Background
After the Paramount era got off to a bang last weekend with Justin Gaethje defeating Paddy Pimblett for the interim lightweight title, attention now turns to Australia and the heavily anticipated rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes.
Volkanovski currently holds the featherweight title after defeating Lopes in April 2025, after Ilia Topuria had vacated it to move up to the lightweight division.
Before being defeated by Topuria, Volkanovski had held the title for 1526 days, defeating the likes of Brian Ortega and Max Holloway on the way to securing five title defenses.
As for Lopes, he caught the eye of MMA fans in 2021 after losing via technical decision, due to an eye poke, against Joanderson Brito on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Despite his chance for a contract being cut short, the UFC eventually signed him, and he made his debut on five days’ notice against Movsar Evloev in May 2023.
Lopes then went on to defeat Ortega and Jean Silva to earn a shot at the gold, losing out via unanimous decision over five rounds.
But Lopes is determined to capture the title and this time maybe his fortunes will change…
My name is Jack Latham.
I am 20 years old and am currently studying Sports Journalism at the University of Chester.
I became interested in combat sports, particularly MMA, in the lockdown period and have followed it closely ever since.
I have previously created my own website titled ‘Combat Corner,’ where I produce MMA content.
