflected on his experience in the cage and admitted he didn’t expect to be hit that much.
“I’m not going to do anything too crazy,” Volkanovski said when asked about his future plans. “Everyone’s going to always get up me for that short notice. I’ll do it again, you know what I mean? That’s just how it is. A lot of people are going to carry on, but that’s who I am. This guy that challenges himself when his back’s against the wall and all the odds are stacked against him, I’m still trying to give it a crack.
“And that same guy with that same mindset and mentality turns up in the gym every single f*cking day. If I’m not going to do that shit, I wouldn’t be the champion I am. I’m okay with that. There’s no knock at all on my team for letting me do that. It was my decision. They backed me and let me do it because they know who I am and what I’m capable of. It didn’t turn out, but like I said, I can be stubborn.”
For his next fight, Volkanovski said he’s open to facing Yair Rodriguez—who defeated Patricio Pitbull—but he isn’t willing to wait until the next Noche UFC to get back into the cage. For now, he’s willing to face Movsar Evloev, who remains undefeated.
“Look, he’s a good dude. I like him a lot,” Volkanovski said of Rodriguez. “If the UFC wants to give it to him, I ain’t gonna stop that for him. I’ll be honest, before that fight, I didn’t think if he won, he would be getting a shot. I’ll be honest, that didn’t come to mind. But now that he’s calling, I’m not going to be the one to say no. I’m going to leave everything to the UFC.”
“Obviously, you’ve got guys like Movsar, who’s undefeated. I’d love to take that zero,” he continued. “We’ve got to see what the UFC says. I even saw him tweeting that he wants to fight someone in May and doing all this sort of stuff, so maybe he’s had the chats and they want him to have one more fight. So I don’t know that situation, but I’ll see how things are. I’d love to say I want to get straight back in there. I still do. But I’m gonna have to maybe look at a couple of things.”
Lopes, on the other hand, felt unsatisfied with the outcome of the fight but made no excuses and promised to do better moving forward.
“Always with my head held high, a smile on my face. I fell short last night, I failed in a few things,” Lopes began his statement on X
“I’ll get back to work, improve, correct my mistakes, and move forward. Thank you all for your support. As I always say, ‘NOTHING HAPPENS,’” he continued.
The featherweight division is heating up again, and with names like Rodriguez, Evloev, and a motivated Volkanovski, the division has no shortage of high-stakes matchups on the horizon.
