MMA veteran Alexander Volkanovski put on a spotless performance during his first title defence of his second UFC Featherweight stint following a unanimous decision win over Diego Lopes at UFC325 in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday morning.
In what was the second bout between the two fighters, Volk emerged victorious once again as he outclassed the 31-year-old en-route to levelling Jose Aldo for the most Featherweight title defences in the promotion’s history.
Lopes commenced the first round with a series of leg kicks as he looked to establish a safe distance in the centre of the Octagon.
In response to Lopes’ attacks, Volkanovski attempted the first take down of the fight which was neutralized by Lopes.
The two fighters traded blows at the beginning of the second-round, while Lopes opened a cut under Volkanovski’s eye with a counter punch as the champion pressed forward.
Lopes then attempted a takedown but Volkanovski countered with a guillotine choke. The South American eventually escaped the attempted submission moments before the buzzer.
Lopes found some success in Round three and dropped Volk with a short right-hook after the champion blitzed forward with a combination of punches.
However, Volkanovski immediately returned to his feet. It was a tight contest between Round four and Five, with Volk landing numerous shots on his feet while Lopes managed to complete a take down.
Volkanovski eventually caught the eye of the judges by showcasing a tight defence throughout the fight, while being active in response to takedown attempts.
Classy in victory, the 37-year-old revealed that he endured troubles during his pre-fight training camp and at the same time, held a ‘strong’ Lopes in high regard as he hoped to stop the Brazilian.
"It ain't getting any easier, I can tell you that," Volkanovski said in the post-fight interview.
"Camp was a lot of things going on in there and we pushed through.
"The beautiful thing is – I always say – adversity is a privilege. I love it. Sometimes things go wrong I'm just like, 'Let's go.' That makes it more of a challenge and fires me up even more.
"And then you've got a young, hungry guy like that over there? Man, I wanted to take him out. I wanted to grab a hold of him and put him down, but he was strong. I didn't want to stand for 25 minutes, I'll be honest, but we got the job done, so it's all good."
UFC325 MAIN CARD RESULTS
Alexander Volkanovski defeated Diego Lopes by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45),
Benoit Saint Denis defeated Dan Hooker by TKO, Round 2, at 4:45.
Mauricio Ruffy defeated Rafael Fiziev by TKO, Round 2, at 4:30.
Tallison Teixeira defeated Tai Tuivasa by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Quillan Salkilld defeated Jamie Mullarkey by submission, Round 1, at 3:02.