Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski successfully retained his featherweight title at UFC 325 in Sydney after dominantly defeating Diego Lopes via unanimous decision.
For the second time in his career, the featherweight champion had his hand raised over the Brazilian-Mexican challenger. Only this time, the champ dominated Lopes throughout the five-round fight.
Two moments stood out where Volkanovski appeared to be in real danger. Round 3, Lopes dropped Volk with a well-timed hook. Then again, in the final minutes of round five, Lopes unsuccessfully attempted an armbar on the champion, leaving Aussie fans in attendance on the edge of their seats.
However, outside of these two moments, the pair had many back-and-forth exchanges, with Volkanovski getting the better of the brawls. Overall, a classic Volk masterclass was on display in which he effectively used his reach, timing and skill to outpoint Lopes over 25 minutes.
‘The Great’ leaves UFC 325 as one of the greatest of all time. Volkanovski made no farewell speech in the octagon, despite rumours of retirement. So one can only hope we will see more of the featherweight champion.
“As usual, another incredible event in Australia,” UFC CEO and President Dana White said.
“Indoor arena record for highest gate in Australian history, sold out, fans are incredible and the fighters delivered.
“Huge thanks to the New South Wales Government for the continued support of the UFC in Sydney. We love coming here.”
The event was sold out and is the highest-grossing indoor arena event in Australian history (breaking the previous record held by UFC 312). The attendance was 18,102 and the gate was AU$14,433,052.
