UFC 325: Preview and suggested bets for Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes and more

Can UFC 325 live up to the hype of last weekend? Will Alexander Volkanovski further cement his legacy in the featherweight division? What does the return of Tai Tuivasa after nearly two years mean?

It’s another landmark event in the UFC this weekend as Volkanovski fights in Australia once more as part of his second title defence against Diego Lopes.

Fellow Aussies Dan Hooker and Tai Tuivasa join Volkanovski on the main card, with ‘The Hangman’ looking to bounce back from a heavy loss to Arman Tsarukyan just over two months ago.

As for last week’s picks, I must admit I am rather smug about it, writes Sports News Blitz’s Finn Littlewood.

In fairness, Paddy the Baddy definitely exceeded my expectations, but his chances of winning that fight were always slim.

The less we say about Derrick Lewis the better, even though he gave us another classic in his post-fight interview. Never change, Derrick.

Sean O’Malley’s performance was vintage ‘Suga Sean’ – he knew exactly what he needed to do and got it done. 

It would be rude not to try to go two in two, though, so let’s pick some fights.

Tai Tuivasa vs Tallison Teixeira

After an 18-month hiatus from the octagon, the Sydney-born heavyweight is looking for his first win in six fights.

Coming up against Teixeira, who has only had three fights in the UFC and lost his last fight to Derrick Lewis, Tuivasa may be the most confident he has been in a while about getting the victory.

I’m going to break the trend of picking against fighters I have a personal softspot for and back Tai Tuivasa to hopefully get the job done here – especially because a six-fight losing streak is the trademark of a fighter who needs to retire. 

Suggested bet: Tai Tuivasa to win

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Rafael Fiziev vs Mauricio Ruffy

While looking to break into the top 10 of the lightweight rankings, Ruffy will also want to recover from a loss in his previous bout to Benoit Saint-Denis.

In contrast, Fiziev is coming off a victory but did previously record three straight losses.

I think this fight is a bit of a style mismatch, so the winner is likely to be whoever can impose their style on the fight more successfully.

For that reason, I’m going to go with Mauricio Ruffy for this one.

Suggested bet: Mauricio Ruffy to win by submission

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Dan Hooker vs Benoit Saint-Denis

Coming in as the heavy favourite, partly due to Hooker’s quick turnaround from his last outing, Saint-Denis is on a three-fight tear, with his last bout ending in victory over Beneil Dariush.

It beggars belief why Hooker is fighting so soon after his previous bout, particularly given all the controversy surrounding how he sustained a broken nose.

Hooker claimed that Tsarukyan injured him before their bout when he headbutted him during the weigh-ins, causing an undetected broken nose that was only picked up by medical staff after the fight.

As a result, although Hooker is on a vengeance tour, he has not been fully medically cleared, so I am going to go with Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis to climb the rankings with a victory here.

Suggested bet: Benoit Saint-Denis to win

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Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes

One of the UFC’s premier superstars in Volkanovski is returning once more to the octagon – the first time since his last fight against the same fighter in April.

Despite Volkanovski not fighting since then, Lopes has battled against Jean Silva, who he knocked out in September.

The first showdown was a stand-up affair, with great technical performances from both fighters, but the former champion came out on top after five rounds.

Volkanovski showed his championship pedigree once more, coming out to defeat a dangerous prospect after two straight TKO losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria.

The rematch poses the opportunity for Lopes to try something else to stop ‘Volk’, but I think the champion is just too good for the Brazilian and anyone else in the featherweight division for that matter.

I probably won’t be ruffling any feathers with this pick, but I am backing the TikTok chef to come out victorious yet again, this time putting a stop to Lopes before the five rounds is up.

Suggested bet: Alexander Volkanovski to win by TKO

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