It’s the second numbered card in as many weeks, and this time we’re a little relieved that it’s not an actual pay-per-view. Not that Diego Lopes’ rematch with Alexander Volkanovski isn’t a fine fight, but it’s one we’ve seen recently, and it wasn’t overly competitive the first time. Will the second go-round be different?
And how about the lightweight grand prix going just before the main event? Dan Hooker stepping back in there against the wrecking ball, Benoît Saint Denis? Mauricio Ruffy taking aim at Rafael Fiziev’s head? The lightweight landscape is in for some change.
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We discuss these topics and more as the action shifts to Sydney, Australia, this weekend.
Without further ado, the six burning questions for UFC 325.
1. What will be different in Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2 — and who benefits most from the experience of the first fight?
Petesy: I know most people would’ve preferred to see Volkanovski take on Lerone Murphy or Movsar Evloev on Saturday in Sydney. And I know most people aren’t exactly frothing at the mouth for this rematch given their first meeting took place only nine months ago. But I’m starting to think a lot of people have forgotten how well Diego Lopes did when he faced the champion last April.
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He knocked the Australian down in the second round after eating one of his biggest shots. He hit the “The Great” so hard in the fourth that he forced him to search for a takedown.
The only problem for Lopes is, Volkanovski is one of the most cerebral fighters in modern-day UFC. His evolution throughout his promotional tenure has been impressive and I think we will see the benefit of him sharing the Octagon with the Brazilian contender when they clash for a second time.
Although Justin Gaethje will beg to differ following his big win last week over Paddy Pimblett, we must be aware of Father Time when it comes to the champion too. At 37, he is in what most fighters would consider the autumn of their careers. And even when it comes to the greats, fighters can suddenly age in the blink of an eye.
Chuck: Yeah, that’s certainly in play here for Volk, though I will say that he traditionally trains like a madman to prevent any sharp drop-offs. You are right to point out that Lopes had his moments in the first fight, as well as how easily/conveniently we forget about it. If Lopes can start earlier, and hurt Volkanovski in the opening rounds, this could be a totally different fight. Lopes has the youth and explosiveness on his side, plus 25 minutes of tape to absorb.
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Having said all of that, Volk is a master of adaptation. We didn’t see it in his second fight with Islam Makhachev (which was fought under less than ideal circumstances), but we saw it late in the first fight. The adjustments he makes within and between fights is what they call an “intangible.” He showed up and schooled Max Holloway the second time they fought, and fairly bewitched him by the third. I think he’ll have a good feel for what to expect from Lopes, but the thing is — can his body, if it’s getting pieced up, take the commands from his mind?
Though I think Volkanovski may benefit from the experience, the hunger, youth and size of Diego are enough to overcome it.
2. If Volkanovski loses, is there any chance he retires? And in that case, should he retire?
Chuck: Volk has made it semi-clear that he doesn’t have any plans or intentions to retire after this weekend, but that’s a statement in large part based on confidence. He doesn’t believe he’ll lose to Lopes, so why would he walk away? And the truth is, should be beat Lopes he has ready-made contenders queueing up to face him in Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev.
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But if he loses, it gets a little weird. Should the fight be a hotly contested one, and the scorecards come back super close and/or controversially, I could see him standing by for the trilogy. If it’s one-way traffic in Lopes’ favor or — heaven forfend — Volk gets knocked out, then there will be some hard introspective work to be done. Namely, what more does he, one of the most accomplished champions in UFC history, have left to accomplish? A move back to lightweight would seem unadvisable after seeing his run-ins with Islam Makhachev, and at 37 (he turns 38 in the fall) it feels a little late in the game for a drastic lane shift like that.
That’s my long way of saying, if things go disastrously in Sydney, he very well could get out.
Alexander Volkanovski wouldn’t walk away from fighting if he loses Saturday, would he?
(Jeff Bottari via Getty Images)
Petesy: I’ve never shaken off Volk’s revelation about his mental health struggles during periods of inactivity in the aftermath of his UFC 294 rematch with Islam Makhachev. There is no shortage of fighters who suffer from similar issues, but what struck me most about his declaration was that he had competed only three months prior, a third-round finish of Yair Rodriguez.
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Like many who have come before him, I think Volkanovski will find it difficult to walk away regardless of the outcome of Saturday night’s main event. And even if he did lay his gloves down in the middle of the Octagon, my bet would be that he would be soon added to the long list of combat sports retirement 180s.
That said, without Ilia Topuria in the weight class, I have no doubt that he is once again the best featherweight in the world. Many would argue he is the greatest champion the division has ever seen. While I expect him to claim a second win over Lopes this Saturday, I just hope he does know how to bid farewell to the sport before it becomes obvious to everyone else that he is no longer elite.
With a bad loss, he absolutely should retire, but I really don’t think he will.
3. Is it unwise for Dan Hooker to return so quickly after losing to Arman Tsarukyan, especially against a beast like Benoît Saint Denis?
Petesy: Truly living the anywhere-anytime life, Dan Hooker does an awesome job of filling the void left by Donald Cerrone. I don’t think it’s the worst idea in the world to get back on the horse quickly after a submission loss like that, but it doesn’t fill me with confidence that he’s facing a guy who can put him in similar peril, Benoît Saint Denis.
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It might not go well for Dan Hooker in the co-main event Saturday, but he’s done a fine job of switching the world onto the idea of him being the next man to face Paddy Pimblett in his pre-fight media obligations. The lads shared a pretty wild back and forth recently, and regardless of the outcome against BSD, I can see a lot of people calling for that matchup next week.
So, is it unwise? Definitely. But, is it unexpected? Absolutely not.
Chuck: He has been masterful about baiting the hook for the next cast, hasn’t he? It’s fun to watch him set up Pimblett while he still has a titanic task ahead of him with Saint Denis. The thing with BSD is, I am willing to believe that the humbling loss to Dustin Poirier was ultimately good for him. I can remember, he was on such a monstrous streak of finishes that it felt inevitable that he’d be a champion within a year when he faced Poirier.
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And we saw what happened. One of the greatest turning-of-the-tables we saw in 2024, and really one of the most inspirational fights for an “old guy” like Poirier to pull off. Since losing the subsequent fight with Renato Moicano (which is the more offensive loss on BSD’s recent record), he has looked like that same machine. Just blasting through perennial top guys.
It’s a bad set up for Hooker in that way. Standing in the line of fire of a guy like this. But I am with you. Hooker is playing a big-picture game now, and I think he’s identified his best path to get paid (and stay among the elite).
4. Quietly the most intriguing fight at UFC 325 is Mauricio Ruffy against Rafael Fiziev in the swing bout. Who has more to lose?
Chuck: This is a fantastic fight, and really both of these guys have deep enough skill sets to be contenders at 155. Fiziev was right on the cusp of that before he ran into the buzzsaw named Justin Gaethje, and what he discovered is that he cannot out-berserk the company’s greatest berserker. I am still a little shocked by how things unfolded in those fights.
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I think given that Fiziev has those three recent losses (two to Gaethje and the unfortunate one against Mateusz Gamrot in which he suffered a knee injury), he has more to lose here. Fiziev looked great in his last appearance against Ignacio Bahamondes out in Azerbaijan, a really solid rebound from his mini skid. I fear he’d disappear into the woodwork if he loses to the hard-hitting Ruffy, who — despite coming off his first professional loss against Saint Denis — is flush with upside.
Petesy: Ruffy is my favorite Fighting Nerd and his loss to BSD really added weight to that “Fall of the Fighting Nerds” chatter that we heard last year. In a weird way, I kind of feel like Fiziev is in the Gaethje role against Ruffy, with the Brazilian representing all the things Fiziev did before his first meeting with the newly crowned interim champion. It’s pretty crazy that you can be perceived as the all-action up-and-comer and then two years later you’re the elder statesman, but that’s exactly how I feel about the career trajectory of Fiziev.
I agree with you, I think Fiziev is in the worse position of the two, but I think he probably learned more from Ruffy’s loss than Ruffy did from his. You cannot train yourself to have the otherworldly grit of Gaethje, but you can certainly learn something from how redundant BSD made the Brazilian look. Even though Fiziev isn’t on the same level as a grappler, he’s a lot more well-rounded than he gets credit for and I think that’s his path to victory Saturday.
5. We have some genuine Aussie vs. Aussie violence in store with Quillan Salkilld’s fight with Jamie Mullarkey. This is a showcase for Salkilld, isn’t it?
Chuck: Since debuting in the UFC, Mullarkey has fought a dozen times and has a perfectly whelming 6-6 record. That means he is the line between the elite and everyone else, which no fighter ever wants to be (the word “gatekeeper” is a dirty word in the fighter lexicon; maybe “crossing guard” might sting less). In Mullarkey’s mind, a victory over Salkilld would right the ship a little bit, as he’d finally stand up to a white-hot prospect.
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But judging from past results, Petesy, I don’t think that’s in his cards.
Thing is, you have to love a guy like Mullarkey, because he will accommodate a mustachioed sniper like Salkilld, try to beat him a bit at his own game. I can’t shake the image of Salkilld evaporating Nasrat Haqparast with that head kick. I feel like he’s lined up nicely here for an equally impressive encore.
Petesy: You’re absolutely correct, Chuck. Unfortunately, Mullarkey has found himself in this crash-test dummy role all too frequently. Brad Riddell was handed the Aussie in his debut, and he was used to prop up prospects like Fares Ziam, Jalin Turner, Muhammad Naimov and the aforementioned Ruffy in the past.
Salkilld is a straight-up savage. He’s all but decapitated two of his first three UFC opponents and I can’t help but feel the matchmakers are sending Mullarkey to the gallows with this matchup.
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6. What’s a fight we should be paying attention to that we’re not talking about?
Chuck: I have a feeling you can talk about your guy Oban Elliott’s bout with Jonathan Micaleff, Petesy, so I’ll go with Torrez Finley versus Australia’s own Jacob Malkoun. Finley is built like Khalil Rountree if Rountree were hit with a shrink gun that dropped him to a middleweight. He hits like Rountree, too. I liked Malkoun’s last fight with Andre Petroski, and that body shot he delivered still hurts to watch.
Feel like that one will deliver some action, and, in the end, somebody will get knocked “The Chuck” out. (That’s a new phrase I’m implementing in 2026 — he got knocked the Chuck out. Has a nice ring, yeah?).
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Petesy: Can we make a segment out of this? Perhaps we can have a “Knocked the Chuck out” section each week whether we declare our most likely candidate to enter the shadow realm. Just throwing out feelers here, but it’s too catchy to be left on the shelf.
Chuck: You’re on, Petesy. Let’s do it.
Petesy: Deal! And you’re damn right I’m going with Oban Elliott vs. Jonathan Micaleff. They didn’t take their foot off the gas for my Welsh brother with this one. It reminds me of Payton Talbott being matched with Felipe Lima on the back of his loss to Raoni Barcelos — it doesn’t feel like a step back in competition at all. Sink or swim moment for “The Bad Guy,” but I think this one could be on the shortlist for Fight of the Night if things go as I expect.
