Volkanovski vs. Lopes: Main Event Rematch at UFC 325
The highly anticipated rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes headlines UFC 325 in Sydney on Saturday, 2026. Volkanovski, the local star, will seek to defend his featherweight title for the third time, after having won it against Lopes at UFC 314 last April. Lopes, eager to change the script, returns to the octagon eight months later for a showdown that has divided the opinions of experts and analysts.Title Fight Analysis
Volkanovski looked good in the last fight against Lopes. Diego needs to take risks and be willing to be knocked out to land the punches that will knock out Volkanovski. I don’t think he can beat Volkanovski by submission or decision, so he has to achieve a knockout here. He has to put himself in danger to do it and say to himself: “One of us will fall, and I hope it’s you.” Ultimately, Volkanovski will be too good and better everywhere for Lopes’ plan to work.
Dustin Poirier
Volkanovski won last time, but couldn’t take Lopes down. The first fight seemed pretty easy for Volkanovski, but if Lopes can keep it standing again, he’ll be able to chain better combinations. He has power that can cause Volkanovski problems. Volkanovski is a fighter; he’s willing to fight anyone and challenge himself. Lopes, however, isn’t here for a challenge, he’s looking to hurt you. I think there will be situations in this fight where he can hurt Volkanovski. Diego will build a stream of violence that will eventually reach Volkanovski.
Din Thomas
Lopes is younger, stronger, and faster than Volkanovski. I think he will make the necessary adjustments for the rematch. There were a couple of times when Volkanovski seemed close to being knocked out in the first fight, but he recovered. The only difference now is that more time has passed and Volkanovski is even older. In the first fight, it seemed that Lopes assumed he would catch Volkanovski with a big punch and knock him out, and Lopes had to reset when it didn’t happen. This time, he should be more patient. I love Volkanovski’s determination, but the time between fights doesn’t help him, and it definitely doesn’t hurt Lopes.
Anthony Smith
We’ve seen in this sport that every time a young, hungry fighter suffers a high-profile defeat, they come back better. That could be the case for Lopes. After he lost a short-notice fight against Movsar Evloev in 2023, we saw Lopes respond by going on a tear to reach his first title fight last year. Volkanovski has also recovered from defeat. After knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, it seemed like the beginning of the end. But Volkanovski took some time between fights and has returned as good as ever. While Diego is dangerous, Volkanovski is aware of the risks and will have the right plan to defend his title. It will be a tougher fight, with more adversity than the first encounter, but ultimately, Volkanovski will pull it off.
Michael Chiesa
