Alexander Volkanovski has hinted that he will adopt an unusually aggressive game plan for his featherweight title defence against Diego Lopes at UFC 325 in Sydney on Saturday. The Australian, 37, faces Lopes for the second time, nine months after outpointing the Brazilian to win the vacant belt.
Volkanovski, who became a two-time champion with that victory, has not fought since, while Lopes bounced back in September with a stunning spinning-back-elbow knockout of Jean Silva. Despite being dropped by Lopes in their first fight, Volkanovski told ESPN he plans to 'bulldoze' his opponent.
“You don’t need to be that calculated, you can bulldoze these guys,” Volkanovski said. “I feel like I could have done this to all of my opponents: proper bulldoze them and go straight through these guys. And that’s what I plan on doing this time.”
The champion warned: “You wanna come aggressive at me? Be ready for big, big shots coming your way… Something big’s coming at you. If I do grab ahold of you, I’m taking you down. I’m strangling you, or I’m punching your head through this canvas.”
Volkanovski (27-4) is seeking his first stoppage win since July 2023, when he knocked out Yair Rodriguez. Since then, he suffered back-to-back knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria before defeating Lopes on points. Lopes (27-7) has 12 submission wins and 11 knockouts, presenting a multi-faceted threat.
