UFC 325 ON PARAMOUNT+ RESULTS, VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS, POST-PRESS CONFERENCE & SOCIAL MEDIA REACTION
Sydney, Australia (February 1st, 2026)– Alexander Volkanovski successfully defended his UFC featherweight title for the first time in his second reign, competing before a home crowd in Sydney at UFC 325.
For the second consecutive fight, Volkanovski defeated Diego Lopes by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45). In their previous meeting this April, Volkanovski reclaimed the vacant belt he had held for five years. At 37, he again demonstrated his signature form.
The win ties Volkanovski with José Aldo for the most UFC featherweight title defenses at eight.
Facing a very dangerous striker in Lopes (27-8), Volkanovski (28-4) once again maintained a calm defense for much of the fight. The first three rounds were overall close, but each round looked like Volk was winning. Then came a dominant pair of championship rounds to leave no doubt about the decision.
Overall, Volkanovski out-landed Lopes 98-70 in significant strikes, with takedowns even at two each. With his smaller stature, lengthy wingspan, and technical prowess, Volkanovski presented a defense Lopes couldn’t break through. He wanted more, though.
“I wanted to take him out, I wanted to grab hold of him and put him down, but he was strong,” Volkanovski said post-fight. “I didn’t want to stand for 25 minutes, I’ll be honest. We got the job done, so it’s all good.”
With Lopes taken care of, Volkanovski has a pair of looming undefeated challengers in Movsar Evloev (19-0) and Lerone Murphy (17-0-1). Many believed both of those guys were more deserving of UFC 325’s title shot rather than Lopes getting a rematch in such quick succession.
Volkanovski mentioned both of them as possibilities for his next fight, simply adding, “We’ll see what’s next.”
Volkanovski is the UFC’s second-oldest male champion (behind Alex Pereira). He made clear going into this fight he had no plans to call it a career in his home country, but it’s a question he’ll likely be facing with each fight from here on out. He’s already bound for the UFC Hall of Fame, but could reach an even higher level with a couple of wins.
Main card
Featherweight championship: Alexander Volkanovski def. Diego Lopes via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45)
Lightweight: Benoit Saint Denis def. Dan Hooker via TKO (punches) at 4:45 of R2 | Watch finish
Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy def. Rafael Fiziev via TKO (punches) at 4:30 of R2 | Watch finish
Heavyweight: Tallison Teixeira def. Tai Tuivasa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld def. Jamie Mullarkey via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:02 of R1 | Watch finish
Preliminary card
Heavyweight: Billy Elekana def. Junior Tafa via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:18 of R2 | Watch finish
Middleweight: Cameron Rowston def. Cody Brundage via TKO (punches) at 4:08 of R2 | Watch finish
Middleweight: Jacob Malkoun def. Torrez Finney via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Welterweight: Jonathan Micallef def. Oban Elliott via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:31 of R2 | Watch finish
Early prelims
Featherweight: Kaan Ofli def. Yizha via majority decision (29-28, 28-28, 29-28)
“Road to UFC” lightweight final: Dom Mar Fan def. Sangwook Kim via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
“Road to UFC” featherweight final: Keiichiro Nakamura def. Sebastian Szalay via TKO (knee) at 3:48 of R3 | Watch finish
“Road to UFC” bantamweight final: Lawrence Lui def. Sulangrangbo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
SIGN UP TO PARAMOUNT+ TO WATCH UFC & BOXING EVENTS
Loading ...Sign up to DAZN to Watch World Class Boxing
Follow Real Combat Media on Instagram
Follow Real Combat Media on Facebook
Support Real Combat Media Foundation
Shop at Real Combat Media Fight Store
COMMENTS
English