UFC 314 - Everything You Need To Know

Saturday, 12 April 2025, 3:16 pm
Article: RNZ

Jonty Dine, Sports Reporter

UFC 314

Main card from 2pm

Sunday 13 April

Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida

Live blog updates on RNZ

A vacant throne will be claimed at UFC 314 this Sunday.

Having conquered the division, featherweight king Ilia Topuria is hunting bigger game, with a new champion to be crowned in Miami.

Enter Alexander 'The Great' Volkanovski, owner of one of the most dominant title reigns in history, before he was brutally usurped by Topuria at UFC 296.

The Australian looks to regain gold against the dangerous Diego Lopes, riding a five-fight win streak in a clash of two fan favourites in Florida.

Conversely in the co-main, two of the most polarising figures in the UFC meet at lightweight. 'Iron' Michael Chandler meets Paddy 'the Baddy' Pimblett in what is bound to be a thrilling throwdown.

Chandler has spent the better part of three years chasing a fight with Conor McGregor, while Pimblett who stormed the promotion in 2021, has since struggled to be seen as a legitimate title contender.

Elsewhere, Bryce Mitchell, who caused a wave of controversy due to recent comments regarding Hitler, meets Brazilian Jean Silva, sporting a perfect 4-0 record in the UFC and Bellator legend Patricio 'Pitbull' makes his long-awaited UFC debut.

About the fighters

Alex 'the Great' Volkanovski

Age - 36

Nation - Australia

Record - 26 wins 4 losses

Height - 5ft 6 inches (1.68m)

Weight - 145lbs (66kg)

Reach - 71 inches (180cm)

Diego Lopez

Age - 30

Nation - Brazil

Record - 26 wins 6 loss

Height - 5ft 11inches (1.8m)

Weight - 145lbs (66kg)

Reach - 72.5 inches (184cm)

Who did they most recently fight?

Volkanovski hasn't fought since losing his title via round two ko at the hands of Topuria, just the third time he's been finished in an esteemed career.

The Australian enters the bout on the back of two knockouts, another first for 'the Great.'

Lopes hasn't tasted defeat since May 2023, the most recent of his four-fight win streak coming against former title challenger Brian Ortega in September via UD.

What are they saying?

Volkanovski - "Winning the belt now, would be the biggest part of my story, I'm bringing that belt back to Australia."

Lopes - "I trust my hands, it's my time and I am going to be the champion."

What time is the title fight?

Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes for the featherweight title will take place at approximately 4.30pm NZT.

What will happen?

An incredibly tough bout to pick with both men incredibly efficient both on the feet and the mat. With Lopes having a base in jiu-jitsu and Volkanovski a wrestler, they may look to spend much of the fight on the feet trading strikes.

Lopes has a dangerous submission game but Volk has proved his world class takedown defence against the best maulers in the game.

Having been knocked out in nasty fashion in his previous two fights, we may see a more conservative version of Volk, and a more cerebral approach across the five rounds.

Prediction - Volkanovski by UD

Who else is on the card?

Before the featherweight showdown, Chandler will fight Pimblett in what he has dubbed "the people's main event."

Chandler has recently worn the wrath of several fellow fighters for what they describe as dirty tactics.

Most notably, Dustin Poirier labelled Chandler a 'dirtbag,' alleging during their fight Chandler intentionally fish-hooked him, gouged his eyes and blew his bloody nose in his face.

Pimblett on the other hand has been a lightning rod for controversy, earning the ire of the fan base for first attacking veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani for not paying him for an interview, then insisting his highly controversial decision win over Jared Gordon was an easy win.

Since coaching on the Ultimate Fighter alongside Conor McGregor in 2023, Chandler has been obsessively chasing a fight with the Irish superstar, to no avail.

After many questioned his defensive abilities after being exposed by Gordon, Pimblett has insisted "this chin is made of granite, I can't be knocked out."

Despite splitting the fan base, these lightweights are two of the most exciting in the division and promise to deliver fireworks.

Also on the main card, Bryce Mitchell, who recently said on his podcast that he would have liked to go fishing with Hitler, meets Jean Silva of Brazil, who has vowed to quickly and violently finish Mitchell, sending him into an early retirement.

The card also features the debut of former Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull against former title challenger Yair Rodriguez.

Main card

Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes at featherweight

Michael Chandler vs Paddy Pimblett at lightweight

Yair Rodríguez vs Patrício Pitbull at featherweight

Bryce Mitchell vs Jean Silva at featherweight

Nikita Krylov vs Dominick Reyes at light heavyweight

Preliminary card

Dan Ige vs Sean Woodson at featherweight

Yan Xiaonan vs Virna Jandiroba at women's strawweight

Jim Miller vs Chase Hooper at lightweight

Darren Elkins vs Julian Erosa at featherweight

Early prelims

Sedriques Dumas vs Michał Oleksiejczuk at middleweight

Su Mudaerji vs Mitch Raposo at flyweight

Tresean Gore vs Marco Tulio at middleweight

Nora Cornolle vs Hailey Cowan at women's bantamweight

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