By FCF Staff

Alexander Volkanovski has lost three of his last four fights and will turn 37 later this year. But, Diego Lopes isn’t expecting to face a diminished fighter at UFC 314.

Lopes has been booked to fight Volkanovski at the April 12th card for the vacant, featherweight crown, after Ilia Topuria vacated the belt recently to make a run at lightweight.

The bout will mark the first time Volkanovski (26-4) since he was knocked out by Topuria in February, 2024. That fight followed the Australian star’s KO defeat to lightweight champ Islam Makhachev in October, 2023.

Due to those defeats, and because of Volkanovski’s age, some have questioned whether the legendary featherweight’s best days are behind him. But, while speaking to Hablemos MMA recently, Lopes dismissed that notion (quotes via MMA Junkie.com).

“I think it’s a wrong opinion by people. A lot of people are forgetting what Volkanovski has done in the division. We’re talking about him getting knocked out by Ilia, and that certainly is going to take away, but if we look at the fight outside of that, he was having the better moments with his distance, his jabs, and all that. He’s a guy that only has one loss in the division, and that was his last fight, which was a title fight. So throughout his entire career, and he’s got like 30 fights, he only has one loss at 145 pounds.

“I’m by no means looking at him past his prime because he has a ton of experience, has fought against the best in the world, and we all know what he’s capable of. I’m waiting for the best version of Volkanovski on April 12.”

The 30-year-old Lopes (26-6), meanwhile, is coming off a decision win over Brian Ortega in September and has won five straight. The last man to defeat the Brazilian contender was Movsar Evloev, who recorded a decision win over Lopes in May, 2023.

UFC 314 will take place in Miami, Florida.