By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Alexander Volkanovski is back on the pedestal of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) after scoring a unanimous decision victory over Diego Lopes in the main event of UFC 314 on April 13, 2025, at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
With the win, the Australian menace just reclaimed the throne he once held and is once again the king of the UFC featherweight division.
Despite the long 14-month layoff since suffering back-to-back losses at the hands of Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev, Volkanovski came back as if he never left and wrapped up the bloodbath with a convincing 5-0 win.
Volkanovski drew loud oohs and aahs from the Miami crowd after immediately pouncing on Lopes in the early minutes of the opening round.
To counter Lopes’ counter striking, the experienced UFC champion closed the gap and took the fight inside his desired distance, throwing wild haymakers capped off with a sweet right uppercut.
However, Lopes woke up in the next round and equalized the scorecards when he dropped Volkanovski with a snappy hook. Fortunately for the Australian, he survived the frame and stood up quickly to avoid further damage.
Just when Lopes thought that he could press inside and ride the momentum from his knockdown, Volkanovski served the judges a treat when he began to host a hitting clinic. From his well-calculated jab-cross combinations to a barrage of calf kicks, the champion piled up his scoring tally and dominated the last three rounds.
Lopes had his moments in rounds four and five when he was able to successfully pull off an uppercut counter off Volkanovski’s left straight opening but due to the wide disparity in significant strikes, the former undisputed featherweight champion didn’t need to exert much effort to recover his lost points.
The remaining 1:45 of the title fight had everyone on their feet as the two warriors met in the middle of the octagon and traded wild swings after wild swings.
Volkanovski, who was clever enough to know that he held a scoring advantage, disengaged in the final 30 seconds and backpedaled en route to a flawless comeback victory.
All three of the official ringside judges scored the bout in favor of Volkanovski, 48-47, 49-46, 49-46. He now holds a record of 27 wins and four losses while Lopes dropped to 26 wins and seven losses.
“For everyone watching, hey, adversity is a privilege. You hear people talk about that all the time. It truly is. This moment is incredible,” said Volkanovski after winning his first UFC title fight after 14 months.
