Dricus Du Plessis doesn’t see Diego Lopes being able to make the necessary changes to beat UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Volkanovski (27-4 MMA, 14-3 UFC) runs things back with Lopes (27-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 325 (Paramount+) main event at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
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Volkanovski outstruck Lopes in their first fight at UFC 314. Lopes admits Volkanovski was a step ahead of him, and Du Plessis believes the champ will be too smart to get caught.
“Volk is nearing the end of his career then you have Lopes, who’s such a young savage, and Volk came in there in that last fight, and he tamed that young savage,” Du Plessis said on Fight Forecast. “A lot of people didn’t give him a chance in that fight. Lopes had his moments in that fight, but overall Volk actually dominated until he got clipped a couple of times.
“He’s such a warrior, and I do think Volk still has enough in him to keep that title. I don’t know how many more he has in him. Lopes, obviously he learned a lot from that first fight, but I just think Volk’s experience is going to take a toll on the night. On the grappling side, you have Lopes, but to get Volk to the ground is not an easy task.”
Volkanovski enters the rematch against Lopes as the slight betting favorite. Since losing to Volkanovski, Lopes knocked out Jean Silva to earn another title opportunity.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dricus Du Plessis: Alexander Volkanovski beats Diego Lopes at UFC 325
