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Fight By Fight Preview | UFC 314: Volkanovski vs Lopes
Diving Into All The Action Slated To Hit The Octagon This Weekend In Miami
By E. Spencer Kyte
The featherweight throne has been abdicated, and this weekend, two skilled standouts will clash to determine who will become the new leader of the 145-pound weight class, as former champion Alexander Volkanovski squares off with surging Brazilian Diego Lopes to close out UFC 314.
Just as it has each of the last two years, Miami’s Kaseya Center will play host to a loaded pay-per-view fight card featuring critically important matchups across myriad divisions, with some captivating contests sure to entertain mixed in alongside of them. It’s a tremendous slate featuring a host of all-action talents, and promises to be another thrilling night of action inside the Octagon.
So let’s dive into what’s on tap this weekend at UFC 314: Volkanovski vs. Lopes.
Featherweight Championship Main Event: Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes
Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes face off in Saturday night’s main event with the vacant UFC featherweight title hanging in the balance.
This weekend marks Volkanovski’s first action since losing the title to Ilia Topuria last February at UFC 298. After fighting four times in 360 days and getting knocked out in consecutive contests, the Australian legend pressed pause and reset all at once, backing away for a little over a year in order to make a run at reclaiming the throne he occupied from over four years.
Lopes’ rise in the ranks is a juxtaposition to his opponent’s struggles, as the 30-year-old Brazilian posted five wins in 13 months to establish himself as a serious title threat in the featherweight division. Last time out at UFC 306, Lopes rocked Brian Ortega in the early stages, continuing to dominate the action throughout en route to a clean sweep of the scorecards.
There are so many questions that will be answered in this fight, on both sides, and the reality is that it’s one of those contests where numerous possibilities for how it plays out are all realistic. Does “Alexander the Great” still have something to offer and a second reign inside of him? Is Lopes ready to be the hunted after shining as the hunter since arriving on the scene?
It’s a fascinating stylistic matchup and a huge crossroads moment for both men, and the division as a whole, and I cannot wait to see how everything unfolds.
Additional Main Card Matchups
Michael Chandler vs Paddy Pimblett
The UFC 314 co-main event takes place in the lightweight division, with perennial contender Michael Chandler stepping in opposite British fan favorite Paddy Pimblett.
After patiently waiting for a fight with Conor McGregor that never materialized, Chandler ended a two-year hiatus last November at UFC 309, landing on the wrong side of the scorecards in a second meeting with Charles Oliveira. The soon-to-be 39-year-old is just 2-4 in six UFC starts, but those setbacks have all come against competitors that have held some type of championship gold in the past.
Through his first four years competing inside the Octagon, “Paddy the Baddy” has posted a 6-0 record with four finishes, forcing his way into the Top 15 in the process. Each time out, the Liverpool man continues to prove his critics wrong and perform, most recently having put King Green to sleep with a slick first-round triangle choke submission at UFC 304 last July.
This is honestly the perfect matchup for each man at this stage of things because it’s going to tell us so much about where each stands and what the future may hold.
Bryce Mitchell vs Jean Silva
Bryce Mitchell and Jean Silva face off in the middle of Saturday night’s pay-per-view main card, with a place in the thick of the chase in the featherweight division on the line.
A mainstay in the rankings for the last couple years, Mitchell has alternated wins and losses dating back to the start of 2022 when he bested Edson Barboza. After getting thumped by Josh Emmett at the close of 2023, the former Ultimate Fighter contestant rebounded with a third-round knockout win over Kron Gracie last December, advancing to 17-3 overall in the process.
Silva picked up right where he left off to begin his 2025 campaign, scoring a first-round stoppage win over Melsik Baghdasaryan in Seattle to move to 4-0 in the UFC and extend his overall winning streak to a dozen. He called out Mitchell during his time on the mic following the victory, and now gets his wish, looking to register a fifth victory in 16 months to force his way into the Top 15.
Can Mitchell halt the momentum of the surging Brazilian, or will the skilled Fighting Nerds representative continue to dominate and earn his second win of the year?
Yair Rodriguez vs Patricio Pitbull
Former interim champ Yair Rodriguez welcomes long-time Bellator titleholder Patricio Pitbull to the Octagon for the first time in the third of UFC 314’s trio of captivating main card featherweight pairings.
Rodriguez has dropped back-to-back contests since claiming the interim title back at UFC 284, coming up short in his bid to unify the belts at UFC 290 before getting submitted by Brian Ortega in their rematch in Mexico City last February. The ever-dangerous Mexican contender has shown many times that he’s capable of elite efforts and breathtaking performances, and it’s going to take another one here in order to get things moving in the right direction again.
Following well over a decade standing as one of the best talents competing outside the UFC, Pitbull finally touches down in the Octagon this weekend. The 37-year-old Brazilian is 36-7 overall, with wins over a host of familiar names, and championship reigns in two divisions under his belt.
We always wonder how the elite talents from other promotions would acquit themselves if given the chance to face off with the best the UFC have to offer, and we’re once again getting the opportunity to answer that question here. A dominant showing on either side will go a long way in cementing the victor as a viable title threat in the shifting featherweight ranks, andshould set up a massive fight later in the year.
Nikita Krylov vs Dominick Reyes
Ranked light heavyweights Nikita Krylov and Dominick Reyes open the pay-per-view main card in this pivotal matchup in the 205-pound weight class.
Fighting for the first time in over two years, Krylov returns to action riding a three-fight winning streak, having earned stoppage wins over Alexander Gustafsson and Ryan Spann on either side of a decision victory over Volkan Oezdemir. A tenured member of the Top 10, it’s going to be interesting to see how Krylov looks and performs after such a long period away from the Octagon.
Reyes endured a gnarly two-year stretch that saw him drop four straight contests, beginning with his debated title fight loss to Jon Jones before spending the whole of 2023 on the sidelines. He returned to action and the win column last June, stopping Dustin Jacoby, and then followed it up with a second-round win over Anthony Smith at UFC 310 in December.
Does Krylov come back and resume his winning ways, turning back the former title challenger or does Reyes keep rolling and reclaim a place in the Top 10 to begin 2025?
Preliminary Card Pairings
Dan Ige vs Sean Woodson
It’s not just the main card that features critical featherweight matchups, as the prelims wrap in the 145-pound ranks as well, with divisional stalwart Dan Ige taking on surging Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) grad Sean Woodson.
Ige enters on a two-fight skid but stands as one of the most durable and battle-tested fighters in the division, if not the UFC as a whole, having only lost to ranked opposition since making his short-notice debut all the way back at UFC 220. A member of the DWCS Class of ’19, Woodson has won four straight and is unbeaten in his last seven, having most recently earned a first-round stoppage win over Fernando Padilla on the final show of 2024 in Tampa.
Yan Xiaonan vs Virna Jandiroba
Strawweight standouts Yan Xiaonan and Virna Jandiroba clash in South Beach, with the winner heading into the summer as the presumptive No. 1 contender in the 115-pound weight class.
After coming up short in her championship clash with compatriot Zhang Weili at UFC 300 last April, Yan got things moving in the right direction again in November, out-working Tabatha Ricci over three rounds in Macau. Jandiroba arrives in Miami on a four-fight winning streak, with each of those wins coming against ranked fighters, including Loopy Godinez and former title challenger Amanda Lemos.
Jim Miller vs Chase Hooper
Jim Miller and Chase Hooper face off here in a compelling lightweight clash between the most experienced fighter on the UFC roster and a surging prospect that has been coming into his own of late.
The 41-year-old Miller makes the walk for the 46th time in his UFC career (58th fight overall) looking to build on his first-round submission win over Damon Jackson in November and add to his record for the most wins in UFC history. Hooper has literally grown up before our eyes, transforming from a pugnacious “Teenage Dream” that struggled to find consistency into an ascending lightweight that has gone 4-0 since transitioning to the 155-pound weight class, with each of his last three wins coming inside the distance.
Sedriques Dumas vs Michal Oleksiejczuk
DWCS alum Sedriques Dumas takes a step up in competition on Saturday, facing off with Polish veteran Michal Oleksiejczuk.
Dumas has won three of his last four since punching his ticket to the UFC with a victory on Season 6 of the annual talent search series, most recently besting Denis Tiuliulin in August. The 30-year-old Oleksiejczuk aims to halt a three-fight slide and get back to the form that produced stoppage wins over Chidi Njokuani, Cody Brundage, and Modestas Bukauskas.
Darren Elkins vs Julian Erosa
All-action featherweights clash in the middle of the prelims as Darren Elkins and Julian Erosa share the Octagon in a bout that is guaranteed to be thrilling for as long as it lasts.
Elkins is an all-time battler, entering Saturday’s contest on a two-fight winning streak and having authored some of the most unbelievable comeback wins of the last decade. Erosa is allergic to being in a boring fight, win or lose, and looks to collect his third straight first-round submission win after choking out Ricardo Ramos and Christian Rodriguez in back-to-back contests.
Sumudaerji vs Mitch Raposo
Sumudaerji and Mitch Raposo meet in a battle of flyweight talents looking to begin 2025 with a victory.
Still just 29 years old, Sumudaerji heads into UFC 314 having dropped three straight, most recently landing on the wrong side of the results in a clash with Charles Johnson in October. Raposo makes his second trip into the Octagon on Saturday after dropping his short noticedebut to streaking Brazilian Andre Lima last June at UFC 302.
Tresean Gore vs Marco Tulio
Tresean Gore and Marco Tulio face off in a “TUF vs. DWCS” clash at Kaseya Center.
TUF 32’s Gore returned from a two-year absence to collect a second-straight win in November, tapping out Antonio Trocoli with a standing guillotine choke. A member of the DWCS Class of ’24, Tulio made his promotional debut in January, stopping Ihor Potieria with strikes in the opening round to push his record to 13-1 overall.
Nora Cornolle vs Hailey Cowan
Bantamweights open the show in Miami as Nora Cornolle faces off with the returning Hailey Cowan.
France’s Cornolle looks to get back into the win column after dropping a split decision to Jacqueline Cavalcanti last time out. Cowan fights for the first time in roughly two years after missing weight and dropping a decision to Jamey-Lyn Horth in her maiden voyage into the Octagon in April 2023.
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