Facing Diego Lopes wasn't Alexander Volkanovski's first choice.
He hoped to get another shot at Ilia Topuria and avenge his loss from more than a year ago at UFC 298. But Topuria moved up to the lightweight division, leaving the featherweight class vacant.
In stepped Lopes, the third-ranked challenger, to take on Volkanovski in UFC 314 on Saturday night in Miami.
Volkanovski, the 36-year-old top-ranked contender from Australia, is competing in his 10th consecutive title fight. Lopes, a 30-year-old from Brazil, gets his first title shot after winning his five previous bouts.
“Everyone’s going to say, ‘You’re old’ and all that stuff,” said Volkanovski, who is 26-4. "But I’m going to show you when I come back, and the comeback’s going to be big. I don’t get Ilia. I don’t get that win back just yet, but I get the next best thing. It is for the vacant belt and it’s against a young, hungry, new prospect. A lot of people are hyping him up and think I can’t do it. I love this position.”
Volkanovski is a -145 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook to defeat Lopes (26-6).
Though disappointed he's not getting another shot at Topuria just yet, Volkanovski said he respected Topuria's decision to leave the featherweight class vacant while testing himself at lightweight.
In preparing for Lopes, Volkanovski said he fully committed himself by beginning training camp earlier than usual and focusing on the workout recovery process and dieting in addition to the physical demands. He said he has never been this lean going into a bout.
Volkanovski had plenty of reason for wanting to get to work. He took an extended layoff after losing in February 2024 to Topuria. More than that, he's coming off defeats in three of his past four fights, including losing the two most recent matches. All four fights occurred in less than a year, so now he's much more rested.
“I’ve never been in this situation before," Volkanovski said. "I’ve never come off such a big break. I’ve never come off two losses. It’s definitely the biggest fight of my career. ... When you talk about legacy, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. People will write books (and) movies about it.”
Lopes hopes to write a different ending from what Volkanovski has in mind.
Lopes, who addressed the media Wednesday in English, Portuguese and Spanish, had some soul-searching to do when he dropped back-to-back matches before going on his current winning streak.
“I think after back-to-back losses, I didn’t imagine it," Lopes said through an interpreter. "I don’t think anybody believed in me at that point, but thankfully I listened to my manager.”
Also on the card is featherweight Bryce Mitchell, who is fighting for the first time since going on a podcast and praising Adolf Hitler and denying the Holocaust. He later backed off his comments, posting on Instagram that he is “definitely not a Nazi.”
UFC President and CEO Dana White lambasted Mitchell at the time, calling his comments “ dumb and ignorant.” White, however, refused to discipline Mitchell, later telling The Associated Press: “This is the fight business. People are going to say some stupid (stuff).”
Mitchell said he appreciated White for not suspending or fining him, even if the UFC boss trashed him.
“I have nothing bad to say about Dana,” Mitchell said. "I love him so much with all my heart. If everybody thinks I’m dumb, that’s fine. Say it. Let it be known because it’s your right to think that I’m dumb. State why you think that I’m dumb. I love that. He’s a real man. He’s not afraid to state his opinions. Everybody’s entitled to their own opinions. There should be no censorship.”
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Mark Anderson, The Associated Press
