Volkanovski wins vacant title in slugfest with Lopes

MIAMI -- "Old Man Volk" still has it.

Alexander Volkanovski delivered a vintage performance to reclaim the featherweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Diego Lopes on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 314 at the Kaseya Center. The judges scored the bout 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.

With the win, Volkanovski became the first fighter over age 35 to win a world title fight in a weight class under 170 pounds. And he did it with a performance that signaled a return to form for the fighter who dominated the 145-pound division from 2019 to 2023 and cemented himself as a Hall of Famer with a trio of wins over Max Holloway. However, a pair of knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria had people questioning if his best years were behind him.

Instead, Volkanovski, 36, proved he's still very much a force in the division, though he had his confidence tested when he had to pull himself off the canvas after being dropped late in the second round. Instead of folding, Volkanovski steadied himself and utilized movement and an accurate jab to turn back a surging challenger in Lopes.

"It's good to be back," Volkanovski said. "I promised my girls I would bring the belt back to them, but then I was thinking it doesn't matter about bringing the belt back. I think the message was a lot of people counted me out coming off two knockout losses. The 35-year-old curse, 36 years old, big break, and come back and beat a gun like Diego Lopes who came and brought it.

Adversity is a privilege. You hear people talk about that all the time. It truly is. This moment is incredible."

Saturday night's opportunity arose for Volkanovski to reclaim the featherweight title when Topuria decided to vacate and move up to lightweight. Although the fighter out of New South Wales, Australia, had lost consecutive fights by knockout, his body of work earned him the title opportunity.

Standing opposite him was a rising star in Lopes, a Brazilian fighting out of Mexico whose rapid ascent began after he dropped his UFC debut in a short notice fight against Movsar Evloev in 2023. Lopes, 30, went unbeaten over his next five fights to push himself into the title picture as a fan favorite.

But experience would beat youth on this night. Volkanovski executed a brilliant game plan behind movement, a sharp jab and pulling himself out of frantic exchanges before leaving himself too open for a counter.

Volkanovski won the early striking exchanges against Lopes, planting a left hand that buckled his opponent's knees in the first and landing counter right hands.

Just as it appeared the fight was getting away from Lopes in the second round, he put Volkanovski down with a right hand to the temple. But Volkanovski got back on the horse, though he was wary of Lopes' right hand, which had proved to be a dangerous weapon.

Volkanovski refused to cave under the increasing pressure of Lopes and circled away while firing the jab over the next 15 minutes. Lopes would occasionally bait him into exchanges, but Volkanovski was wise to the plan and pulled himself out of the fire before he ended up getting burned. Volkanovski did suffer some damage as Lopes managed to land heavy punches, including an uppercut in Round 3 that opened a cut around Volkanovski's right eye.

But Volkanovski weathered the storm and fought brilliantly after many counted him out. He doubled Lopes in significant strikes 134-67. Although he was only 1-for-11 in takedowns, those attempts prevented Lopes from opening his offense.

In the buildup to the fight, Volkanovski cited a renewed focus to reclaim the title he once held for four years. The dedication paid off, and a new reign begins with a featherweight division that has had new blood injected into it, including the likes of Jean Silva, Evloev, Lerone Murphy and the recently signed Aaron Pico.

For now, Volkanovski can savor his victory after silencing the naysayers who thought Father Time would get the last laugh.

"If you get adversity, you build yourself back, it's only going to make you stronger, even if it doesn't work out," Volkanovski said. "But a lot of times it does, if you really pursue it. Look what can happen. You can break records. This is the s--- people are going to write books about. This is a movie!"