Diego Lopes doesn’t see Alexander Volkanovski past his prime

Many today think Alexander Volkanovski’s best days are behind him. That’s an opinion that his upcoming opponent Diego Lopes doesn’t share.

The vacant UFC featherweight title will be up for grabs on April 12, as Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) takes on Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in a five-round clash in the main event of UFC 314. These two were booked in response to Ilia Topuria’s decision to vacate his title and move up to 155 pounds.

The last time Volkanovski was seen in action, he was knocked out by Topuria at UFC 298 in February 2024. The defeat put the now 36-year-old on a two-fight losing streak and 1-3 in his past four. The two defeats outside the Topuria featherweight title loss came at lightweight against champion Islam Makhachev.

Lopes finds this perceived rut to be deceiving and doesn’t agree with those who claim Volkanovski is past his prime.

“I think it’s a wrong opinion by people,” Diego told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. “A lot of people are forgetting what Volkanovski has done in the division. We’re talking about him getting knocked out by Ilia, and that certainly is going to take away, but if we look at the fight outside of that, he was having the better moments with his distance, his jabs, and all that. He’s a guy that only has one loss in the division, and that was his last fight, which was a title fight. So throughout his entire career, and he’s got like 30 fights, he only has one loss at 145 pounds.

“I’m by no means looking at him past his prime because he has a ton of experience, has fought against the best in the world, and we all know what he’s capable of. I’m waiting for the best version of Volkanovski on April 12.”

Expecting a game version of Volkanovski, Lopes is excited to get his first crack at UFC gold. The Brazilian fighter has been on fire since entering the UFC. After losing to Movsar Evloev in a Fight of the Night bout in his debut, Lopes has won five straight, with his last being a dominant decision win over former title challenger Brian Ortega.

Lopes thinks fans will see the Volkanovski of old given the matchup, and expects a full on MMA fight at UFC 314.

“I think he’s going to come in with a lot of hunger,” Lopes said. “I think his fights prior to the one against Topuira, which was someone his size, all his fights have been with opponents that are bigger than him. We’ve seen how he looks for the pressure and looks to work his striking. I’ve seen he posted that he’s been working a ton on his wrestling and grappling game, so maybe he wants to mix things up, and have a complete game.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.