UFC 325 Preview

Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes exchange blows in the pocket. Credit: MMA Junkie.

The UFC heads to the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, this Saturday with an outstanding fight card. There are outstanding matchups throughout the card, filled with rising prospects, established contenders, and plenty of local talent looking to make the fans of their home country proud. In the co-main event, we’ll witness a collision of two Lightweight marauders when savage striker Dan Hooker takes on brawling submission ace Benoît Saint Denis. In the main event, Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski looks to defend his gold in an anticipated rematch with the always-dangerous Diego Lopes. Let’s take a look at the fights on the main card.

Quillan Salkilld vs. Jamie Mullarkey

Quillan Salkilld lands a thudding kick to the head of Nasrat Haqparast. Credit: MMA Fighting.

Lightweight Bout

Quillan Salkilld: 10-1-0, 4 KO/TKO, 3 Sub.

Jamie Mullarkey: 18-8-0, 10 KO/TKO, 3 Sub.

Salkilld is on a ten-fight win streak and has UFC victories over Nasrat Haqparast (18-6-0), Yanal Ashmouz (8-2-0), and Anshul Jubli (7-2-0). He’s a dynamic, well-rounded fighter with one-shot knockout power and outstanding wrestling skills. He’s tall for the Lightweight division and uses it well, often staying at range and battering his opponent with long punches and kicks. Salkilld has a solid chin and is willing to exchange in the pocket, but is a very measured striker and throws everything with purpose and accuracy, not just power. Training at Luistro Combat Academy, he has fantastic takedowns, especially in the clinch, and can deliver powerful slams. He has excellent control on the mat, rarely giving up a position or wasting energy while picking his spots to land brutal ground and pound. Salkilld has earned Performance of the Night twice in his three UFC appearances and is always looking to add to his highlight reel of vicious knockouts.

Jamie Mullarkey stuns Devonte Smith with a stiff left hand. Credit: MMA Mania.

Mullarkey has won two of his last five fights, holding UFC victories over Michael Johnson (25-19-0), Francisco Prado (12-4-0), and John Makdessi (18-9-0). He is a solid scrapper with a gritty striking style and tenacious grappling. He’s always moving, will constantly switch stances, and favors power to volume, regularly unloading heavy singular shots or two-punch combinations. Mullarkey primarily uses his hands to do damage, occasionally throwing leg kicks from range before coming forward to fire straights and looping hooks. He sets up his grappling with his striking and vice versa, often punching into takedowns or faking a takedown to close the distance and land punches. Training at Bangtao Muay Thai, he has solid top control, always focuses on maintaining position, and is willing to work along the fence to bring the fight to the ground. Half of Mullarkey’s UFC appearances have not gone the distance, and he always leaves everything inside the cage.

#12 Tai Tuivasa vs. #15 Tallison Teixeira

Tai Tuivasa cracks Augusto Sakai with a powerful right hook. Credit: Zuffa LLC.

Heavyweight Bout

Tai Tuivasa: 15-8-0, 14 KO/TKO, 0 Sub.

Tallison Teixeira: 8-1-0, 7 KO/TKO, 1 Sub.

Tuivasa is on a five-fight losing streak and holds UFC victories over #11 ranked Heavyweight Derrick Lewis (29-13-0), Andrei Arlovski (34-24-0), and Stefan Struve (33-13-0). He is the true embodiment of a brawler, always willing to eat a shot to land one and slug it out in the pocket. He’s more technical than he often appears, staying patient and fighting behind his jab before letting go of some massive right hands. Tuivasa has solid head movement and good distance management, but won’t throw much at range before closing the distance. Training at Lions High Performance Centre, he has heavy leg kicks, one-shot knockout power, and he can finish the fight from anywhere. He’s at his most dangerous early, with 12 of his fourteen KOs coming in round one, only seeing two decisions in his pro career. Tuivasa can land immense damage without much space, particularly elbows and knees.

Tallison Teixeira unloads ground and pound shots onto Justin Tafa. Credit: MMA Fighting.

Teixeira has won four of his last five bouts and has a UFC victory over Justin Tafa (7-5-0). He’s a massive, lengthy striker with serious, one-shot knockout power in his hands. Standing at 6’7”, he uses his length well, often firing kicks and long straights from range before entering the pocket to blast his opponent with hooks and uppercuts. Teixeira fights behind his jab and regularly mixes kicks into combinations, but tends to headhunt, constantly pursuing a knockout. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu but won’t typically initiate grappling exchanges, typically keeping the fight standing and making use of his usual height and reach advantage. Training with Team Lucas Mineiro, he has a great chin and is willing to brawl on the inside, but he’s also extremely dangerous from range. Teixeira has not seen a second round in his brief professional career and has scored three knockouts in 35 seconds or less.

#9 Rafael Fiziev vs. #14 Maurício Ruffy

Rafael Fiziev attempts a wild flying knee on Rafael Dos Anjos. Credit: Zuffa LLC.

Lightweight Bout

Rafael Fiziev: 13-4-0, 8 KO/TKO, 1 Sub.

Maurício Ruffy: 12-2-0, 11 KO/TKO, 0 Sub.

Fiziev has won two of his last five outings and has UFC wins over #10 ranked Lightweight Renato Moicano (20-7-1), Ignacio Bahamondes (17-6-0), and Rafael Dos Anjos (32-17-0). He’s a technical kickboxer with impressive power and dangerous counterstriking. He’s constantly switching stances and always remains elusive, regularly leaning back to slip head kicks and punches before returning fire. Training at Tiger Muay Thai, Fiziev throws everything with impressive speed and power but won’t get sloppy, always maintaining fantastic footwork and distance management. He’s highly accurate and does a great job of varying his strikes, attacking his opponent’s head, legs, and body with equal tenacity. He is willing to grapple and is a solid wrestler, with great double-leg takedowns and stout takedown defense. Fiziev is rarely in a boring fight and has earned post-fight bonuses in more than half of his UFC appearances.

Maurício Ruffy blasts King Green with an incredible spinning wheel kick. Credit: MMA Mania.

Ruffy has won four of his last five fights, with UFC victories coming over Jamie Mullarkey (18-8-0), James Llontop (14-5-0), and King Green (33-17-1). A lethal, elusive striker, he’s always dangerous and constantly hunting a knockout. He’s highly accurate and favors power to volume, often throwing single shots with serious power and knockout intent. Ruffy has fantastic distance control and head movement, typically staying at range and picking his opponents apart with brutal leg kicks before letting his hands go. Training with the Fighting Nerds, he throws everything with impressive speed and is always unpredictable, regularly attempting unorthodox strikes without telegraphing them. He varies his shots well and will constantly look to draw his opponents into his range so he can land counterstrikes. Nine of Ruffy’s eleven knockouts have come in round one, and he’s most dangerous early on, remaining aggressive throughout but slowing as the fight continues.

#6 Dan Hooker vs. #8 Benoît Saint Denis

Dan Hooker lands a stinging left hand on the chin of Jalin Turner. Credit: MMA Fighting.

Lightweight Bout

Dan Hooker: 24-13-0, 11 KO/TKO, 7 Sub.

Benoît Saint Denis: 16-3-0, 5 KO/TKO, 11 Sub.

Hooker has won three of his last five bouts and has UFC victories over #7 ranked Lightweight Mateusz Gamrot (25-4-0), #12 ranked Welterweight Gilbert Burns (22-9-0), and Jalin Turner (15-9-0). He’s a vicious striker who’s always coming forward and looking to turn things into a dogfight. He has solid head movement and counterstriking but is always willing to eat a shot to land one, regularly marching through his opponent’s offense to do damage of his own. Hooker is a devastating clinch striker, possessing some of the most brutal knees in the UFC and great dirty boxing. Training at City Kickboxing, he does a great job of mixing up his attacks and regularly lands brutal body shots. He has solid takedown defense and outstanding submissions, often defending takedowns with his guillotine choke. Hooker pushes a heavy pace and will never back down, always leaving everything inside the cage.

Benoît Saint Denis unloads brutal ground and pound shots onto Maurício Ruffy. Credit: Athlon Sports.

Saint Denis has won three of his last five outings, holding UFC victories over #11 ranked Lightweight Beneil Dariush (23-7-1), #14 ranked Lightweight Maurício Ruffy (12-2-0), and Ismael Bonfim (20-6-0). A versatile combatant, he has powerful striking and outstanding grappling skills. A decorated veteran and former French SAS paratrooper, he’s incredibly tough and capable of enduring impressive damage. He throws everything with fight-ending intentions and is always in pursuit of a finish. Saint Denis is an excellent grappler with plenty of experience, holding a black belt in Judo and a brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Training at CYFIT, he has great takedowns and heavy top control, constantly looking to posture up in top position and do damage or secure a submission. Saint Denis always pushes a heavy pace and has gone past the second round a single time in his UFC tenure.

(C) Alexander Volkanovski vs. #2 Diego Lopes

Alexander Volkanvoski lands a lunging overhand on Yair Rodríguez. Credit: MMA Fighting.

Featherweight Title Bout

Alexander Volkanovski: 27-4-0, 13 KO/TKO, 3 Sub.

Diego Lopes: 27-7-0, 11 KO/TKO, 12 Sub.

Volkanovski has won two of his last five fights and has wins over #3 ranked Featherweight Yair Rodríguez (21-5-0), #4 ranked Lightweight Max Holloway (27-8-0), and his current opponent, Diego Lopes. He’s a well-rounded scrapper who’s dangerous anywhere, possessing serious punching power and outstanding grappling skills. He’s highly accurate and remains technical throughout, throwing with power and in combination without loading up or wasting energy. He’ll regularly unload punishing kicks, especially to the legs, before blitzing into the pocket to let his hands go. Training at City Kickboxing, he has excellent cardio and can maintain a heavy pace across 25 minutes, averaging 155 significant strikes landed in his last five wins. He has excellent wrestling and BJJ to back up his striking, with fantastic takedowns, top control, and brutal ground and pound. Volkanovski has not been in a non-title bout since 2019 and has fought nothing but the best during his time at the top.

Diego Lopes tags Jean Silva with a heavy left hook. Credit: MMA Mania.

Lopes has won four of his last five bouts and has UFC victories over #7 ranked Featherweight Brian Ortega (16-5-0), #14 ranked Featherweight Dan Ige (19-10-0), and Jean Silva (17-3-0). An experienced grappler with impressive striking, he throws every shot with knockout intentions and constantly seeks a finish. He throws everything with power but stays composed, fighting behind his jab and keeping his punches sharp and straight. He’s constantly looking to let his hands go in the pocket, where he’s most dangerous, and has a granite chin, always willing to eat a shot to land one. Training at Lobo Gym MMA, he is a world-class grappler with excellent takedowns, often landing them quickly and in open space before securing a dominant position on the mat. He’s highly active in top position, raining down ground and pound shots and constantly improving his position while looking for submission openings. Lopes has earned six post-fight bonuses in just eight UFC fights and always puts on a show, win or lose.

Best Bets

Rafael Fiziev Moneyline: This is an exciting matchup of two excellent Lightweight strikers. Although both prefer to stay on their feet, they have very different striking styles. Fiziev is a much more technical, measured striker who, although he possesses some wild spinning attacks in his arsenal, remains composed and accurate and is willing to mix grappling into his offense. Ruffy is much more of a flashy, pure striker, using plenty of wild attacks and throwing everything with devastating power, rarely engaging in grappling. While both are highly dangerous, I believe Fiziev is the more put-together and polished fighter. Although Ruffy initially went on an impressive win streak, many of the holes in his game were exposed in his loss to Benoît Saint Denis, the biggest of which were his cardio and grappling. Saint Denis took him down almost immediately, and Ruffy gassed out very quickly after being forced to grapple, arriving at the second round completely drained. While I don’t necessarily expect an all-out wrestling attack from a striker of the caliber of Fiziev, he’s landed six takedowns in his last two fights and shown a willingness to bring the fight to the mat, as well as having the cardio to do so. I also believe Ruffy’s wildness on the feet is to his detriment against someone as technically skilled as Fiziev; Ruffy often benefits from his opponent’s mistakes or catches them with wild, swinging shots, none of which will be available against Fiziev. I anticipate some intense early striking exchanges before Fiziev starts mixing in takedowns and brings Ruffy to the mat, slowing him down and preventing him from getting comfortable on his feet. As the fight continues and Ruffy continues to fade, I expect Fiziev to take control of the fight in all facets, getting the best of the striking exchanges and smothering Ruffy on the mat. Regardless of how he wins this fight, I’m confident Fiziev will be getting his hand raised when it’s all said and done.

Hooker vs. Saint Denis to Not Go the Distance: This is an exciting fight between two true scrappers who always leave everything inside the cage. While both are very different fighters with different skillsets, they’re definitely both finishers. In a combined 56 professional fights, they have produced 34 finishes, including 16 knockouts and 18 submissions. Of those 34 finishes, twenty of those came in the first round. Saint Denis has only seen the judges’ scorecards once in his career, and although Hooker has gone to various decisions, four of his last six outings did not go the distance. Neither man is known to back down from a fight, and I wouldn’t expect any different this Saturday. Both of these fighters have well-rounded skills and the ability to finish the fight anywhere, at any time. While I’m unsure exactly how and when this fight will end, I’m very confident that it will be over before the final bell of round three is rung.

Alexander Volkanovski Moneyline: This is a highly anticipated rematch between two of the best, most entertaining fighters in the UFC. They had a wild, back-and-forth first matchup filled with memorable moments, and I expect this fight to play out very similarly. We saw a true return to form for Volkanovski in their first meeting after he had suffered a string of brutal defeats, and I believe he will continue to remind us why he's considered one of the greatest Featherweights of all time. Lopes scored a very impressive win over Jean Silva following his loss to Volkanovski, but I don't believe much has changed about his style, and I still believe Volkanovski has the skills to earn another victory. I would anticipate a bit less brawling from both fighters and an overall cleaner fight, but I expect a very technical and tactical game plan from Volkanovski, especially. Lopes hurt Volkanovski a few times in their first fight, so I believe he'll be a bit more measured, really making use of his excellent counterstriking and focusing more on his leg kicks to slow down Lopes's constant forward pressure. As Volkanovski limits Lopes's mobility, I expect him to step on the gas, forcing Lopes to fight defensively and off his back foot, where he's least comfortable. Once Volkanovski has taken control of the distance and the center of the octagon, I believe Lopes will start taking more risks and making more mistakes, allowing Volkanovski to really let his hands go and work his offense. While I expect him to take plenty of damage, finishing Lopes has proved to be a very daunting task, so I wouldn't necessarily predict a finish. Regardless, I'm confident that when the dust clears, Volkanovski will emerge victorious with the first successful title defense of his second reign as champion.