-
Brett Okamoto
A featherweight title fight rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes will headline UFC 325 on Jan. 31, UFC CEO Dana White announced Thursday.
The 145-pound title fight will take place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. It will mark Volkanovski’s first appearance in his home country of Australia since his unsuccessful, but riveting, lightweight title bid against then-champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in February 2023 in Perth. Volkanovski rallied in the fifth round against Makhachev before ultimately losing a very close unanimous decision.
Volkanovski (27-4) will be seeking his second consecutive title defense against Lopes (27-27). He defeated Lopes via unanimous decision at UFC 314 in April. The championship bout was close, but not controversial. Judges scored the bout 49-46, 49-46 and 49-45. Lopes forced the immediate rematch by knocking out Jean Silva in spectacular fashion in September.
The announcement left several featherweight contenders on the outside looking in, specifically Movsar Evloev (19-0) and Lerone Murphy (17-0-1).
Both took to social media to express their thoughts on the matchup.
“Missing the opportunity to fight one of featherweights [GOATS] is what hurts me the most,” Murphy wrote on X. “It’s not about who’s the best anymore. It’s about who’s most popular.”
Evloev offered to meet Murphy in early 2026 to solidify the next title shot.
“Leon Murphy, I will give you the opportunity to fight the number one contender,” Evloev wrote. “Tell your people [you’re] ready to fight me on the same card as the championship.”
According to the UFC rankings, Evloev and Murphy are ranked Nos. 1 and 4 in the division, respectively. Lopes is ranked No. 2.