![\"Goosebumps](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/561eb90f27d6d1af68221528583b0856.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nIt was a long time in the making, and didn\u2019t come easy, but Alex Volkanovski made it a homecoming to remember with a classy unanimous decision win over Diego Lopes at UFC 325 in Sydney.<\/p>\n
Fighting in front of his hometown fans for the first time since November 2017, the Wollongong local delivered a typically gritty performance to defend his featherweight title with scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45.<\/p>\n
Three years after falling short in his brave lightweight world title tilt against Islam Makhachev in Perth, this was Volkanovski\u2019s crowning moment of an already Hall of Fame career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI almost had my moment in Perth, but I\u2019ve had my moment here in Sydney,\u201d Volk said as the 20,000 strong crowd went wild after the 25 minute battle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t have done it without you, Sydney.\u201d<\/p>\n
In front of a who\u2019s who of Australian sporting royalty, including Nathan Cleary, Steve and Austin Waugh, Jerome Luai, Cameron Ciraldo, Stephen Crichton, Cam Rayner and Anthony Mundine, Volkanovski had the vocal crowd singing every word of Men at Work\u2019s \u2018Land Down Under\u2019 for his highly charged walkout.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo do it here in Sydney, it ain\u2019t getting any easier,\u201d he said of the win. \u201cIn camp, there was a lot of things going on, but we pushed through.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdversity is a privilege. I\u2019ve said it all along. It makes it more of a challenge and fires me up even more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what makes a champion. Grit, determination, sacrifices, I\u2019ve got it all under fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
After an even first round, Volkanovski reeled out of an exchange with an apparent eye injury in the second. He rubbed his left eye a few times, but managed to keep fighting.<\/p>\n
Volkanovski had his best moment of the fight to that point in the third, landing two big overhand rights on Lopes\u2019 chin.<\/p>\n
The challenger was wobbled momentarily, but regained his senses and landed a nice short right hook on Volkanovski\u2019s chin, stunning him for a split second before the end of the round.<\/p>\n
The fourth was Volk\u2019s best of the fight, landing more overhand rights and a nice one-two combination in close as Lopes began to tire.<\/p>\n
A painful low blow added to the Brazilian-Mexican\u2019s problems, and he finished the round arguing with referee Marc Goddard.<\/p>\n
Lopes opened the fifth and final round with an injured left knee, and despite being barely able to put any pressure on it, managed to take Volkanovski\u2019s back in a wild final few minutes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Volkanovski will take some time off, but said he\u2019s looking forward to another title defence later this year against either Movsar Evloev or Lerone Murphy. <\/p>\n
Earlier on, Western Sydney fan favourite Tai Tuivasa came agonisingly close to pulling off a last-gasp knockout win against Tallison Teixeira, before losing a unanimous decision.<\/p>\n
In the same arena he made his much-hyped UFC debut with a stunning flying knee knockout, Tuivasa couldn\u2019t pull off the same finishing blow as Brazil\u2019s Teixeira landed a desperate third-round takedown and hung on for victory.<\/p>\n
Teixeira won the first two rounds through his grappling before Tuivasa rattled him three times in the third.<\/p>\n
It looked as though the Aussie was close to stopping the exhausted Teixeira, but was gassed as well, and now faces an uncertain future.<\/p>\n
Tuivasa still has fights left on his UFC contract, and remains a huge star at home and abroad, but it\u2019s hard to see a future for him after six straight defeats.<\/p>\n
It was a mixed bag for the Australian contingent, with Junior Tafa being submitted in the second round by Billy Elekana, and Sebastian Szalay flatlined by a perfectly timed knee to the face courtesy of Keiichiro Nakamura.<\/p>\n
Jacob Malkoun \u2013 a training partner of Rob Whittaker and a wrestling coach with the Bulldogs \u2013 put in a supreme striking performance en route to a unanimous decision win over American Torrez Finney.<\/p>\n
Malkoun\u2019s coach, Alex Prates, works as the Bulldogs\u2019 wrestling coach and the pair were seen celebrating and taking photos with Doggies coach Cameron Ciraldo and captain Stephen Crichton after exiting the cage.<\/p>\n
Quillan Salkilld choked out Jamie Mullarkey in the first round of their all-Aussie lightweight showdown, while Cameron Rowston stopped Cody Brundage and Jono Micallef put \u2018The Welsh Gangster\u2019 Oban Elliott to sleep with a rear-naked choke.<\/p>\n
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