Miami — After four straight weeks without one, UFC 314 finally saw a Fight of the Night awarded. And as it happened, it went to the night’s main event.
That fight saw Alexander Volkanovski, one of the UFC’s most storied featherweight champions, reclaim his crown after five rounds with Diego Lopes. With Ilia Topuria vacating his title ahead of a move to lightweight, the belt was up for grabs, but it did not come easy for Australia’s Volkanovski. Lopes ate his best shots, and knocked the former champ down in the fourth round, staying in the fight from start to finish. Still, Volkanovski won more rounds that he lost, and with the win became the oldest fighter to earn gold in the UFC‘s lower weight classes.
While that back-and-forth battle won Fight of the Night, a few more one-sided affairs took home the PPV card’s Performance of the Night bonuses. Paddy Pimblett shocked many, not the least of whom was Michael Chandler himself, by dominating the former Bellator champ and opening up a nasty cut with a knee, before scoring a TKO finish in the third. Particularly surprising was that Pimblett appeared to dominate physically and have the edge in cardio.
Jean Silva ended the controversial build-up to his fight with Bryce Mitchell, meanwhile, by choking “Thug Nasty” unconscious. Mitchell had quickly become public enemy number one among UFC fans after praising Adolf Hitler earlier this year, then added to that by choosing “White Power” as an alternate nickname during the UFC 314 Fight Week (claiming it was a religious reference). Mitchell wound up tapping to a Silva ninja choke, but went out before it was even released.
