Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovksi logged a dominating performance in his UFC 325 title fight rematch with Diego Lopes on Saturday. With the win, "The Great" tied former two-time featherweight titleholder Jose Aldo for the most title fight wins in UFC featherweight division history.

When arguing who's the greatest featherweight of all time, it always comes down to Volkanovski or Aldo. Max Holloway gets mentions but Volkanovski holds three wins over the Hawaiian. Former two-division champion and UFC commentator Daniel Cormier believes Volkanovski has surpassed Aldo in featherweight greatness. Strengthening that assertion is Volkanovski holding a one-sided decision win over "Junior."

"I'm telling you, he (Volkanovski) is the greatest featherweight of all time," Cormier said on his YouTube channel. "I know we love José Aldo. I know we love Max Holloway, but he just won his eighth UFC featherweight title fight. Four of those victories are against Holloway and Aldo, the two other guys considered the greatest featherweights of all time."

"He's the best in the world, man. He's as good as they come. The guy is tremendous, and I really don't see him slowing down anytime soon. He's too committed," continued Cormier.

Volkanovski first won the 145-pound championship at UFC 245 in December 2019 by defeating Holloway via unanimous decision. He held the championship until UFC 298 in February 2024. He's only lost to one featherweight, Ilia Topuria, in his decade-long UFC career.

Diego Lopes will have more than his title opportunity loss to navigate after news of a serious injury befell the Brazilian following UFC 325.

Despite putting in an admirable performance, Lopes was unable to dethrone Alexander Volkanovski from featherweight gold on Saturday night. As he often does, Volkanovski showed his ability to disrupt his opponent inside the cage, outworking the challenger and walking away with a unanimous decision victory, as he did in their first fight almost a year ago.

The 31-year-old expected things to go much differently for him in the rematch with Volkanovski, though his performance wasn't enough to unseat 'The Great' as the division's chieftain. Coming up short for the second time for an undisputed UFC title is soul-destroying for any athlete, but a recent update on his health has added insult to injury for Lopes.

A trip to the hospital was required after Diego Lopes had allegedly broken both of his feet during his five-round clash with Alexander Volkanovski.

"Looks like we broke both feet," Lopes said on Instagram in the aftermath of UFC 325.

Diego Lopes will now go back to the drawing board and hope to force his way back into title contention in a stacked 145 lbs division.

Given the magnitude of the loss, considering that not many fighters get the chance to compete for a UFC title for a third time, Lopes was in good spirits. His post on Instagram spoke of the highs and the lows of mixed martial arts.

Lopes ended his post with a touching tribute to his friends, with whom he has brought on his journey throughout his time competing in combat sports.

"Some nights you're at the afterparty, some nights you're at the ER. But every morning, I give thanks for the opportunity to live this life with my best friends."

Looks like Diego Lopes broke both feet in his rematch with Alex Volkanovski 🦶 pic.twitter.com/6uDyQtbwRr

— FULL SEND MMA (@full_send_mma) February 1, 2026

A featherweight championship rematch headlined Saturday’s UFC 325 fight card in Sydney, Australia. Two-time titleholder Alexander Volkanovski puts his title on the line against Diego Lopes.

Volkanovski and Lopes first fought last April in the UFC 314 main event. “The Great” won via unanimous decision to become a two-time featherweight titleholder. The rematch will be Volkanovski’s first title defense of his second championship reign. Lopes picked up a TKO win over Jean Silva in September to earn a second fight against the champion.

Volkanovski pawed wth his jab and used feints early. Both men were careful though the first 90 seconds. Lopes landed a leg kick. Volkanovski looked for a takedown. Lopes defended the attempt. Volkanovski delivers a kick to the body. They exchanged right hands. Lopes pressed forward switching stances. Volkanovski closed the distance and worked for a takedown. Lopes defended the attempt and they separated. Volkanovskli landed a clean right hand. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Volkanovski.

Lopes pressure Volkanovski to start the second frame. Volkanovksi stopped in the pocket with a combination and landed a leg kick on the way out. They exchanged leg kicks. Lopes connected with a right hand. Lopes landed a stiff jab. Volkanovski let his hands to connecting with a combination. He delivered a hard right hand. Volkanovski's right hand found a home. Lopes closed the distance. Volkanovsi applied a guillotine choke but let it go. He scrambled back to his feet in the closing seconds. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Volkanovski.

Lopes connected with an outside leg kick to start the third. He stepped forward and partially landed a right hand. Volkanovski responded with a leg kick. They exchanged and Volkanovski landed a right hand. lopes connected with an elbow on the break. Volkanovski landdd a big right and that bucked Lopes' knees. The champion landed another right hand. The output slowed for both fights. A short right hand knocked Volkanovski down. He immediately bounced back to his feet. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Lopes with the knockdown.

Lopes opted to start the fourth with a leg kick. Volkanovski worked behind his jab. He stepped in the pocket with a right hand. Lopes landed back-to-back leg kicks. Volkanovski landed a leg kick. He accidentally kicked Lopes in the groin and the challenger was given time to recover.

Once the action was restarted, Lopes pressed forward. Volkanovski continued to land his jab. Lopes pressed forward with a left hand. Volkanovski fired back. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Volkanovski.

The fight was too close for anyone to feel comfortable heading into the final frame. Lopes seemed behind on the scorecard and pressed forward. He landed a kick to the body that may have hurt his foot. Volkanovski circled on the outside. Volkanovski changed levels and took Lopes down. Lopes worked his way back to his feet and Volkanovski went back to landing his jab. Volkanovski secured a takedown but Lopes quickly got back to his feet. Volkanovski kept the pressure on. Lopes took Volkanovski down. Lopes took his back and Volkanovski stood. Lopes remained on his back. Volkanovski spun and they worked for position along the cage. Lopes isolated an arm. Heh applied an arm bar. Volkanovski escaped the submission attempt. Volkanovski landed right hands in the closing seconds. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Volkanovski.

The judges scored the fight for Volkanovski via unanimous decision. The scorecards read 49-46, 49-46, and 50-45.

A featherweight championship rematch headlines tonight's UFC 325 fight card. Two-time titleholder Alexander Volkanovski puts his title on the line against Diego Lopes at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Volkanovski and Lopes first fought last April in the UFC 314 main event. “The Great” won via unanimous decision to become a two-time featherweight titleholder. The rematch will be Volkanovski’s first title defense of his second championship reign. Lopes picked up a TKO win over Jean Silva in September to earn a second fight against the champion.

UFC 325 Start Times

• Main card begins at 9 pm. ET on Paramount+
• Preliminary card begins at 7 p.m. ET on Paramount+
• Early prelim card begins at 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+

UFC 325: Volkanovski vs. Lopes Official Results

MAIN CARD (Paramount+, 9 p.m. ET)

• Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes
• Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis
• Rafael Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy
• Tallison Teixeira vs. Tai Tuivasa
• Jamie Mullarkey vs. Quillan Salkilld

PRELIMINARY CARD (Paramount+, 7 p.m. ET)

• Billy Elekana vs. Junior Tafa
• Cody Brundage vs. Cam Rowston
• Torrez Finney vs. Jacob Malkoun
• Oban Elliott vs. Jonathan Micallef

EARLYL PRELIM CARD (Paramount+, 5 p.m. ET)

• Oban Elliott vs. Jonathan Micallef
• Kaan Ofli vs. Yi Zha
• Dom Mar Fan vs. Sung Wook Kim – Road to UFC lightweight final
• Keiichiro Nakamura vs. Sebastian Szalay – Road to UFC featherweight final
• Lawrence Lui vs. Sulang Rangbo – Road to UFC bantamweight final