Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is headed back “Down Under” as UFC 325 is set to go down from inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia on Paramount+ featuring a Featherweight title fight between division champion, Alexander Volkanovski, and Diego Lopes. In the co-main event of the evening, Dan Hooker will battle Benoit Saint Denis in a pivotal Lightweight bout.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 29: Alexander Volkanovski of Australia is seen on stage during the UFC 325 Press Conference at Sydney Event Centre on January 29, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
What UFC event is on tonight? UFC 325: “Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2”
Who is fighting tonight at UFC 325? Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes Featherweight title fight is the five-round main event.
What time does UFC 325? TONIGHT (Sat., Jan. 31, 2026), beginning at 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
Where will UFC 325 take place? Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia
How can I watch UFC 325? The Paramount+ “Prelims” matches online are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 9 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
How do I bet on UFC 325? Checkout the latest lines right here.
Where can I get live UFC 325 updates and results? Get full UFC 325 play-by-play updates and live coverage here!
There are some rematches that makes sense, and then there are those that simply make you question what UFC matchmakers are doing. Volkanovski defeated Lopes at UFC 314 last April via unanimous decision, allowing “The Great” to win the vacant strap once again. Since then, Volkanovski has been idle while Lopes’ lone win during that span is over Jean Silva, albeit in impressive fashion (see it again here). Nevertheless, many questioned why Lopes earned another shot at the strap, while more deserving contenders such as Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy weren’t even considered — at least that we know of. Still, Volkanovski has always been known to accept any and all challenges, so a rematch doesn’t bother him all that much, especially against someone he’s already defeated.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 29: Diego Lopes of Brazil is seen on stage during the UFC 325 Press Conference at Sydney Event Centre on January 29, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
As for Lopes, he has the opportunity to finally win UFC gold for the first time and now that he has been inside the cage against “The Great” for 25 minutes he knows what to expect. It still remains to be seen if he has made the proper adjustments to fix the mistakes Volkanovski was able to capitalize on in the first meeting. If Lopes has not done that he will be in for more of the same come fight night and another title fight will be hard to come by, especially if “The Great” goes on another extended reign. All in all this will be an interesting chess match come fight night and we are bound to be entertained by two of the most exciting fighters in the division once more.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 30: (L-R) Opponents Cam Rowston of Australia and Cody Brundage face off during the UFC 325 Ceremonial Weigh-in at Qudos Bank Arena on January 30, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Cameron Rowston is currently on a five-fight win streak and won his UFC debut by defeating Andre Petroski via first-round technical knockout (TKO) four months ago. He will attempt to lock down his sixth win in a row when he battles Cody Brundage, who has struggled as of late, amassing a 1-2-1-1 record in his last five bouts. Again, it drives me crazy when matchmakers do this, putting a streaking fighter up against someone who is clearly on a slump.
Original Card Vs. Actual Card/Injuries
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 01: Ante Delija of Croatia prepares to face Waldo Cortes Acosta of the Dominican Republic in a heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on November 01, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
A Heavyweight bout between Serghei Spivac and Ante Delija was initially scheduled for this event but was later rescheduled for a UFC Fight Night in late February. A Light Heavyweight bout between Jimmy Crute and Dustin Jacoby was scrapped after Crute withdrew as a result of a ruptured ACL. Also, a Flyweight fight between Namsrai Batbayar and Aaron Tau was scrapped after Tau was caught trying to cheat the scales in an attempt to make weight. After initially tipping the scales at 122 pounds, he was forced to weigh in again and came back with a 129-pound weight. It was alleged that he tried to rest his arms on the modesty box to seem lighter than what he actually was.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 30: (L-R) Opponents Keiichiro Nakamura of Japan and Sebastian Szalay of Australia face off during the UFC 325 Ceremonial Weigh-in at Qudos Bank Arena on January 30, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
There will be plenty of newcomers making their official UFC debuts at this event, as the “Road to UFC Finals 4” will take place on this card. Opening up the undercard will be the Bantamweight finale between Sulang Rangbo (10-3) and Lawrence Lui (7-1). In the Featherweight final, Keiichiro Nakamura — who is on a seven-fight win streak — will battle Sebastian Szalay, who is out to snag his tenth straight win. In the Lightweight division, Kim Sang-wook and Dom Mar Fan will engage in fisticuffs to see who the best 155-pounder in the tournament is.
How The ‘Prelims’ Look:
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 30: (L-R) Opponents Jonathan Micallef of Australia and Oban Elliott of Wales face off during the UFC 325 Ceremonial Weigh-in at Qudos Bank Arena on January 30, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
In a Welterweight bout, Jonathan Micallef and Oban Elliott throw down on the loaded undercard. Micallef made a good impression in his UFC debut by defeating Kevin Jousset, his third straight win. As for Elliott, his three-fight win streak under the UFC banner was stopped at the hands Seok Hyeon Ko in his last outing, which was his first defeat in his last eight fights.
Torrez Finney improved his undefeated record up to 11-0 by defeating Robert Valentin in his UFC debut via split-decision in April 2025. Now, he will look to keep his hot streak going against Jacob Malkoun, who is coming off a technical knockout (TKO) win over Andre Petroski. That victory, however, was nearly two years ago, so it will be interesting to see if ring rust plays a factor.
Kaan Ofli will attempt to snap his two-fight losing streak inside the Octagon when he goes toe-to-toe against Zha Yi in a 145-pound scrap. Ofli needs a win pretty badly here because if he starts off his UFC run with a 1-3 record he may not have another chance to prove his worth.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 17: Junior Tafa of New Zealand prepares to face Marcos Rogerio de Lima of Brazil in a heavyweight fight during the UFC 298 event at Honda Center on February 17, 2024 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Junior Tafa has had a pretty rough stretch inside the Octagon, going a horrid 2-4 in his first six bouts. He is 1-3 in his last four and was last seen getting submitted by George Tokkos last summer. He will attempt to turn things around for himself when he faces Billy Elekana, who has won two straight bouts after dropping his UFC debut to Bogdan Guskov.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 30: Tai Tuivasa of Australia poses on the scale during the UFC 325 Ceremonial Weigh-in at Qudos Bank Arena on January 30, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Tai Tuivasa was once a promising young Heavyweight contender who was as exciting as they come, collecting an 8-3 record in his first 11 bouts, while racking up impressive knockouts along the away. Since his last knockout win over Derrick Lewis in 2022 “Bam Bam” has gone a miserable 0-5, which includes getting stopped on four of those occasions. He can not afford a sixth straight defeat when he goes up against Tallison Teixeira, who is coming off his first and only loss in MMA at the hands of the aforementioned Derrick Lewis, who stopped him in 35 seconds (see it again here). Prior to that, “Xicao” had won his first eight fights, all in the very first round.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 30: (L-R) Opponents Dan Hooker of New Zealand and Benoit Saint Denis of France face off during the UFC 325 Ceremonial Weigh-in at Qudos Bank Arena on January 30, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
In the co-main event of the evening, Dan Hooker will attempt to get back on track after Arman Tsarukyan submitted him in Nov. 2025 — after he shattered his nose with this headbutt — in Qatar. Hooker is currently ranked No. 6 at 155 pounds, so if he can get back into the win column he could find himself back in the Top 5. He will be facing Benoit Saint Denis (No. 8), who is currently in the midst of a three-fight win streak. A win over “The Hangman” will give him several bumps up the ladder and get him closer to championship fight consideration.
Mauricio Ruffy had his momentum halted in his last fight by Benoit Saint Denis, who submitted him in Sept. 2025 via face crank (see it again here). Prior to that he was on a seven-fight win streak, which includes going three-f0r-three inside the Octagon and was even getting compared to Conor McGregor. Now, he will have to start from scratch when he faces Rafael Fiziev, who snapped his three-fight losing streak by defeating Ignacio Bahamondes via unanimous decision last summer. Both of these men love to stand-and-bang, so this fight could steal the show once the dust settles.
Kicking off the main card will be a Lightweight fight between two strikers in Quillan Salkilld and Jamie Mullarkey. Salkilld is currently on a 10-fight win streak, which includes winning his first three fights under the UFC banner, which he is why he is our top prospect to keep your eye on. As for Mullarkey, he does have more UFC experience than his foe, but has only been able to amass a 6-6 record. Sure, he’s at .500, but that won’t do much for him if he ever wants to crack the Top 15.
UFC 325 Main Event On Paramount+:
145 lbs.: Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes 2
UFC 325 Main Card on Paramount+ (9 p.m. ET):
155 lbs.: Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis
155 lbs.: Rafael Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy
265 lbs.: Tallison Teixeira vs. Tai Tuivasa
155 lbs.: Quillan Salkilld vs. Jamie Mullarkey
UFC 325 ‘Prelims’ Card on Paramount+ (7 p.m. ET):
205 lbs.: Billy Elekana vs. Junior Tafa
185 lbs.: Cody Brundage vs. Cam Rowston
185 lbs.: Torrez Finney vs. Jacob Malkoun
170 lbs.: Oban Elliott vs. Jonathan Micallef
UFC 325 ‘Road To UFC’ Finals on Paramount+ (5 p.m. ET):
145 lbs.: Kaan Ofli vs. Yi Zha
155 lbs.: Dom Mar Fan vs. Kim Sang-wook
145 lbs.: Keiichiro Nakamura vs. Sebastian Szalay
135 lbs.: Sulang Rangbo vs. Lawrence Lui
125 lbs.: Namsrai Batbayar vs. Aaron Tau – CANCELED (details here)
*Fight card, bout order and amount of fights remain subject to change*
For much more on this weekend’s UFC 325 event click here.