JAKARTA Former champion Alexander Volkanovski will return to the octagon against Diego Lopes at UFC 314. The fighter nicknamed The Great made a comeback to the arena after 14 months of absence.
Clashes between the two names will take place at the Kaseya Center, Miami, United States, on Sunday, April 13, 2025, local time. This meeting won the featherweight title.
Volkanovski admitted that he was relaxed and not seeded in the betting market. In fact, the position of not seeding was always difficult for the 36-year-old fighter to accept.
"I don't like the fact that I am the underdog, which I now accept. There are many people who doubt me."
"I don't mind that. I feel like proving that they are wrong," he said on the official UFC website.
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Volkanovski is one of the greatest featherweight fighters in UFC history. He has managed to defend the title five times, including three wins against American fighter Maxtar.
In addition, he also recorded one win over Jose Aldo and many other wins against the division's best fighter for the past decade before falling three times in his last four matches.
The three defeats included him fighting Islam Makhachev. Meanwhile, another defeat suffered against Ilia Topuria in the last fight in February 2024.
Volkanovski boasted that he remained confident even though he had been absent for a long time and was older than his opponent. He admitted that he had great motivation to return to the mixed martial arts fight arena.
"I know I still have a lot left in me. When I do my job, you can understand why," he said.
However, the ambition to become a champion again seems like it will be tough for Volkanovski. The reason is, his opponent is currently in the middle of the best performance by always winning in the last five matches.
Diego Lopes last fought when he beat Brian Ortega at UFC 306 in September 2024. Before that, he consecutively stopped Gavin Tucker, Pat Sabatini, Sodiq Yusuff, and Dan Ige.
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