Alexander VolkanovskivsDiego Lopes

Here's the thing about rematches: they don't happen unless the first fight delivered, and Volkanovski vs. Lopes in Miami absolutely did. Volk reclaimed his throne with a unanimous decision, landing 165 strikes and showing everyone he's still got that championship heart. The fight was competitive enough that Dana White announced they're running it back, this time at UFC 325 in Sydney on February 1st. Volkanovski's been on a wild ride these past couple years. That brutal head kick knockout from Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, then getting stopped by Topuria at UFC 298... people were wondering if the king was done. But that Lopes win in April showed the old Volk is still in there, mixing up his striking with takedown attempts and controlling the pace over five rounds.

Dude landed 62% of his strikes and proved he can still go deep into championship rounds. Lopes isn't backing down from anyone though. Since that loss to Volk, he went out and finished Jean Silva with ground and pound in September, staying active and dangerous. Before the first Volk fight, he was on fire. That first round destruction of Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 300 was nasty, and he beat Brian Ortega on the scorecards. The Brazilian's got serious power and he's not afraid to get wild, which makes this rematch so interesting.

Can Volk's experience and fight IQ handle Lopes' aggression again, or does Diego make the necessary adjustments? The immediate rematch sparked some controversy in the division. Aljamain Sterling publicly questioned whether Lopes did enough in their first fight to earn another shot so quickly, but Diego fired back at critics, telling fighters to stop whining. He's confident he can make the necessary adjustments to dethrone Volk on his home turf. With the fight now officially set to headline UFC 325 in Sydney, Volkanovski gets the advantage of defending his reclaimed belt in front of his own crowd.