UFC 325 Preview
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is live TONIGHT (Sat., Jan. 31, 2026) with the second numbered event of the Paramount+ era. UFC 325 is the first Paramount+-streamed event to take place outside the United States. Indeed, we’re in Australia for this one, inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
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The main event tonight is Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes 2 for Volkanovski’s UFC Featherweight title. The Aussie recaptured that belt with a decision win over Lopes last year (watch highlights). That was a pretty exciting fight, with the crafty Volkanovski showing he had too much for the rather one-note Lopes.
Lopes said he has “fixed many things” for this fight, though.
The co-main event tonight is Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis in the Lightweight division. Hooker got the brakes beat off him by Arman Tsarukyan in one of the final events of 2025. Since then, he said he just wants to spoil other guys title chances. Saint-Denis — who sparked out Beneil Dariush recently — will hope to keep his title aspirations intact through Saturday.
UFC 325’s main card also has Rafael Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy. Both those guys are coming off losses. Fiziev lost a decision to Justin Gaethje last year. We just saw that Gaethje is still pretty damn good. Ruffy was dominated by Saint-Denis in his last fight.
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Rounding out the main card is Tai Tuivasa vs. Tallison Teixeira and Quillan Salkilld vs. Jamie Mullarkey. Tuivasa has been out for awhile, after suffering his fourth loss in a row. Teixeira is looking to rebound after his quick loss to Derrick Lewis in his debut main event last year. Salkilld has made a big impact in UFC with two thunderous knockouts. He’s got a countryman as his short-notice opponent in Sydney.
UFC 325’s “Prelims” are headlined by Junior Tafa vs. Billy Elekana. There are some pretty good prospects on the undercard tonight. Cam Rowston will get tested by Cody Brundage. And Jonathan Micallef has a tough fight scheduled with Oban Elliott. The early “Prelims” has a slew of Road to UFC fights, the 20 year-old Sangrangbo might be one to keep an eye on (and not just for potential betting irregularities).
UFC 325 Start Date and Time
It’s the same as last week, folks.
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If you are in the United States you can watch all of UFC 325 with Paramount+ right here. The early ‘Prelims’ start at 5 p.m. ET. The late ‘Prelims’ start at 7 p.m. ET. and the main card kicks off at 9 p.m. ET.
I will be providing live play-by-play, instant results, highlights and updates for all the fights right here from 5 p.m. ET. onward.
I hope you join us! Please say hi in the comments and chat it up with your fellow readers/fans.
UFC 325 QUICK RESULTS
Main card
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145 lbs.: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes
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155 lbs.: Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis
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155 lbs.: Rafael Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy
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265 lbs.: Tai Tuivasa vs. Tallison Teixeira
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155 lbs.: Quillan Salkilld vs. Jamie Mullarkey
Prelims
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205 lbs.: Junior Tafa vs. Billy Elekana
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185 lbs.: Cam Rowston vs. Cody Brundage
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185 lbs.: Jacob Malkoun vs. Torrez Finney
Early Prelims
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170 lbs.: Jonathan Micallef def. Oban Elliot by technical submission (rear naked choke), round 2 (3:31)
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145 lbs.: Kaan Ofli def. Yizha by majority decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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155 lbs.: Don Mar Fan def. Sangwook Kim by unanimous decision (30-27. 30-27. 30-27)
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145 lbs.: Keiichiro Nakamura def. Sebastian Szalay by TKO (knee), round 3 (3:28) — HIGHLIGHTS
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135 lbs.: Lawrence Lui def. Sulangrangbo by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
UFC 325 PLAY-BY-PLAY UPDATES
Early Prelims
Jonathan Micallef vs. Oban Elliott: Elliott started the fight really well, lighting up Micallef with punches and showing he had the speed advantage. Elliott was a little reckless, though. He got caught with a big punch at the tail end of the round. In the second round Micallef got a takedown and quickly took the back. On the back Micallef locked on a choke and put Elliott to sleep! He then mocked Elliott, striking his trademark pose over top of him.
Official decision: Jonathan Micallef def. Oban Elliot by technical submission (rear naked choke), round 2 (3:31)
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Kaan Ofli vs. Yizha: That was a fun back and forth fight. Ofli did a lot of good things, but he couldn’t keep up with Yizha’s power. Yizha really hurt Ofli in the second round and could have gotten a 10-8. The third was close, but Yizha scored some key takedowns. I scored the fight 29-28 for Yizha.
Official decision: Kaan Ofli def. Yizha by majority decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Don Mar Fan vs. Sangwook Kim: Dom Mar Fan fought with a lot of confidence and character. He also looked quite polished for a Road to UFC prospect. He landed a number of nice shots, including spinning elbows. Sangwook Kim was ultra tough, but he couldn’t find a way through with his offense. There was some excellent sportsmanship in this fight and Mar Fan feels a like a guy who could win over a lot of fans. I had him winning every round.
Official result: Don Mar Fan def. Sangwook Kim by unanimous decision (30-27. 30-27. 30-27)
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Sebastian Szalay vs. Keiichiro Nakamura: Szalay looked like a UFC ready product in the first two rounds, tagging Nakamura with combos and getting a couple of knockdowns. But in the third, Nakamura willed himself forwards and started landing shots. With around a minute left Nakamura landed a big knee to get the come from behind finish.
Official decision: Keiichiro Nakamura def. Sebastian Szalay by TKO (knee), round 3 (3:28)
Sulangrangbo vs. Lawrence Lui: Sulangangbro showed some good quickness and threw nice combos. But Lui walked forwards the entire fight and was able to mix his striking with takedowns. I think he also benefited from having good coaching from Eugene Bareman in the corner. I scored it 29-28 Lui.
Official decision: Lawrence Lui def. Sulangrangbo by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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Live stream begins at 5:30 p.m. ET. …
