3 Biggest Winners, Losers From UFC 325: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes 2

UFC 325 capped off back-to-back January events for the promotion, which saw Alexander Volkanovski retain his UFC Featherweight Championship against Diego Lopes in their immediate rematch in the night's main event.

The win marked Volkanovski's eighth UFC featherweight title win, tying Jose Aldo's total during his reign that lasted from the introduction of the division in January 2011 to December 2015, when he lost to Conor McGregor at UFC 194.

The win began Volkanovski's second title run at 145 pounds, as he had previously held the title from December 2019 until February 2024, with two chances to win a second belt against Islam Makhachev sprinkled in between at UFC 284 and UFC 294 in February and October 2023, respectively.

Alexander Volkanovski: UFC 325's Biggest Winner

Alexander Volkanovski celebrates after UFC 314. — Apr 12, 2025; Miami, Florida, UNITED STATES; Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) reacts after defeating Diego Lopes (not pictured) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Volkanovski told the desk during the Paramount+ post-fight show that he is only interested in giving deserving title challengers their fair shake.

"I mean, if it's the featherweight division, it's got to be the top guys," Volkanovski said. "You know what I'm like. I want to fight the top guys who deserve it. You've got Movsar [Evloev] and Lerone Murphy. I've been told they're going to face each other. I don't know if that's just rumors. That'll be great. I'll be watching that. If the next one is definitely featherweight, it's got to be one of those two."

Volkanovski doesn't have a clear preference as to when he would want to return, but he wants to remain active, and he wants to remain a champion that can be reliable, without the fear of potentially moving up in weight as some of these other champions have done in years past.

"There are rankings for a reason, people that deserve it," Volkanovski told reporters of staying put at 145. "If someone does get in, I'll still be active enough to give the people that deserve it a chance anyway, so they don't have to wait that long. But if I'm just going to keep letting other people cut the line, then I'm not really doing my part either. I'll talk to the UFC and see what they say. But for me, again I'm an easy champion at the end of the day. If the UFC pushes it or whatever, all right. We'll see what happens."

Other Big UFC 325 Winners, 3 Big Losers

Other big winners included UFC lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis, who defeated Dan Hooker in under two rounds in the co-headliner and did so easily. Joining him were Mauricio Ruffy, who called out the likes of Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler after beating Rafael Fiziev. To round it out, Quillan Salkilld obliterated Jamie Mullarkey by first-round TKO as a sizeable betting favorite.

As for the losers, heavyweight Tai Tuivasa did himself no favors by dropping his sixth fight in a row at the expense of Tallison Teixeira. Elsewhere, Zha Yi was arguably robbed in a majority decision loss to Kaan Ofli. And finally, Paramount+ subscribers were treated to grainy quality during the preliminary portion, which went viral on 'X.'

The issue resolved itself as the night progressed.

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