Alexander Volkanovski has hinted that he will take a more-aggressive approach than usual on Saturday, as he fights Diego Lopes for the second time.
In the main event of UFC 325, Volkanovski will fight on home soil in Sydney, as the Australian defends his featherweight title against Lopes. The rematch comes nine months after Volkanovski, 37, outpointed Lopes, 31, to win the vacant belt.
With that result, Volk became a two-time champion. He has not fought since, while Lopes bounced back in September with a stunning stoppage of Jean Silva.
Lopes knocked out his fellow Brazilian with a spinning back elbow, and although he could not find the shot to finish Volkanovski in April, he did drop the Aussie. In spite of that moment of danger, Volkanovski has hinted at a risky, aggressive gameplan this weekend.
“[I’ve thought to myself,] ‘You don’t need to be that calculated, you can bulldoze these guys,’” Volkanovski told ESPN. “You know, I sometimes say: ‘You don’t waste too much energy on this, you ain’t getting tired. Why are you not just bulldozing these guys when you actually can?’
“I feel like I could have done this to all of my opponents: proper bulldoze them and go straight through these guys. And that’s what I plan on doing this time.
“You wanna come aggressive at me? Be ready for big, big shots coming your way. Be ready to be dumped on your head. You think you’re going to stop [my] takedowns? Not if I want to take you down. You think you’re just going to walk forward and I’m gonna run this time? Something big’s coming at you.
“I’ll be strategic, I’ll make sure you don’t hit me, but you come aggressive, something big’s coming back at you. Something is come back at you, and I can bulldoze anyone.
“If I do grab ahold of you, I’m taking you down. I’m strangling you, or I’m punching your head through this canvas. And if I’m in a position and I’m throwing bombs, them bombs... I am going to proper sit on them now. I’m going to make sure them two or three shots that I sit down on, I am properly sitting down on.
“You want to put yourself in that position? I’m going to make you pay. This time, I think I can really, really bulldoze these guys, so let’s do it.”
While some consider Volkanovski the greatest featherweight of all time, his form has dipped in recent years. Against Lopes, he is eyeing just his second win since July 2023 and a first stoppage since then.
That result was a TKO win over Yair Rodriguez, as Volkanovski bounced back from a narrow decision loss to Islam Makhachev, whom Volk was challenging for the lightweight title at the time. But after beating Rodriguez, Volkanovski suffered back-to-back knockouts – in a short-notice rematch with Makhachev, then in a title defence against Ilia Topuria.
Topuria knocked out Volkanovski in February 2024 and gave up the title 12 months later, making way for the Aussie’s vacant-title win over Lopes.
And while Lopes (27-7) showed a flash of his power against Volkanovski, he also carries a great submission threat. Of the Brazilian’s 27 wins as a professional, 12 have come via submission and 11 via KO/TKO; the other four came via decision. Meanwhile, Volkanovski is 27-4 as a pro with 13 KO/TKO wins, three via submission, and 11 via decision.
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