Volkanovski Becomes the Greatest Featherweight of All Time at UFC 325

The UFC’s return to Sydney was worth the wait for Australian fans, as there were plenty of moments to cheer about in the Qudos Bank Arena.

Some fighters representing their countries triumphed in spectacular fashion, while a couple of fan favourites came up short.

The headliner was the big talking point and received the loudest noise from the crowd after a five-round war between two 145-pound warriors.

A total of 13 fights took place at UFC 325, so here are the results from the matchups with some details from the star attraction and co-main event.

The Champion gets the upper hand again

The main event was a rematch for the featherweight championship, with history repeating itself, or the current challenger claiming revenge.

Alexander Volkanovski was one featherweight title win away from equalling Jose Aldo’s record of eight, and was therefore widely considered the greatest in the weight division.

Diego Lopes bounced back from his title loss at UFC 314 with an outstanding knockout win against Jean Silva to give himself a second chance.

The first bout was highly thrilling to watch, and so would the rematch, which proved to be a higher-level battle.

‘The Great’ was mainly controlling the contest on the feet, moving around the Octagon while timing his shots.

The Brazilian occasionally traded with the Aussie, who was stunned by the Brazilian’s punches in a couple of moments.

Both Volkanovski and Lopes came close to a submission attempt, but their high IQ in grappling allowed them to avoid danger.

In the end, it was a rather comfortable title triumph for the UFC Featherweight Champion who successfully defended the belt in his second reign.

BSD gains closer to a title opportunity

The co-main event was bound to be a war, as Dan Hooker and Benoit Saint-Denis are widely regarded as two of the most entertaining lightweights.

Hooker was aiming to bounce back from a submission loss to Arman Tsarukyan, hoping to maintain his #6 ranking.

Benoit Saint-Denis eyed the chance of extending his win streak after a terrific first-round knockout against Beneil Dariush put him on three successive victories.

The winner would most likely get the chance to face a top-five 155-pound contender, depending on the result of the fight.

In the first round, ‘The Hangman’ caused issues for the Frenchman with some significant strikes and wasn’t afraid to trade punches.

The New Zealander made the mistake of attempting a takedown, which fell right into Saint-Denis’ game plan to dominate on the ground.

After a few submission attempts and plenty of ground and pound, the ‘God of War’ managed to stop Hooker by TKO just before the end of round two.

The #8 contender maintained his 100% finish rate and hopes to fight for the undisputed title soon, or possibly for the BMF title against the winner of Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira.

Other Highlights from UFC 325

Mauricio Ruffy redeemed himself and entered the lightweight rankings after stopping Rafael Fiziev by second-round TKO.

Tallison Teixeira bounced back and went the distance for the first time in his career, winning by unanimous decision against Tai Tuivasa.

Quillan Salkilld submitted Jamie Mullarkey with a Rear-Naked Choke in round one, continuing his unstoppable run in the UFC.

Billy Elekana survived a scary first round before submitting Junior Tafa with a Rear-Naked Choke in round two, increasing his win streak to three.

Cam Rowston earned his third successive TKO win when he stopped Cody Brundage in the second round to acquire his second UFC victory.

Jacob Malkoun went the distance to earn a comfortable unanimous decision win and broke Torrez Finney’s undefeated MMA record.

Jonathan Micallef choked out Oban Elliott unconscious with a Rear-Naked Choke in round two to remain unbeaten in the UFC.

Kaan Ofli convinced the judges enough to secure a majority decision against Yi-Zha, beginning his winning streak.

Dom Mar Fan went the distance with Sang-wook Kim to claim a comfortable unanimous decision victory in the Road to UFC lightweight final.

Keiichiro Nakamura surprised the crowd with a third-round TKO over Sebastian Szalay to triumph in the Road to UFC featherweight final.

Lawrence Lui edged out a split decision to defeat Sulangrangbo and win the Road to UFC bantamweight final.