Alexander Volkanovski noted some improvements in Diego Lopes at UFC 325.
Volkanovski (28-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) outpointed Lopes (27-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) for the second time in Saturday’s main event at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, successfully defending his UFC featherweight title. Having now faced the Brazilian contender twice in just nine months, Volkanovski said Lopes at least tried to bring something new to the table the second time around, despite again losing on the scorecards.
“He did make a few different changes,” Volkanovski told reporters at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “He tried to work a few things, he was flicking the kicks out, trying to cut off (the cage) a bit better. He was doing some different things, shooting as well.
“He's still got a pretty well-rounded game when it comes to knowing everything, all aspects. But he's going to get better at putting it all together. He won't have to rely on just that chin sooner or later.”
Just as he did in their first meeting at UFC 314 last April, Volkanovski picked Lopes off from distance over 25 minutes, using his superior footwork to make the challenger miss over and over before countering with his own strikes.
“It's always going to be dangerous when you're (fighting) that type of guy,” Volkanovski said. “It's just unfortunate that he had to fight me for the two title fights. I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean like... I know how to work the octagon, footwork, I can do all these things and take advantage of that with him. A lot of the other guys won't be able to do that for 25 minutes. They won't be able to make the adjustments that I can.
“So it's unfortunate because if he had 10 rounds with anyone else, they ain't doing what I did for them 10 rounds. So it's unfortunate in a sense. He'll be back. He's still young enough. He'll be back.”
