The UFC liked last year’s Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes so much, they opted to run it back for the newly crowned featherweight champ’s first title defense at UFC 325.
Well, first title defense of his second reign at 145lbs, anyway.
Lopes, for his part, has fought since the pair’s first encounter at UFC 314. He beat Jean Silva at Noche UFC back in September, a finish that appeared to push him past surging contenders Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy (those two will face off later this year in what absolutely has to be a title eliminator).
In the meantime, Volkanovski gets Lopes at home in Australia on Saturday, while Dan Hooker faces Benoit Saint-Denis in a lightweight co-main event. Also in action, Rafael Fiziev takes on Fighting Nerd Mauricio Ruffy, who will be looking to build on the success of teammate Jean “Lord” Silva at UFC 324 last weekend.
Our picks are in for the second UFC card of 2026! Here’s how we see the main card going down.
| Writer / Fight | Salkilld vs. Mullarkey | Tuivasa vs. Teixeira | Fiziev vs. Ruffy | Hooker vs. Saint-Denis | Volaknovski vs. Lopes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Anderson |  |  |  |  |  |
| Eddie Law | | | | |  |
| Mathis Desjardins | | | | | |
| Alex Behunin | | | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik | | |  | | |
| Brett Cagle | | | | | |
| Patrick Danna | | | | | |
Perhaps surprisingly, there was not much variation in our picks this week. Quillan Salkilld is a lock in his fight against fellow Australian Jamie Mullarkey, despite Mullarkey’s veteran status. Likewise, our crew sees heavyweight Tallison Teixeira getting the better of Tai Tuivasa at home.
That one, perhaps, is less surprising, since Tuivasa has been out for a year, and is on a serious rough patch.
Still, absolutely no one chose Dan Hooker in the co-main event, despite Hooker fighting in his own back yard. And while the main event wasn’t unanimous, we’re siding with Alexander Volkanovski getting the repeat against Diego Lopes.
