‘The Great’ has already secured his status as one of the best featherweights of all time but he will now take on the division’s newest star.
After being on top for over four years, the former 145-pound champion is now back to being a contender after Alexander Volkanovski’s reign was ended by Ilia Topuria.
A rematch between them was a big talking point throughout 2024 especially after Volkanovski took the fight in less than ideal circumstances.
However, this is no longer the case following the news that Topuria has vacated the title to move up to lightweight leaving Volkanovski to fight for the interim belt.
He will now face Diego Lopes in the main event of UFC 314 as the Aussie looks to seize the throne for a second time by halting the momentum of a breakout challenger.
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Alexander Volkanovski’s coach compares Diego Lopes’ threat to Brian Ortega
Alexander Volkanovski and his team have prepared for some of the biggest fights and challenges possible.
What made ‘The Great’ such a strong champion in the first place was his well-rounded skillset and ability to adapt to different opponents.
Despite his excellent skills, in his title defense against Brian Ortega at UFC 266, it was the resilience of the champion that received the most praise.
Volkanovski dominated the fight but had to battle through some incredibly difficult moments where his opponent was able to produce some serious submission attempts in the blink of an eye.
With Diego Lopes also being an incredibly dangerous fight finisher when the fight hits the floor, Volkanovski’s head coach Joe Lopez made reference to this in a recent interview with Submission Radio when he was asked where Lopes presents the biggest threat.
“Well look, on the ground, he’s very similar to Brian. He’s very instinctual so he just throws things naturally and naturally knows where he wants to be and where he doesn’t want to be and that sort of makes him dangerous because he’s a bit unpredictable like he just jumps on things. That Movsar (Evloev) fight, the transitions from armbar to triangle and back, very technical stuff.”
Alexander Volkanovski won’t be afraid to test Diego Lopes anywhere
Alexander Volkanovski has always been confident to compete with any fighter at any range and his win over Brian Ortega was a great example of that.
He knew the threat that ‘T-City’ could present off his back and even after coming through some tough situations, he continued to put Ortega on the canvas and reign down ground and pound.
In 26 pro fights, Diego Lopes has produced 12 submission wins but only one of them has come in the UFC when he caught Gavin Tucker in a spectacular triangle armbar.
The grappling exchanges between these two men are sure to be fascinating with the creative style of Lopes coming up against Volkanovski’s machine-like focus.