UFC 325 goes down tomorrow night in Sydney, Australia and we will see a featherweight championship rematch in the main event. Featherweight champion and all time great Alexander Volkanovski (27-4) will be defending his title against a familiar foe in Diego Lopes (27-7).
These two fought back in April for the vacant title and Volkanovski put on a masterclass to win back the title after he lost it to Ilia Topuria. Lopes had a brief moment in the second round of that fight, but outside of that, it was all Volk.
We haven’t seen Volkanovski since so this will be his second straight fight against Diego Lopes. Lopes returned at Noche UFC and headlined that show against Jean Silva. In a wild fight, Lopes scored the second round TKO and that win was enough to put him right back in a title fight.
UFC 325 Prediction
If I’m being completely honest, if the UFC wasn’t new to Paramount, I don’t think Diego Lopes would be getting this title fight. I think that Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy both are more deserving of this shot, but the promotion wants excitement and Diego Lopes is exciting.
The question is, can Diego Lopes close the gap and actually beat Alexander Volkanovski. In terms of raw power, Lopes has the advantage but I don’t think he’s going to be able to close the overall skills gap. I know that Volk is getting up there in age, but in watching that first fight, I just don’t know if Lopes can improve enough in one year to close that gap.
I think you’ll see Volkanovski mix things up between his striking and his grappling. His championship experience is going to shine once again and I think he’s going to win a clear decision at UFC 325. If there’s a finish in this fight, I think it’s from Lopes who might catch Volk with a shot or in a submission, but if we go the distance, it’s Volkanovski again.
Prediction: Alexander Volkanovski by Decision
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