UFC 314 announced: Volkanovski, Lopes set for title fight after Topuria vacates

February 21,2025
Blogs

UFC 314 will feature a featherweight title fight between former champion Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes, with the belt up for grabs following Ilia Topuria's decision to move to the lightweight division.

The event takes place on April 12 at Kaseya Center in Miami, the UFC announced Wednesday.

 
 
 
 
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Topuria, the current featherweight champion, will vacate the title as he moves up to the 155-pound division, where he is expected to compete later this year against UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev.

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) aims to reclaim the featherweight belt after suffering back-to-back knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Topuria.

He previously held the title from December 2019 to February 2024, defending it five times.

Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC), currently on a five-fight winning streak, last defeated former title challenger Brian Ortega at UFC 306 in September.

In the co-main event, Paddy Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC) will face former Bellator champion Michael Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) in a five-round lightweight bout.

Pimblett remains undefeated in the UFC, while Chandler looks to end a two-fight skid following losses to Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira.

The updated UFC 314 fight card includes:

  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes – for the vacant featherweight title
  • Michael Chandler vs. Paddy Pimblett
  • Patricio Freire vs. Yair Rodriguez
  • Geoff Neal vs. Carlos Prates
  • Nikita Krylov vs. Dominick Reyes
  • Dan Ige vs. Sean Woodson
  • Virna Jandiroba vs. Yan Xiaonan
  • Chase Hooper vs. Jim Miller
  • Alberto Montes vs. Roberto Romero
  • Su Mudaerji vs. Mitch Raposo
  • Darren Elkins vs. Julian Erosa
  • Sedriques Dumas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk

UFC 314 marks the promotion’s fourth event in Miami.

 
 
 
 
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