Pros Predict Volkanovski Vs. Lopes – ‘Hard To Go Against Him’
UFC 325 marks a homecoming for Alexander Volkanovski as he defends his featherweight belt in a rematch against Diego Lopes on January 31, as pros picked their winner.
Volkanovski enters Sydney having successfully navigated the most turbulent period of his career. After losing the belt to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in early 2024, Volkanovski reclaimed the vacated title at UFC 314 last April. In that fight, he produced a masterclass to hand Lopes a unanimous decision loss.
Lopes has become the division’s most feared finisher, recording a 27-7 record with an astounding 15 first-round finishes. Since losing to Volkanovski, Lopes demolished the dangerous Jean Silva via a spectacular spinning back elbow TKO in the second round.
Predictions
“I think Diego. He’s that up-and-coming dawg, man, and I know when you’ve been at the top for so long like he [Volkanovski] has, you start to see a little of a mental change. I don’t think he’s as hungry as Diego,” Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson
“It’s hard to go against a guy like Volkanovski. He’s definitely one of the best featherweights ever. But the rumours from the media about whether this is a retirement fight – I just noticed it’s difficult when guys are fighting with one foot out the door. “If any of that were true, I’m going to have to lean towards Diego Lopes for this fight,” Neil Magny
More Predictions
“I could see Diego getting this one done. One thing that might be interesting in this fight is I know that Diego has been training a lot in Oklahoma State’s wrestling room, so maybe we’ll see the element of him adding a little bit of wrestling in there. “That first fight they had was just a striking match. I think that [the wrestling] may be an interesting wrinkle he can throw in there to mix it up a little,” Julius Walker
“Obviously Alex Volkanovski is a very well-rounded fighter – he’s one of the greatest ever. He’s going to go down in the Hall of Fame, but now is Diego Lopes’ time. He’s going to learn from his mistakes he made in the first fight – I think he’ll correct them and get the win,” Modestas Bukauskas
“I think some minor adjustments from Lopes and he would have won the first fight. He was having a hard time tracking Volk down and he was getting kind of frustrated. He has a good team behind him and they will make that adjustment and I think he will find the win,” Cody Brundage
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