Volkanovski vs Lopes, Muhammad vs Della Maddalena set | UFC news

UFC CEO Dana White delivered a series of major fight announcements via his social media channels, setting the stage for two stacked pay-per-view events.

At UFC 314 on April 12 in Miami, Alexander Volkanovski will make his return to the octagon to face rising star Diego Lopes for the now-vacant UFC featherweight title.

Former champion Ilia Topuria has opted to move up to lightweight, vacating the belt, which will officially become up for grabs once the first punch is thrown in this highly anticipated bout.

“Topuria has felt like he’s done all that he can in that division, and he feels like he’s cemented his legacy and his body cannot make the weight anymore,” White explained.

Volkanovski is looking to reclaim his crown after his knockout loss to Topuria at UFC 298, while Lopes, one of the division’s fastest-rising contenders, enters the fight on a five-fight win streak, including an impressive victory over Brian Ortega at UFC 306.

Currently, the top online bookmakers have marked Volkanovski as a -138.89 chance to reclaim his belt, while Diego Lopes is sitting as a close +110 outsider.

Also on the UFC 314 card, Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett (+110) faces his toughest test yet against former lightweight title contender Michael Chandler (-133.33) in a five-round co-main event.

“Chandler is a two or three-time lightweight champ in another organisation—he’s always fun—he’s fought six times in the UFC and won five bonuses,” White said, highlighting Chandler’s action-packed resume.

Pimblett remains undefeated in the UFC, and this fight could be his breakout moment.

The event will also feature Yair Rodriguez taking on Bellator legend Patricio Pitbull, making his UFC debut.

“For those of you who don’t know, Pitbull is a former two-division champion in another organisation, but recently he has publicly asked for his release, and now we get to see him compete against the best in the world,” White stated.

Rodriguez, one of the division’s most dynamic strikers, will be looking to prove himself against the highly touted newcomer.

The action continues at UFC 315 on May 10 in Montreal, where Belal Muhammad will make his first welterweight title defence against Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena with Marantelli Bet paying +165.

Originally slated to face Leon Edwards in London, Della Maddalena was moved into this title fight after undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov suffered an injury.

“We tried multiple times to put together the Belal Shavkat fight, but Rakhmonov is injured, so as soon as he’s healthy again, we’ll get him back in there and obviously he’ll probably be first in line to fight whoever wins,” White confirmed.

The co-main event at UFC 315 will see Valentina Shevchenko put her flyweight title on the line against France’s Manon Fiorot.

Shevchenko, widely regarded as the best women’s flyweight of all time, regained the belt in her trilogy bout against Alexa Grasso.

Fiorot, undefeated in her UFC career, will be looking to make history by becoming France’s first UFC champion.

Other notable matchups across the two events include Gilbert Burns vs Michael Morales at welterweight, Alexa Grasso vs Natalia Silva in the flyweight division, and a high-stakes light heavyweight bout between Nikita Krylov and Dominick Reyes.

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