Alexander Volkanovski has claimed the UFC weight weight championship of Fighting Championship (UFC) after defeating Diego Lopes for a unanimous decision at UFC 314 in Miami, where the president of the United States, Donald Trump, attended.
Two judges scored the fight 49-46 and the third had 48-47 when the Mixed Mixed Arts Fighter Australian won the title early.
Volkanovski (27-4) had successfully defended his belt four times before losing to Israel Makhachev on February 11, 2023.
“It’s good to be back,” Volkanovski said after victory.
As for the Lopes, the great respect for the champion, but because the crowd to know this was not the end of the trip.
“It was an honor to share the octagon with Alexander Volkanovski,” Lopes said. “I come back right away.”
Trump, an former UFC friend, the president and executive director, Dana White, as well as a sports fan, observed from the front row.
The Shaquille O’Neal basketball legend approached Trump and shook his hand. The officials of the Tulsi Gabbard Cabinet, Marco Rubio and Robert F Kennedy JR were also present as the owner of X and White House Advisor Elon Musk.
Volkanovski, despite being cut below his right eye in the second and being stunned by an urban right in that round, dominated the first three rounds. But the Lopes glove caught Volkanovski’s other eye in the fourth round and then pounced, but could not keep it.
That established the fifth round and, except a knockout, Volkanovski appeared on his way to victory, he even thought Lopes spent a large part of the fight challenging him verbally and inviting him to box. Theater, on the contrary, Volkanovski was the aggressor.
Volkanovski hoped to obtain another opportunity to Ilyia Topuria and avenge her loss of more than a year ago in UFC 298. But Topuria moved to the light division, leaving the featherweight kinds vacant.
In Lopes Steptped, the third Challenger, to face Volkanovski.
This was the tenth fight for the consecutive title for the best classified 36 -year -old Volkanovski. Lopes, 30, was in his first fight for the title.
Volkanovski finished the winning streak of five Lopes games.
Volkanovski had many reasons to want to work. He took an extended dismissal after loose in February 2024 to Topuria. More than that, he left the defeats in three of his Fits four fights, including the loss of the two more matches.
The four fights occurred in less than a year, so it was much more.
In the main event, the light contender Paddy Pimblett continued this increase with a technical knockout of Michael Chandler after three minutes and seven seconds in the third round. Plimbett, a 30-year-old boy from Liverpool, the United Kingdom, has won the seven or their fighting as spray to the organization, giving a record of 23-3 in general.
“I want that world title,” Pimblett said. “Some say that I will never be champion, I will never run, I will never be in the top 10. But what now?”
With almost 39 years, Chandler has some decisions to make after winning only two or his most recently seven fights. It has 23-10.
The Bryce Mitchell weight weight, who fought for the first time since he praised Adolf Hitler and denied the holocaust in a podcast, was also on the card. He later retreated his comments, and although White Heavy criticized Mitchell, hey, not disciplinary.
Mitchell was a small game for Jean Silva in his featherweight fight. Silva won by submission with a guillotine strangler with a remaining minute in the second round.