A huge night of action awaits us in Miami, Florida this Saturday as UFC 314 gets under way at the Kaseya Center, where the UFC featherweight title will be on the line.
Let's take a look at the fights making up the pay-per-view portion of the card at UFC 314 this weekend.
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes (UFC Featherweight Championship)
Former champion Alexander Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) will be competing in his tenth consecutive UFC title fight on Saturday, as he aims to reclaim the belt he lost to Ilia Topuria early last year.
After suffering devastating knockout losses to Topuria and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev over the past 18 months, the Australian is looking to become the first fighter in UFC history to win an undisputed championship after back-to-back defeats.
A determined Volkanovski spoke this week about not leaving any stones unturned during his training camp for this fight. "The comeback is going to be real", he told reporters at the pre-fight media day. "This is sh*t people write books about and movies about."
Standing in Volkanovksi's way on Saturday will be Diego Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC). 21 of the Brazilian's 26 wins have come inside the distance, and with 3 stoppages already in his short UFC career, he certainly has the power to cause problems for Volkanovski this weekend.
Paddy Pimblett vs. Michael Chandler (155 pounds)
UK star Paddy Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC) gets a big step up in competition this weekend when he faces Michael Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) in the co-main event.
Former Cage Warriors champion Pimblett has yet to taste defeat inside the Octagon, and having recently gatecrashed the lightweight rankings finds himself rewarded with a match-up against former Bellator champion Chandler on Saturday.
18 of Chandler's 23 career wins have come inside the distance and he has picked up 5 performance of the night bonuses in his UFC career so far.
Pimblett has stopped 4 of his 6 UFC opponents to date, with 3 of those wins coming by way of submission.
Bryce Mitchell vs. Jean Silva (145 pounds)
A classic striker-versus-grappler contest takes place in the middle of the main card, as Bryce Mitchell (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) takes on surging Brazilian Jean Silva (15-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC).
"Thug Nasty" has picked up 6 decision wins so far inside the Octagon. His only submission victory came by way of a twister, which puts him in an exclusive 3-man club alongside Chan Sung Jung and Da'Mon Blackshear as the only fighters to secure a UFC finish with that specific technique.
Jean Silva gets a quick turnaround following his impressive first-round knockout win over Melsik Baghdasaryan in February. 14 of the Fighting Nerds star's 15 career wins have come by way of stoppage, and he has finished all 4 of his UFC opponents to date.
Yair Rodriguez vs. Patricio Pitbull (145 pounds)
Former Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull (36-7) makes his UFC debut this weekend against former interim champion Yair Rodriguez (19-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC).
Rodriguez will be looking to end the first losing streak of his career this wekend, having suffered defeats at the hands of Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega in his last two fights.
Pitbull enjoyed 4 seperate reigns as Bellator champion, and is the owner of the most fights (30, wins (24) and stoppages (15) in the history of the now-defunct organization.
Nikita Krylov vs. Dominick Reyes (205 pounds)
A resurgent Dominick Reyes (14-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) will be on the hunt for a third consecutive knockout finish having put way both Dustin Jacoby and Anthony Smith in less than a round in 2024.
The former light heavyweight title challenger had been on a four-fight losing streak prior to that turnaround, and faces the returning Nikita Krylov (30-9 MMA, 11-7 UFC) on Saturday. Krylov's last fight happened in March of 2023, where he picked up a submission win over Ryan Spann.
