{"id":455315,"date":"2026-02-03T08:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T08:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/455315\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T08:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T08:25:10","slug":"ufc-325-alexander-volkanovski-injury-reveal-diego-lopes-latest-on-broken-feet-daniel-cormier-weighs-in-on-greatest-ever-featherweight-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/455315\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC 325 Alexander Volkanovski injury reveal, Diego Lopes latest on broken feet, Daniel Cormier weighs in on greatest ever featherweight debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alexander Volkanovski\u2019s head coach has revealed how close his superstar came to missing last Sunday\u2019s UFC blockbuster, saying only four weeks out from the event \u201cwe didn\u2019t think he was going to fight\u201d.<\/p>\n

The surprise admission comes as the UFC champ\u2019s latest victim, Brazilian Diego Lopes, also revealed the full extent of his own injuries suffered during a tough 25 minutes at UFC 325.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier has gifted Volkanovski high praise for what he believes could be a long second title reign \u2013 and as the two men most likely to face the champ next, Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy, are paired up for what will likely be a London eliminator.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

UFC 326 Holloway vs Oliveira 2 | SUN 8 MARCH 1PM AEDT | After 11 years removed from their first encounter, Max Holloway will face the former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira for the BMF Championship, in Las Vegas. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n

In what was an eye-catching start to his second UFC featherweight reign, Volkanovski produced an MMA masterclass to defeat Lopes in Sydney on Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite being dropped in the third round, Volk produced an otherwise near faultless performance to eventually take the rematch on all three judges\u2019 scorecards: 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45.<\/p>\n

Yet in an interview with UFC commentator Cormier afterwards, Volkanovski\u2019s coach Joe Lopez revealed how his charge had suffered a serious injury only a month before fight week.<\/p>\n

Lopez added that pulling out had been a serious consideration for the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be fair, Alex, four weeks ago, we didn\u2019t think he was going to fight,\u201d the coach told Cormier. \u201cHe pulled his shoulder out. Really. He\u2019s been compromised for the last four weeks with a busted shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Certainly Volk never seemed troubled by the injury through five rounds, with Lopez saying the most important change from the pair\u2019s first fight at UFC 314 was mental.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I\u2019ve been saying, after the first fight, Volk was sort of second-guessing himself the whole of the first Diego camp,\u201d the coach said. \u201cWith this camp, Volk was back to himself. He was confident, didn\u2019t have to say anything, it was just old Volk back again.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Volkanovski may have been quietly nursing an injury in the build to Sunday, his Brazilian rival was more than a little banged up afterwards.<\/p>\n

Only hours after the fight had finished, it was revealed Lopes had potentially broken both feet competing before a crowd of some 20,000, which included the likes of Steve Waugh, Anthony Mundine and Nathan Cleary.<\/p>\n

VOLKANOVSKI DOES IT AGAIN! | 02:51<\/p>\n

Initially, Lopes\u2019s manager Jason House shared an Instagram post that showed his client sitting on the side of a Sydney hospital bed, with the words: \u201cLooks like we broke both feet\u201d.<\/p>\n

Soon after, the Brazilian fighter reposted the photo, seemingly endorsing the post where House also wrote: \u201cSome nights you\u2019re at the afterparty, some nights you\u2019re at the ER. But every morning I give thanks for the opportunity to live this life with my best friends\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the 24 hours since however, Lopes has clarified the situation on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is fine,\u201d the Brazilian wrote. \u201cThe initial diagnosis at the arena was that I might have broken both feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to the hospital, they ran tests and everything was fine \u2014 just some fractures in both feet but surgery isn\u2019t necessary. I\u2019ll be using boots and crutches for a few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

No timeline was given for his return.<\/p>\n

The revelation came as Cormier also stressed Volkanovski had now solidified his status as the greatest UFC featherweight ever \u2014 surpassing Brazilian legend Jose Aldo.<\/p>\n

While discussions have long centred around whether Volk or Aldo boast the division\u2019s GOAT tag, Cormier says the Sydneysider has now surpassed \u2018The King of Rio\u2019.<\/p>\n

The retired American champ also enthused about how, immediately after his latest title win, Volkanovski also then went and called out the division\u2019s two toughest possible opponents \u2013 who together have gone undefeated through 37 fights.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody wants to fight Movsar,\u201d Cormier said on his YouTube channel. \u201cNobody wants to fight Lerone.<\/p>\n

\u201cVolk is like, \u2018well, if they\u2019re next, that\u2019s who I\u2019m fighting\u2019.<\/p>\n

UFC 326 Holloway vs Oliveira 2 | SUN 8 MARCH 1PM AEDT | After 11 years removed from their first encounter, Max Holloway will face the former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira for the BMF Championship, in Las Vegas. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n

Volk hypes crowd with hilarious moment | 00:31<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not trying to pick fights. He\u2019s not trying to get the easiest path.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just wants to fight those guys.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m telling you, he\u2019s the greatest featherweight of all time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we love Jose Aldo. I know we love Max Holloway.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut (Volkanovski) just won his eighth UFC featherweight title fight.<\/p>\n

\u201c(He\u2019s got) four victories against Holloway and Aldo, the two other guys considered the greatest featherweights of all time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the best in the world, and he\u2019s as good as they come.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guy is tremendous, and I really don\u2019t see him slowing down anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, UFC executives have finally confirmed an upcoming London showcase will be headlined by those same two men considered next up for Volkanovski \u2013 Evloev and Murphy.<\/p>\n

The promotion announced Tuesday that the unbeaten featherweights will have top billing on an O2 Arena card on March 22.<\/p>\n

For Evloev, the event ends a hiatus of some 16 months, having last defeated Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310 in December 2024.<\/p>\n

Murphy, meanwhile, is coming off a UFC Knockout of the Year contender against Aaron Pico at UFC 319 last August.<\/p>\n

In the UK London co-main event, Paddy Pimblett\u2019s team-mate Luke Riley squares off against fellow lightweight Michael Aswell.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Michael Page makes his return to welterweight to face Sam Patterson, while Australia\u2019s new breakout heavyweight Brando Pericic faces Louie Sutherland in the preliminaries. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alexander Volkanovski\u2019s head coach has revealed how close his superstar came to missing last Sunday\u2019s UFC blockbuster, saying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455316,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[4972,2095,43476,64,63,689,234804,11308,112907,234812,234813,138385,234811,234805,17500,234809,797,234808,234810,112887,5330,687,234807,111464,234803,19972,234814,44862,61589,234279,2623,39840,145094,171239,1395,234815,28930,2627,673,2782,2041,2067,677,17498,234806,53238,234586,11298,85,51141,670,63678,130082,120987,2614],"class_list":["post-455315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-aaron-pico","tag-america","tag-anthony-mundine","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-brando-pericic","tag-brazil","tag-brazilian-diego-lopes","tag-brazilian-fighter","tag-brazilian-legend","tag-brazilian-rival","tag-breakout-heavyweight","tag-broken-feet","tag-charles-oliveira","tag-co-main-event","tag-daniel-cormier","tag-featherweight-debate","tag-featherweight-reign","tag-featherweight-title","tag-head-coach","tag-hospital-bed","tag-hypes-crowd","tag-injury-reveal","tag-injury-secret","tag-injury-update","tag-jason-house","tag-jean-silva","tag-joe-lopez","tag-jose-aldo","tag-las-vegas","tag-lerone-murphy","tag-lightweight-champ","tag-luke-riley","tag-max-holloway","tag-michael-aswell","tag-michael-page","tag-nevada","tag-new-south-wales","tag-nick-walshaw","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-oceania","tag-paddy-pimblett","tag-retired-american-champ","tag-rio-de-janeiro","tag-sam-patterson","tag-south-america","tag-sports","tag-steve-waugh","tag-sydney","tag-sydney-hospital","tag-title-reign","tag-title-win","tag-united-states-of-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}