Alexander Volkanovski has said he will be in “scary” form against Diego Lopes, as the pair prepare to fight for the vacant UFC featherweight title.
That move comes after just one title defence by Topuria, who knocked out Volkanovski to win the gold last February and retained it with a KO of Max Holloway in October.
The former champion will fight Lopes for the vacant 145lb title, after Topuria’s shock move to drop the belt.
We originally thought it was gonna be Ilia or Lopes, I was just preparing for Ilia, because we did the face-off [in the cage, after Topuria beat Holloway].
Mexico’s Lopes, 30, will enter UFC 314 on a five-fight win streak, which includes victories over Brian Ortega, Dan Ige and Sodiq Yusuff in his last three outings.
