UFC 325 Volkanovski vs. Lopez 2 is the second card of the year; this is the first time since 2021 that UFC has had numbered cards on consecutive weekends. This event will be taking place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney Olympic Park, Australia, on Jan. 31. Many fighters are getting their chance to fight on home turf for the first time. 

UFC 325 Predictions : 

Early Prelims: 

Batbayar def. Tau

Sulangrangbo def. Lui 

Nakamura def. Szalay

Fan def. Kim

Ofli def. Yizha

Prelims:

Tafa vs. Elekana 

Junior Tafa has not been great since entering the UFC in 2023. After losing in the final round of Dana White’s Contender Series, he is 2-3 in the UFC and coming off a submission loss against Tuco Tokkos. This fight will most likely determine his future within the UFC. 

Billy Elekana is a newcomer in the light heavyweight division. Fighting three times last year, resulting in a record of 2-1 since joining the UFC. In his last two bouts his was able to get wins in both, one in a unanimous decision and the other with a submission. He is looking to make a push for the top 15 in the division with a win this weekend. 

Prediction: Elekana via Submission 

Other prelims: 

Micallef def. Elliott

Finney def. Malkoun

Brundage def. Rowston

Main Card: 

Salkiid vs. Mullarkey 

Quillan Salkiid has been extremely dominant since joining the UFC, winning all four of his bouts. He has not lost since his first-ever professional bout in 2021. He has shown versatility, having wins via submission and KO/TKO, along with showing that he has the stamina to go a full five rounds in a fight.

Jamie Mullarkey is a UFC veteran, having been around since 2019, but during this timeframe, he has not done much. Across his 12 fights in the promotion, he has a record of 6-6, facing many notable opponents such as Jailn Turner,  Michael Johnson and Mauricio Ruffy. He has the opportunity to beat a propset and raise his stock this weekend. 

Prediction: Salkiid via. Unanimous decision 

Tuivasa vs. Teixeira

Tai Tuivasa is a fan favorite, but lately, he has looked really bad inside the octagon. From coming into fights looking very out of shape to getting KO’d in back-to-back fights. In 2022, he would beat Derrick Lewis and be put into a number one contender fight. Since then, he has not won a fight, with his last loss being in 2024, where he would lose a split decision against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. He has managed to stay in the heavyweight rankings, but that may attest to how bad the division is.

Tallison Teixeira is coming off a round one loss, where he was KO’d by Derrick Lewis in 35 seconds. This almost mirrored his win over Justin Tafa, Junior Tafa’s brother, where he would KO him in 35 seconds. Many fans believe that losing to Lewis was a fluke and that Texieira is on his way to being a real contender in a weak division. Teixeira has the opportunity to prove himself this weekend against Tuivasa, but a loss could result in many people questioning his legitimacy. 

Prediction: Teixeira via. TKO/KO

Fiziev vs. Ruffy 

Rafael Fiziev has a solid record in the UFC, currently sitting at 7-4. In his most recent bout, he snapped his three fight losing streak with a decision win over Ignacio Bahamondes. The lost streak started when he lost to Justin Gaethje in 2023, followed by a TKO loss to Mateusz Gamrot later in the same year. In this fight, Fiziev would severely injure his leg, leading to an almost two year layoff. His first fight back would be against a much improved Justin Gaethje, who would piece him up for the full 3 rounds.  If Fiziev wants to keep his top eight ranking, he needs a win this weekend. 

Mauricio Ruffy and his teammates at the Fighting Nerds gym have been taking over the UFC in recent years. Before his last fight against Benoît Saint Deni (BSD), he was on a four fight win streak and a KO of the year win over Bobby “King” Green. He would lose to BSD, bringing his title push to a halt. He is a knockout specialist with only one of his professional bouts going to decision. Ruffy looks to put himself back into title contention with a win over Fiziev this week. 

Prediction: Ruffy via. KO

Hooker vs. Saint Denis

Dan Hooker is in the middle of a career resurgence. In the early years of his UFC carrer he would go on many win streaks, consistently keeping himself in the ranks, along with having good fights against many fighters whose names would go down as hall of famers. However, he is coming off a loss against Arman Tsarukyan, which many fans believe should have already gotten a title shot. This is Hooker’s real last chance to attempt a title run before he calls it a career. 

Benoît Saint Denis started his UFC career with a loss, but after that, he would string together five impressive wins, with him finishing all his opponents. His next fight would be against Dustin Poirier, a UFC veteran and multiple title challenger. He would lose this fight, leading many fans to think that he was pushed too early. His fight against Hooker gives him another chance to prove that he can beat a veteran fighter. 

Prediction: Saint Denis via. Submission 

Volkanovski vs. Lopez 

Alexander Volkanovski was once deemed the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. His recent record may not look the best, with him being 2-3 in his last five fights. However, this is due to him moving up divisions and taking a short-term notice rematch against Islam Makhachev. This would account for two of his losses, but the other one would come from Illia Topuria, where he would get brutaled KO’d in the second round. After this fight Volkanvski would come out and speak on how not fighting affected him mentally and debated retiring. After Topuria moved up divisions, Volkanovski would get the opportunity to fight Diego Lopez for the vacant featherweight belt. Many fans believe that this will be his last fight. If he does choose to retire, a win would allow him to ride off into the sunset on top.   

Diego Lopez is another fan favorite, from his fun fights to his interview antics and willingness to accept a fight on a minute’s notice. At times, Lopez gets himself into trouble during his fights because he is willing to take punches to throw his own. He has stated many times that when he goes into the octagon, he throws the gameplan out the window and goes on full attack mode. He is a strong boxer and also has a strong submission game, but he does not fully rely on it. A win over Volkanovski would allow him to avenge his loss, along with adding a all time great to his list of defeated opponents. 

Prediction: Volkanovski via. Unanimous decision. 

Extra prediction: Volkanovski retires as featherweight champion in his home country.