UFC 325 has raised some interesting questions about what we should expect from the promotion in terms of numbered events. Alexander Volkanovski will rematch Diego Lopes this weekend, despite handily defeating
him at UFC 314 last April. Volkanovski and Lopes scored “Fight of the Night” in their first go-round and there’s no reason to think they won’t return a similar performance atop the UFC 325 event on Jan. 31 from inside Qudos Bank Arena in New South Wales, Australia.
Isn’t that what we want? Great fights?
The lightweight co-main event between Dan Hooker and Benoit Saint Denis should be equally bonkers and the main card also features fan favorites like Tai Tuivasa and Rafael Fiziev. And yet somehow we’re strolling into UFC 325 with little buzz or excitement. It just feels kinda “there.” Anyway, the show must go on and we’ll take a look at the main card lineup and see if we can’t figure this thing out.
Before that, get a closer look at the UFC 325 odds and betting lines here.
145 lbs.: UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski (27-4) vs. Diego Lopes (27-7)
What’s old is new again, at least for the UFC 325, as Alexander Volkanovski prepares to defend his title against Diego Lopes for the second straight fight (Lopes rebounded with a knockout victory over Jean Silva). This might pose a motivation problem for Volkanovski, who would probably favor a fresh face in the form of Lerone Murphy or Movsar Evloev. At the same time, this is not unfamiliar territory for the champ, who previously fought Max Holloway three times from 2019-22.
Lopes claims that he’s a much improved fighter with a better gameplan after spending five rounds with the Aussie, but that door swings both ways. Volkanovski also got 25 minutes to figure out the challenger and make the necessary adjustments so you can argue that he’s leveled up, as well. Aside from that, I didn’t see anything in the Silva fight that surprised me. Lopes looked just as violent — and just as sloppy — as he ever did. That’s really the difference maker in this fight, much like it was in the first.
Volkanovski can also get bloody and turn the fight into a car crash — but he’s able to do it without reckless abandon. “The Great” earned that nickname for a reason and he’s outclassed most UFC featherweights, with the exception of Ilia Topuria. Lopes didn’t attempt a single takedown at UFC 314 (Volkanovski was 1-11) so we can probably forget about the ground game the second time around. That said, Volkanovski may have been using his shots more to disrupt striking patterns than to initiate a ground war.
“Volk did a beautiful job of sticking to that jab, low kicks, controlling the pace of the fight, controlling the range of the fight,” former UFC welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad, said on his YouTube channel. “I thought Volk basically fought the perfect fight against Lopes that fight. I think he had only one little slip-up where he got rocked. But other than that, I thought it was a super clean fight for Volk and one of his best performances. Can he do the same thing this time?”
“I really wish Volk would have retired after the last one,” Muhammad continued. “It was a great win. Diego had a lot of hype. It’s just hard to fight somebody back to back. I don’t know if the motivation is going to be there for Volk because he fought a perfect fight against him in that last one. You know that Diego is going to come better. I don’t know if Volk could come better, so I’m going to pick Diego in this one.”
I disagree.
I hope you like reruns because UFC 325 probably won’t look much different than UFC 314, assuming the champ’s chin holds up.
Prediction: Volkanovski def. Lopes by decision
155 lbs.: Dan “Hangman” Hooker (24-13) vs. Benoit “God of War” Saint Denis (16-3, 1 NC)
Dan Hooker turns 36 next month and by his own admission, is probably never going to make a serious run at the lightweight title. That’s okay, at least from a fan’s perspective, because “Hangman” continues to turn in exciting performances and does a great job of hyping up his fights. The kiwi has racked up five post-fight performance bonuses with three “Fight of the Night” honors and is making a fairly quick turnaround following his submission loss to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC Qatar. He probably took more damage during the weigh ins headbutt than he did the actual fight so I don’t think the short time between appearances will prove to be a detriment. As far as his skill set, Hooker is one of those capable fighters who is good at everything and great at nothing. That said, I like that you know what you’re getting with every “Hangman” fight and he’s given us some real bangers over the last couple of years.
“After you lose, you get a bad taste in your mouth, so to get an opportunity — we’re in this sport where you’re a loser ‘til you win again, so the longer you leave it, you’re just a loser for longer, so it’s good to get the opportunity to get a win and turn it around,” Hooker told UFC.com. “You beat [Saint Denis] and you fight up. You beat him and they can’t justify you fighting outside the Top 5 again, so your mindset shifts. I feel like I’ve found my timing and my range again, and I definitely didn’t find it in that [Tsarukyan] fight, didn’t utilize it the way I usually do in that last training camp just because of the amount of time off. To get in there and knock that ring rust off has given me a lot of confidence. It’s just chasing down things that excite me. If I physically can fight, I will fight.”
Benoit Saint Denis looked like he had been exposed by Dustin Poirier and I prematurely wrote him off when he followed up that loss with another defeat to Renato Moicano. The Frenchman went on to change camps and the results speak for themselves. “God of War” is 3-0 since the Moicano loss with three nasty finishes. That includes his destruction of Beneil Dariush at UFC 322 last November. Saint Denis is a relentless striker with knockout power but he also has double-digit submission wins and remains dangerous wherever the fight goes. I want to say that Hooker is too experienced to get caught in one of those traps but then you look at “Hangman’s” resume and he makes some boneheaded decisions from time to time. I can very easily envision this fight turning into a go-for-broke bar fight at some point — much to the crowd’s delight — with Hooker getting tagged and bagged en route to his fifth loss by submission.
Prediction: Saint Denis def. Hooker by submission
155 lbs.: Rafael “Ataman” Fiziev (13-4) vs. Mauricio Ruffy (12-2)
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Rafael Fiziev was ranked as high as No. 6 at 155 pounds and coming off six straight wins, three of them ending by way of knockout. Then it all fell apart and “Ataman” went on to lose three straight, have major surgery, and get lost in the lightweight shuffle. Fiziev has since rebounded with a unanimous decision victory over Dana White’s “Contender Series” veteran Ignacio Bahamondes in a fairly forgettable performance at UFC Baku and returns for more of the same against Mauricio Ruffy. The Baku performance is worth noting because Fiziev, a striker by trade, scored four takedowns against Bahamondes, which is the most he’s ever wrestled in a UFC fight. Perhaps he prioritized winning over looking good or maybe he was just trying to neutralize the Chilean striker. Either way, it was an effective gameplan.
“I’m feeling very strong, very motivated, and my buddy Petr Yan, he gave me a lot of motivation after his fight against Merab (Dvalishvili),” Fiziev said at the UFC 325 media day. “I’m more than motivated right now. Honestly, for me, [Ruffy is] like Bahamondes. Everything is almost the same except Bahamondes is longer and Ruffy is (shorter). They both love counterattack, but Ruffy, he likes to counter more than Bahamondes, but all of my life, I’ve fought with strikers. I fought with Lumpinee champions in Thailand. I smashed Lumpinee champions, have a lot of elite level strikers in my life (that I’ve beaten). I just have to be smart. He’s a dangerous fighter — he has strong hands and he can turn off the lights also — but I’m built different.”
Ruffy is back in the news this month for ditching the Fighting Nerds to train with Alexander Volkanovski. In addition, he will have an entirely new corner for UFC 325 but insists he’s still a “Fighting Nerd.” I guess Boyz II Men was right, it’s so hard to say goodbye for some people. Ruffy has zero submissions in his pro MMA career and in five fights under the UFC banner, has attempted just one measly takedown. I guess when 11 of your 12 opponents get KTFO on their feet, there’s not much point in wrestling or ground fighting. It will be interesting to see if Fiziev adopts a gameplan similar to the one he used against Bahamondes in Baku. Saint Denis was 3-10 in takedown attempts against the Brazilian, which I’m sure is something that has been identified by Fiziev’s coaches with the intent to exploit. “Ataman” has a pretty good beard and certainly faced some savage strikers in the past, but I think he wilts under the might of the Brazilian onslaught.
Prediction: Ruffy def. Fiziev by technical knockout
265 lbs.: Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa (14-8) vs. Tallison “Xicao” Teixeira (8-1)
Tai Tuivasa is back following 18 months on the sidelines, a break he clearly needed after losing five straight fights and getting finished in four of them. Most fighters would have been cut by now but Tuivasa is one of those lovable characters that is just fun to have around, even if his MMA skills leave a lot to be desired. Actually, I don’t even know if we can call it MMA. “Bam Bam” has never scored a takedown in 16 fights under the UFC banner, has no submission game, and basically just spams haymakers until someone goes limp. At the same time, is anyone complaining? I’m certainly not. Neither is Dana White, who handed out five post-fight performance bonuses to Tuivasa across his eight-year UFC career.
“Losers stop. I don’t stop,” Tuivasa told reporters at the UFC 325 media day. “I had my time off. I think it really played a big part. I just didn’t do sh*t. Ate, drank and chilled with my son. I watched a lot of people who have done very great things in this sport and then they get to the end and they don’t really know what to do, so I just needed some time off. I’ve enjoyed myself. My whole career I’ve enjoyed myself. I’ve got to do the best sh*t, travel the world, party all around the world and fight the best people. I’m blessed. I missed it. I needed to miss it. That’s it. I miss winning. I’m ready for one this week. I’m going to show the heavyweight division that I’m still here. Don’t forget about the fat boy.”
Brazilian wunderkind Tallison Teixeira seemed like the next big thing in the heavyweight division, thanks to his 6’7” frame and 83” reach. Oh yeah, he also annihilated eight straight opponents to kick off his pro MMA career. Despite just one fight under the UFC banner, which followed a knockout win on Dana White’s “Contender Series,” matchmakers thought he would be a good match for heavyweight hurter Derrick Lewis. For once, Teixeira’s size betrayed him, giving the “Black Beast” a nearly unmissable target. Less than a minute into their UFC Nashville main event, “Xicao” was toast.
Teixeira explains his nickname to UFC.com:
“My name would be the same as my grandfather, who’s called Francisco, so my brother started calling me Xicao which is a nickname in the augmentative, because he thought I would be big,” Teixeira said. “My parents decided not to name me Francisco, but my brother kept calling me that way and it stuck.“
Teixeira won his first fight by way of inverted triangle armbar so there’s no question he’s capable on the ground. Getting Tuivasa there would be a great way to tip the scale in his favor; however, I think Teixeira fell in love with the knockout and wants to keep that party going. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tuivasa follow the blueprint laid by Lewis — assuming he doesn’t get caught in a Thai plum and kneed into oblivion.
Prediction: Tuivasa def. Teixeira by knockout
155 lbs.: Quillan Salkilld (10-1) vs. Jamie Mullarkey (18-8)
Quillan Salkilld is an exciting young prospect who is coming along just when the lightweight division needs a shot of new blood. There’s still work to be done, clearly, but after a breakout performance on Dana White’s “Contender Series” back in late 2024, Salkilld has gone 3-0 inside the Octagon with two finishes and a pair of post-fight performance bonuses. Not too shabby. I wouldn’t say that Jamie Mullarkey is necessarily a step up in competition from his last opponent, Nasrat Haqparast, but Mullarkey is an experienced veteran with a dozen UFC fights to his credit. Unfortunately, he’s lost half of them and six of his eight career defeats have come by way of knockout. To be fair, Mullarkey also has double-digit knockouts in the win column, though most of those came on the regional circuit and he hasn’t finished an opponent in over four years across a span of eight fights.
Mullarkey, a fellow Aussie, is also stepping in on short notice to replace Zhu Rong.
“Quillan has been on fire this past year, fighting really well,” Mullarkey told Fox Sports. “So this is a great opportunity for me to swoop in, take his hype and make it mine. I can’t remember two Aussies ever fighting in the UFC before but I initially fought Brad Riddell, New Zealander, f***ing tough guy, in my Octagon debut and it was an all-out war. And I think this fight is going to be a war, too. Quillan is obviously dangerous, especially in the first round. He’s a powerful striker with a strong all-around game, and I’ve especially got to be switched on in that first round. But I do see this going into the later rounds and turning into a dogfight. And given his recent success, this is a massive opportunity for me to show what I can do, take that hype and solidify myself as still being here and still in the mix.”
Fun fact: Mullarkey was knocked out by Alexander Volkanovski when they were both fighting in the minor leagues back in 2016. I don’t want to overstate Salkilld’s skill set or peddle his hype because he still has a long way to go. At the same time, it’s easy to see that he’s locked in and performing very well. I can’t say the same about Mullarkey, a .500 fighter, and I think he’s going to get the dogfight he’s predicting — but not the result.
Prediction: Salkilld def. Mullarkey by technical knockout
For the rest of the UFC 325 fight card and Paramount+ lineup click here.
