Volkanovski vs. Lopes: Title Rematch at UFC 325
The expected featherweight title rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes will headline UFC 325. The event will take place on January 31st at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. This fight will mark Volkanovski’s return to his home country, Australia, since his attempt for the lightweight title against Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in February 2023. Despite his defeat, Volkanovski proved his worth in a very close fight. Volkanovski (27-4) will seek his second consecutive title defense against Lopes (27-27). In their previous encounter at UFC 314 in April, Volkanovski won by unanimous decision. The judges scored the fight 49-46, 49-46, and 49-45. Lopes secured the rematch by spectacularly knocking out Jean Silva in September. The announcement of this fight has left several featherweight contenders waiting for an opportunity, including Movsar Evloev (19-0) and Lerone Murphy (17-0-1). Both fighters expressed their opinions on social media.Evloev proposed to face Murphy in early 2026 to secure a title opportunity. Leon Murphy, I will give you the opportunity to fight the number one contender. Tell your people that you are ready to fight me on the same card as the championship. According to the UFC ranking, Evloev and Murphy hold the number 1 and 4 positions respectively in the division, while Lopes is at number 2.Losing the opportunity to fight one of the best featherweights is what hurts me the most. It’s no longer about who is the best, but who is most popular.
Lerone Murphy
