The man from the land below is back to the top.
More than a year after Ilia Topuria knocked him out of his perch, Alexander Volkanovsky subsequently recovered the candidate's featherweight title on Saturday night in a unanimous decision victory over Diego Lopez in the UFC 314 main event in Miami.
The title was recently vacated by Topuria after the former champion decided to go up to lighter weight.
Volkanovski (27-4, 16 finishes), who hadn't competed since Topuria knocked him out last February, began his fight with Lopez (26-7, 22nd finishes), who quickly punched him in the head and attacked him, appearing to steal some of his mind from his enemies.
However, Lopez, a Brazilian who settled in Mexico, was brought to life in the second half of the second round with a short Australian knockdown.
Volkanovksi returned with a powerful third frame and weathered the trouble of four rounds in the form of a punch that disrupts his eyesight to close the strength of the fifth and final round.
In the co-main event, Rising Star Paddy Pinblett (23-3, 17 finish) did not require a five-round, fully scheduled five rounds to turn the best performance ever.
“Does anyone else have a question?” he cried to the camera, shooting suspicions of his progression on the UFC ranks.
Pinblet also sought a fight against one of the top 155-pounders in the promotion: Dustin Poirier, Justin Gesche, Charles Oliveira, or Ahman Zarkian.
Ahead of Pinbullett's impressive performance, Air Rodriguez (20-5, 13 finishes) debuted longtime Bellator star Patricio Pitbull (36-8, 24 finishes) through a three-round decision, and heated up after a lukewarm start to featherweathweight clash in his third round.
Rodriguez, a former interim title holder at 145 pounds, called for a title fight with Volkanovuxi in his hometown of Mexico when the UFC returned south of the border in September.
Former Stony Brook defensive back, former light heavyweight title challenger Dominic Reyes (15-4, 12th finish), has opened the pay-per-view portion of the event.
Next Match – After the UFC unveiled female MMA legend Amanda Nunes as a member of the 2025 Hall of Fame class, Jan Silva (16-2, 15th finish) tapped out Bryce Mitchell (17-3, 10th finish) via a second round ninja choke to expand the rise of Feather Wightland.
In the most important battle in the qualifying round, Virna Jandiroba (22-3, 15th finish) ruled former title challenger Yan Xiaonan (19-5, 9th finish), solidifying her case to face the victory of the unanimous decision and women's straw champion Zhang Weili.
Other victories in the preliminary section include Dan Ige (via third round TKO via Sean Woodson), Chase Hooper (via decision against Jim Miller), Julian Erosa (via Round Talk vs Darren Elkins), Mika Olexijejuk (via first round TKO against Cedriquez Dama) TKO vs Tresean Gore in the second round) and Nora Cornolle (via second submission against Hailey Cowan).
