Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title in a surprise rematch with Diego Lopes, it has been announced.
Volkanovski has been waiting on his next fight since April, when he survived a knockdown to outpoint Lopes and win the vacant belt – 14 months after his first reign came to an end.
And the Australian finally has another bout scheduled, as he prepares to fight on home soil in Sydney on 31 January.
Volkanovski, 37, will headline UFC 325 against Lopes, who bounced back from his loss to “Alexander The Great” by stopping Jean Silva in September.
Still, many fans will be surprised to see Lopes, 30, get another shot at the title – and Volkanovski specifically – so soon after his loss to the Aussie.
But the Brazilian did drop Volkanovski in their first fight and finished Silva in stunning fashion, flooring his compatriot with a spinning back fist before securing the stoppage. In doing so, Lopes handed Silva his first defeat in the UFC.
In any case, Britain’s Lerone Murphy and Russia’s Movsar Evloev will count themselves unlucky not to have been given the title shot. Both men are unbeaten, with Murphy riding a nine-fight win streak since a draw in 2019, while Evloev beat former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling in his last bout.
That said, Evloev has struggled with injury issues and has not competed since December 2024, while Murphy stopped Aaron Pico with a stunning spinning back elbow in August.
There has been speculation that Volkanovski could retire after his rematch with Lopes, which marks the first title defence of his second reign as champion.
He previously held the featherweight belt from 2019 until 2024, recording five successful title defences before losing the strap to Ilia Topuria, who later vacated the gold and became lightweight champion.
No other bouts have been announced for UFC 325, but the event marks a rapid turnaround for the UFC; one week prior, UFC 324 plays out in Las Vegas, representing the promotion’s first event on Paramount+.
UFC 325 will be the second, after UFC 324 sees Paddy Pimblett face Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title in the main event.
Pimblett vs Gaethje follows a co-main event pitting Kayla Harrison against the legendary Amanda Nunes, who will emerge from retirement to challenge her ex-teammate for the women’s bantamweight belt.
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