Alexander Volkanovski directs it together with Diego Lopes.
On Thursday, UFC president Dana White announced on Instagram Live that Volkanovski will defend his title against Lopes in a rematch headlined by UFC 325, which will take place in Sydney, Australia, on January 31 (February 1, local time).
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The confrontation was first reported by BennyPMMA.
Volkanovski defeated Lopes at UFC 314 last April to capture a vacant title and begin his second reign as featherweight champion. The title was vacated by Ilia Topuria in anticipation of a move to lightweight, and Topuria successfully became 155-pound champion with an impressive knockout of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317.
Following his loss to Volkanovski, Lopes quickly returned to the win column with a second-round knockout of Jean Silva in the main event of Noche UFC 3, handing Silva his first loss in the UFC and snapping his 13-fight winning streak.
Lopes lost a competitive decision to Volkanovski in their first meeting, but the timing of the rematch is strange given that there are two undefeated contenders waiting in the wings: Movsar Evloev (19-0), who has not competed in 2025 and missed time due to injury, and Lerone Murphy (16-0-1), who is coming off a spectacular first-round finish by former Bellator standout Aaron Pico.
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Murphy was rumored to be Volkanovski’s next challenger, and Volkanovski said at one point that the matchup was a “no brainer,” but it appears he will have to wait or fight again with Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2 now official.
The British contender appeared to react on social media to reports about the title fight before it was announced: