UFC boss Dana White dropped a ton of wild fight news on Wednesday evening.
It was revealed that Ilia Topuria has relinquished his featherweight title and will move up to lightweight.
In his absence, the vacant 145lb strap will be on the line in the main event of UFC 314 on April 12.
The division’s former champion Alexander Volkanovski will try to win back his belt when he takes on streaking contender Diego Lopes atop a stacked 12-fight card at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Dana White announces stacked UFC 314 fight card
In addition to Volkanovski vs Lopes, White revealed 11 more fights for the UFC’s return to ‘The 305’.
Most notably, the MMA mogul confirmed that lightweight stars Michael Chandler and Paddy Pimblett will clash in an eagerly anticipated five-round co-main event
Former two-weight Bellator Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire was also announced as the UFC’s latest signing.
He’ll take on featherweight knockout artist Yair Rodriguez in a massive main-card fight at UFC 314.
Also competing at the event is welterweight fan favorite Carlos Prates, who’ll face his toughest test to date against Geoff Neal after smoking Li Jingliang and Neil Magny during his impressive four-fight run in the Octagon.
Alexander Volkanovski sends message to UFC 314 opponent
Immediately after White rocked the MMA world with a slew of massive UFC announcements, Volkanovski posted a six-minute video to his YouTube channel reacting to the news he will fight Lopes in less than two months.
‘The Great’ apologized ahead of time for stopping Lopes from fulfilling his dream of becoming a world champion.
“Lopes is obviously a dangerous dude,” Volkanovski said. “A bit of a different matchup to Ilia.
“Obviously, they are both dangerous fighters. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to this one and feeling excited. I’m feeling great and I’m only going to get better from here, so that’s a scary thing, especially for Lopes.
“I think Lopes is in for a very, very hard fight. He’s a gamer. He’s a great dude. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. A very nice fella. I’m sure he’s expecting to go out there and win the belt, but I’m sorry, mate, that ain’t happening.
“Good on you for being in this position. I’m happy you’re getting the opportunity to fight for the belt, but I’m still here and you ain’t having it. Sorry, mate.”