Alexander Volkanovski
The Great
Australia
Returning at UFC 325
Volkanovski will fight Diego Lopes at UFC 325 on Jan. 31, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Volkanovski took down Lopes in April to reclaim the UFC Featherweight title, but a hand injury he suffered during the fight has prevented the former from fighting since then. Now healthy, the 37-year-old Australian will attempt to defend his title against Lopes, who has beaten Jean Silva since his loss to Volkanovski.
Volkanovski took down Lopes in April to reclaim the UFC Featherweight title, but a hand injury he suffered during the fight has prevented the former from fighting since then. Now healthy, the 37-year-old Australian will attempt to defend his title against Lopes, who has beaten Jean Silva since his loss to Volkanovski.
Fight Log
Loading Fight Log...
More Fantasy News
Set for hand x-rays
Volkanovski is set to undergo hand x-rays to determine whether he suffered an injury in his latest fight against Diego Lopes, Alexander K. Lee of MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Volkanovski regained the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship on Saturday, April 12, after defeating Lopes via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) at UFC 314 in Miami. However, that win could be costly if the X-rays show an injury. Further details regarding Volkanovski's immediate future will be determined after the X-rays are taken.
Volkanovski regained the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship on Saturday, April 12, after defeating Lopes via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) at UFC 314 in Miami. However, that win could be costly if the X-rays show an injury. Further details regarding Volkanovski's immediate future will be determined after the X-rays are taken.
Regains 145-pound gold
Volkanovski regained the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship on Saturday, defeating Diego Lopes via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) at UFC 314 in Miami.
ANALYSIS
Volkanovski entered on a three-fight losing streak. His last time out last February, he was knocked out by Ilia Topuria, dropping his 145-pound belt in the process. He got another chance at UFC gold here after Topuria decided to move up to lightweight and vacate the title in the process and he responded with a vintage performance. Volk remained on the gas pedal all night, closing with a 158-63 edge in significant strikes landed. He landed just 1-of-11 takedown attempts, but the tries served to keep Lopes off balance. Volkanovski was knocked down in Round 2 and had a problem with his eye in Round 4, but kept coming. It was a very strong all-around performance against a legitimately talented opponent. History suggests that Alex, at age 36, isn't destined to be a long-term champion this time around, but we'll see. He's already cemented his legacy as one of the best to ever do it. On top of that, he'll also walk away with a $50,000 bonus after this bout was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
Volkanovski entered on a three-fight losing streak. His last time out last February, he was knocked out by Ilia Topuria, dropping his 145-pound belt in the process. He got another chance at UFC gold here after Topuria decided to move up to lightweight and vacate the title in the process and he responded with a vintage performance. Volk remained on the gas pedal all night, closing with a 158-63 edge in significant strikes landed. He landed just 1-of-11 takedown attempts, but the tries served to keep Lopes off balance. Volkanovski was knocked down in Round 2 and had a problem with his eye in Round 4, but kept coming. It was a very strong all-around performance against a legitimately talented opponent. History suggests that Alex, at age 36, isn't destined to be a long-term champion this time around, but we'll see. He's already cemented his legacy as one of the best to ever do it. On top of that, he'll also walk away with a $50,000 bonus after this bout was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
Chance to earn back belt
Volkanovski will challenge Diego Lopes for the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 314 on April 12 in Miami, according to UFC President Dana White.
ANALYSIS
No man has beaten Volkanovski outside of champions Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, and while it was thought Volkanovski would eventually rematch Topuria for the belt, it turns out the latter is moving up to lightweight and vacating his 145-pound strap in the process. Volkanovski now has a chance to regain his belt at the age of 36, but faces a tough customer in Lopes, who has won fight fights in a row in dominant fashion. Lopes will have a slight height advantage and five-inch reach advantage here, but Volkanovski is one of the kings of volume striking, and he does have a slight wrestling threat to bring to the table.
No man has beaten Volkanovski outside of champions Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, and while it was thought Volkanovski would eventually rematch Topuria for the belt, it turns out the latter is moving up to lightweight and vacating his 145-pound strap in the process. Volkanovski now has a chance to regain his belt at the age of 36, but faces a tough customer in Lopes, who has won fight fights in a row in dominant fashion. Lopes will have a slight height advantage and five-inch reach advantage here, but Volkanovski is one of the kings of volume striking, and he does have a slight wrestling threat to bring to the table.
Reign as 145-pound king ends
Volkanovski lost the UFC Featherweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Ilia Topuria via KO (punches) at 3:32 of Round 2 at UFC 298 on in Anaheim.
ANALYSIS
It's Volkanovski's first loss at 145 pounds since May 10, 2013. That is not a misprint. Alex is unquestionably one of the greatest featherweights of all time, but this is just the latest example that Father Time remains undefeated. Volk entered having lost two of his past three, but both those defeats came at lightweight against the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world in Islam Makhachev. Back at his natural weight class here, something just seemed off. Alex started slowly in each round, although he gained some serious momentum late in Round 1. He appeared to be treading water in Round 2, at which point he got blasted with a right hand during an exchange along the fence which shut his body down in an instant. It was truly brutal. Volk went more than a decade with no durability issues whatsoever, but he's now been knocked out in back-to-back bouts. This simply felt like a case of a 35-year-old veteran sort of passing the torch to his 27-year-old challenger. We've seen time and time again that betting against Volkanovski is a bad idea, but there are some legitimate long-term concerns following this effort.
It's Volkanovski's first loss at 145 pounds since May 10, 2013. That is not a misprint. Alex is unquestionably one of the greatest featherweights of all time, but this is just the latest example that Father Time remains undefeated. Volk entered having lost two of his past three, but both those defeats came at lightweight against the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world in Islam Makhachev. Back at his natural weight class here, something just seemed off. Alex started slowly in each round, although he gained some serious momentum late in Round 1. He appeared to be treading water in Round 2, at which point he got blasted with a right hand during an exchange along the fence which shut his body down in an instant. It was truly brutal. Volk went more than a decade with no durability issues whatsoever, but he's now been knocked out in back-to-back bouts. This simply felt like a case of a 35-year-old veteran sort of passing the torch to his 27-year-old challenger. We've seen time and time again that betting against Volkanovski is a bad idea, but there are some legitimate long-term concerns following this effort.
Scheduled against Topuria
Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title in a matchup with Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in Anaheim on Feb. 17, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Unsurprisingly, Volkanovski will make his featherweight return to fight the most promising prospect in the division since he became champion. Topuria logged his UFC debut in 2020 and has won each of his six fights since then, the latest being a decisive five-rounder against former interim title challenger Josh Emmett. Volkanovski is coming off a first-round knockout from UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev but will look to prove he is fine at featherweight, a division in which he still remains unbeaten.
Unsurprisingly, Volkanovski will make his featherweight return to fight the most promising prospect in the division since he became champion. Topuria logged his UFC debut in 2020 and has won each of his six fights since then, the latest being a decisive five-rounder against former interim title challenger Josh Emmett. Volkanovski is coming off a first-round knockout from UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev but will look to prove he is fine at featherweight, a division in which he still remains unbeaten.