Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is headed back “Down Under” as UFC 325 is set to go down from inside Qudos Bank Arena, New South Wales, Australia on Paramount+ featuring a Featherweight title fight between division champion, Alexander Volkanovski, and Diego Lopes. In the co-main event of the evening, Dan Hooker will battle Benoit Saint Denis in a pivotal Lightweight bout.
What’s Hot:
UFC 325 CHEAT SHEET
What UFC event is on tonight? UFC 325: “Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2”
Who is fighting tonight at UFC 325? Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes Featherweight title fight is the five-round main event.
What time does UFC 325? TONIGHT (Sat., Jan. 31, 2026), beginning at 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
Where will UFC 325 take place? Qudos Bank Arena, New South Wales, Australia
How can I watch UFC 325? The Paramount+ “Prelims” matches online are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 9 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
As for Lopes, he has the opportunity to finally win UFC gold for the first time and now that he has been inside the cage against “The Great” for 25 minutes he knows what to expect. It still remains to be seen if he has made the proper adjustments to fix the mistakes Volkanovski was able to capitalize on in the first meeting, If Lopes has not done that he will be in for more of the same come fight night and another title fight will be hard to come by, especially of “The Great” goes on another extended reign. All in all this will be an interesting chess match come fight night and we are bound to be entertained by two of the most exciting fighters in the division once more.
What’s Not:
Cameron Rowston is currently on a five-fight win streak and won his UFC debut by defeating Andre Petroski via first-round technical knockout (TKO) four months ago. He will attempt to lock down his sixth win in a row when he battles Cody Brundage, who has struggled as of late, amassing a 1-2-1-1 record in his last five bouts. Again, it drives me crazy when matchmakers do this, put a streaking fighter up against someone who is clearly on a slump.
Original Card Vs. Actual Card/Injuries
A Heavyweight bout between Serghei Spivac and Ante Delija was initially scheduled for this event but was later rescheduled for a UFC Fight Night in late February. A Light Heavyweight bout between Jimmy Crute and Dustin Jacoby was scrapped after Crute withdrew as a result of a ruptured ACL. Also a Flyweight fight between Namsrai Batbayar and Aaron Tau was scrapped after Tau was caught trying to cheat the scales in an attempt to make weight. After initially tipping the scales at 122 pounds, he was forced to weigh in again and came back with a 129-pound weight. It was alleged that he tried to rest his arms on the modesty box to seem lighter than what he actually was.
New Blood:
There will be plenty of newcomers making their official UFC debuts at this event, as the “Road to UFC Finals 4” will take place on this card. Opening up the undercard will be the Bantamweight finals between Sulang Rangbo (10-3) and Lawrence Lui (7-1). In the Featherweight final, Keiichiro Nakamura — who is on a seven-fight win streak — will battle Sebastian Szalay, who is out to snag his tenth straight win. In the Lightweight division, Kim Sang-wook and Dom Mar Fan will engage in fisticuffs to see who the best 155-pounder in the tournament is.
How The ‘Prelims’ Look:
In a Welterweight bout, Jonathan Micallef and Oban Elliott throw down on the loaded undercard. Micallef made a good impression in his UFC debut by defeating Kevin Jousset, his third straight win. As for Elliott, his three-fight win streak under the UFC banner was stopped at the hands Seok Hyeon Ko in his last outing, which was his first defeat in his last eight fights.
Torrez Finney improved his undefeated record up to 11-0 by defeating Robert Valentin in his UFC debut via split-decision in April 2025. Now, he will look to keep his hot streak going against Jacob Malkoun, who is coming off a technical knockout (TKO) win over Andre Petroski. That victory, however, was nearly two years ago, so it will be interesting to see if ring rust plays a factor.
Kaan Ofli will attempt to snap his two-fight losing streak inside the Octagon when he goes toe-to-toe against Zha Yi in a 145-pound scrap. Ofli needs a win pretty badly here because if he starts off his UFC run with three straight losses he likely won’t get a fourth opportunity to get his first victory with the promotion.
Junior Tafa has had a pretty rough stretch inside the Octagon, going a horrid 2-4 in his first six bouts. He is 1-3 in his last four and was last seen getting submitted George Tokkos last summer. He will attempt to turn things around for himself when he faces Billy Elekana, who has won two straight bouts after dropping his UFC debut to Bogdan Guskov.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
Interest Level: 7/10
In the co-main event of the evening, Dan Hooker will attempt to get back on track after Arman Tsarukyan submitted him in Nov. 2025 — after he shattered his nose with this headbutt — in Qatar. Hooker is currently ranked No. 6 at 155 pounds, so if he can get back into the win column he could find himself back in the Top 5. He will be facing Benoit Saint Denis (No. 8), who is currently in the midst of a three-fight win streak. A win over “The Hangman” will give him several bumps up the ladder and get him closer to championship fight consideration.
Kicking off the main card will be a Lightweight fight between two contenders in Quillan Salkilld and Jamie Mullarkey. Salkilld is currently on a 10-fight win streak, which includes winning his first three fights under the UFC banner, which he is why he is our top prospect to keep your eye on. As for Mullarkey, he does have more UFC experience than his foe, but has only been able to amass a 6-6 record. Sure, he’s at .500, but that won’t do much for him if he ever wants to crack the Top 15.
Enjoy the fights!
Full UFC 325 Fight Card:
UFC 325 Main Event On Paramount+:
145 lbs.: Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes 2
UFC 325 Main Card on Paramount+ (9 p.m. ET):
155 lbs.: Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis
155 lbs.: Rafael Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy
265 lbs.: Tallison Teixeira vs. Tai Tuivasa
155 lbs.: Quillan Salkilld vs. Jamie Mullarkey
UFC 325 ‘Prelims’ Card on Paramount+ (7 p.m. ET):
205 lbs.: Billy Elekana vs. Junior Tafa
185 lbs.: Cody Brundage vs. Cam Rowston
185 lbs.: Torrez Finney vs. Jacob Malkoun
170 lbs.: Oban Elliott vs. Jonathan Micallef
UFC 325 ‘Road To UFC’ Finals on Paramount+ (5 p.m. ET):
*Fight card, bout order and amount of fights remain subject to change*
