Alexander Volkanovski thinks he’s the worst matchup for Diego Lopes following their rematch.
At UFC 325, Volkanovski defeated Diego Lopes to successfully defend his featherweight title in a bout that was fairly similar to their first encounter the year prior.
The challenger had a big opportunity on his hands to avenge his loss in a clash that received some pushback from the fans.
While Volkanovski has previously praised Lopes’ improvements, he believes that his opponent was always going to be fighting an uphill battle in Sydney earlier this month.
Where does Diego Lopes go after his loss at UFC 325?
Comment below what you want to see him do next.
Alexander Volkanovski thinks he’s the worst possible matchup for Diego Lopes
Alexander Volkanovski thinks Diego Lopes may have missed his chance to become champion because of the man that was standing in front of him on both occasions.
Lopes had said that UFC 325 could be his last opportunity to win the 145 pound gold against an opponent that had already beaten him.
Volkanovski said during an appearance on the MightyCast that his challenger’s chances of winning were always going to be decreased by the stylistic matchup he found himself in.
“I feel bad because I’m probably the worst possible matchup for the guy just because of my IQ and my footwork and whatnot that he just couldn’t handle,” he told Demetrious Johnson.
“So, now he’s pretty much wasted his chance at the title against me in a quick turnaround where I was probably the only guy that can do 50 minutes and just have him not knowing what’s going on.”
That being said, Volkanovski doesn’t think that the decision to do this rematch less than a year on from their first fight helped Lopes either despite the fact that it gave him a shot at redemption.
‘The Great’ made reference to how his opponent was unable to cut the Octagon off on both occasions which made his task a lot easier despite this being a clear area that the Brazilian needed to improve on.
“It was literally like he was told to be patient and use his jab but there was no actual strategy behind it… Hearing him say that he’s grown so much, I’m looking at him like you haven’t,” Volkanovski said. “I don’t mean this in a bad way I just mean you haven’t showed me any improvement. I felt like what you did in the first fight was better than that.”
What’s Alexander Volkanovski’s best career win?
Comment below what you believe is the best we’ve seen from ‘The Great’.
The stats from both fights support Alexander Volkanovski’s thoughts on Diego Lopes
When it comes to output and distance management, Alexander Volkanovski is one of the very best the sport has ever seen with regard to implementing both effectively.
This showed in the first fight with Diego Lopes, where he outlanded his opponent by 158 significant strikes to just 63.
The one concern heading into the rematch is that the Brazilian did produce the single biggest strike of the bout when he dropped ‘The Great’ in the third round.
Their stats from UFC 325 suggest, at least on paper, that Lopes did make some improvements, having only been outlanded by 98 significant strikes to 70 the second time around.
| Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes stats | Significant strikes | Total strikes |
| First fight – UFC 314 | Volkanovski – 158 of 259 (61%) Lopes – 63 of 194 (32%) |
Volkanovski – 165 of 266 Lopes – 71 of 203 |
| Second fight – UFC 325 | Volkanovski – 98 of 160 (61%) Lopes – 70 of 158 (44%) |
Volkanovski – 112 of 178 Lopes – 74 of 162 |
However, the challenger still only won two of a possible 15 rounds on the three scorecards, suggesting that even in a closer contest, Volkanovski simply has his number.
Receive a digest of our best Bloody Elbow content each week direct to your mailbox
Subscribe to my channel
