Alexander Volkanovski regained the UFC Featherweight Championship with a decision win over Diego Lopes following a gutsy display from the first-time title challenger at UFC 314. Volkanovski moves to 7-3 in UFC title fights with the win and becomes the second featherweight champion to regain his title along with Jose Aldo.
Volkanovski survived some scary moments and ate some big shots from Lopes but ultimately proved to be too tall of a task. Lopes dropped Volkanovski in Round 2 but was unable to capitalize. The volume Volkanovski delivered consistently throughout the fight with his hard jab and clean leg kicks put a heavy pace on Lopes. His check left hook and overhand right both consistently found the home and scored well throughout the fight.
The scorecards read 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 for the former champion, who claims the now vacated title by Ilia Topuria. Coming off back-to-back losses, many people questioned whether Volkanovski’s chin would hold up. Lopes did manage to land some of his signature punches, like his uppercuts in the clinch, but the former champion’s chin proved strong and allowed him to will his way to a win. With Volkanovski seemingly returning to prime form, his next fights will be highly anticipated to see if that will hold.
Lopes suffers his second UFC defeat and sees his five-fight win streak broken despite a strong performance. Lopes proved he belonged with the best of the best and shouldn’t see much of a stock down in the loss.
See what UFC fighters had to say about Alexander Volkanovski solidifying his legacy as an all-time great:
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