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Volkanovski (27-4) won the vacant featherweight title against Lopes (27-7) via unanimous decision in their first clash at UFC 314 last year. Volkanovski will look to defend the title against Lopes in their rematch at UFC 325 on Jan. 31 in front of a home crowd at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. Volkanovski aims to make a statement in his first title defense of his second title reign. “The Great” wants to remind himself and fans of the dominant champion from his first title run.
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Not Just Another Title Fight
“I really want to make a statement in this one,” Volkanovski told the UFC. “This isn’t just another title fight. I really have something not only to prove to myself, but to everyone as well: that I’m still that dominant champ they remember from a couple of years ago.”
Volkanovski won the featherweight title for the first time against Max Holloway in 2019. Volkanovski defended the title four times before making a failed lightweight title bid against Islam Makhachev in 2023. The Australian defended the featherweight title a fifth time before rematching Makhachev, suffering a knockout loss. Volkanovski looked to defend his featherweight title against Ilia Topuria just four months after his knockout loss against Makhachev. Volkanovski was dethroned by Topuria via another brutal knockout loss in 2024. Volkanovski won the vacant title against Lopes after Topuria moved up to lightweight.
Alexander Volkanovski says the Lopes rematch is about proving he’s still the dominant champ 💪
“I really want to make a statement in this one. This isn’t just another title fight – I really have something not only to prove to myself, but to everyone as well: that I’m still that… pic.twitter.com/2q5b5eHeYh
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) January 16, 2026
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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