UFC President Dana White made several announcements on social media, revealing the main events for UFC 314 and UFC 315. In Miami, Alexander Volkanovski will face Diego Lopes for the undisputed featherweight title, while in Montreal, Belal Muhammad defends his welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena.
The highly anticipated fight between Volkanovski and Lopes is set to take place after a 14-month hiatus for Volkanovski. The Australian’s return comes as he seeks two-time champion status, with Diego Lopes being the hottest fighter in the division outside of his long-time rival Ilia Topuria.
Lopes burst onto the scene in mid-2023, earning five wins in 13 months to catapult himself into the featherweight title picture. His most-recent effort was a dominant three-round beatdown of Brian Ortega at UFC 306.
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White also mentioned that Topuria is vacating the featherweight title, with his next fight to be announced on a later date. The current champion will vacate the belt until the first round starts in Miami.
Joining the featherweight title bout is a pair of intriguing matchups. First, Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett faces former lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler, while Yair Rodriguez welcomes Patricio Pitbull to the Octagon in another major featherweight bout.
In Montreal, Muhammad defends his welterweight title against Della Maddalena, who was initially slated for a fight with Leon Edwards. However, this change came as a surprise, and Della Maddalena is more than deserving of the shot at gold after collecting seven wins in seven Octagon appearances.
The flyweight title fight between champion Valentina Shevchenko and France’s Manon Fiorot also takes place in Montreal. Shevchenko regained her belt after a year-and-a-half, three-fight saga with Alexa Grasso, while Fiorot has long been seen as a contender-in-waiting since making her Octagon debut in January 2021.
Stay tuned to UFC.com for any updates regarding fights and events.
Source: https://www.ufc.com/news/dana-white-announces-ufc-314-ufc-315-main-events-volkanovski-lopes-muhammad-della-maddalena