UFC 325 just concluded at the Qudos Arena in Sydney Australia with featherweight champ and hometown hero Alexander Volkanovski taking a largely one-sided decision win over Diego Lopes. This is the second time Volkanovski and Lopes have fought, and it’s the second time in a row that Volkanovski has faces Lopes.
But given Volkanovski’s advanced age — at 37, he’s managed to shatter the rule that anyone fighting at 155 or below beyond age 35 is dead meat — we have to ask once again: why did the UFC only have him fight once in 2025, and then why did they decide to match him up against that same opponent to kick off 2026?
When asked about the match-up, UFC CEO Dana White didn’t bother to explain it. He didn’t bring up Lopes’ impressive finish of Jean Silva at last year’s Noche UFC. Instead he told fans not to watch it if they didn’t like it. Considering the promotion clearly picked Lopes over fresh but less popular contenders like Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy, he was clearly betting on more people turning in than not.
But those that tuned in might be questioning why they did, given this was basically a rerun of the first fight. And that’s not surprising given the time between the first and second fight. The outcome here is not surprising in the least, and the only hope we have is that now the UFC can move on to testing Volk against the toughest opposition his division has to offer.
Just like last year, Volkanovski has volunteered to defend three times in 2026. He can clearly see the clock ticking on his career and wants to finish on a run that will cement his legacy forever. He wants to take the 0 off young contenders, but you get the feeling the UFC would rather wedge guys like Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega back into the batter’s box. And while it’s always a pleasure to see Volk work regardless of his opposition, we’d rather see him get tested against the best of the next generation.
Take a look at some of the fan reaction to Alexander Volkanovski’s win over Diego Lopes at UFC 325:
