Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) fights against Diego Lopes (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
UFC 314 delivered some memorable moments from Miami on Saturday night, from the crowning of a new (old) 145-pound champ to star-making performances for a few members of the next generation.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from Saturday’s UFC pay-per-view event:
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1. Father Time is going to have to work a little bit harder to bring Alexander Volkanovski down. Normally this is where you’d expect to see signs of a sharp decline. On the wrong side of age 35. Coming off back-to-back knockout losses. Up against a hard-charging youngster who’s bigger and stronger. In this situation, a lot of aging greats might end up finding out the hard way that their best years are in the rearview mirror.
But for Volkanovski, who recaptured the UFC featherweight title with a unanimous decision victory in the UFC 314 main event, these were just more challenges to overcome. Against Diego Lopes on Saturday night in Miami, he was the sharper technician and the smarter fighter. He knew exactly when to press and when to hang back and survive. He got his face split open in some inconvenient places and was reminded of a real difference in punching power more than once, but he never panicked or flailed.
He fought like a champion, in other words. And now, once again, he is one.
2. Diego Lopes is better than we thought — and every bit as tough as we expected. At the end of the first round he looked to be in over his head. He’d been too patient, hanging back and letting Volkanovski pick him apart. He seemed lost at times, like he wasn’t even sure where the punches were coming from.
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But at some point it was as if Lopes decided he didn’t really care. The punches could come. He almost welcomed them. If he was eating jabs at least that told him that Volkanovski must be out there somewhere, waiting to be hit back. Lopes’ best moments came when he could use his power to create chaos. A clean, orderly fight was not in his interests. And, in brief moments, he almost got the kind of fight he needed. It was only the champ’s veteran savvy that helped him restore order from the brink of bedlam.
There’s no questioning Lopes’ toughness or his heart after this. He still has room to grow in some areas, but already he’s come very far, very fast.
Diego Lopes showed his heart in a grueling loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
(Megan Briggs via Getty Images)
3. In a make or break fight for both men, Paddy Pimblett got made while Michael Chandler got broke. Admit it, even if you had Pimblett winning this, you didn’t expect it to look like that. He didn’t just beat Chandler — he ran him over. He surprised the entire MMA world by leaving us with the sight of Chandler gasping through blood in the third round, stuck under Pimblett’s mounted assault with all hope draining away.
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When this fight got made it seemed like a strangely brilliant one, mostly because neither guy could afford to lose it. Pimblett went way beyond simply winning it, though. He used the opportunity to make a very clear statement about how seriously he deserves to be taken as a real player in the UFC’s lightweight division.
Before Saturday, it would have felt almost like a joke for “Paddy the Baddy” to stand there calling for fights with Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. Nobody’s laughing now.
Paddy Pimblett, UFC lightweight contender? You better believe it. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
(Megan Briggs via Getty Images)
4, It was a bad night to be a Bellator import. Chandler got trucked. Patricio Pitbull started off his UFC career 0-1. The organization is officially dead and its former standard-bearers are struggling to carve out new careers.
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Pitbull’s unanimous decision loss to Yair Rodriguez wasn’t disastrous. He looked solid, though also a long way from his best self. The sad truth is that his move to the UFC might have come too late. Chandler has spent the last few years paying in blood just to learn a similar lesson. Guess it’s all on Aaron Pico’s still very young shoulders now.
5. Jean Silva may be a lot of things, but shy isn’t one of them. MMA can be such a diverse playground of weirdos at times. Such odd and unique characters find their way into that cage, don’t they? The moment you set eyes on Silva, you can tell that here is a person who is very comfortable being the center of attention, without an ounce of doubt of self-consciousness.
Here he got to be the hero who dispatched Hitler’s would-be fishing buddy, Bryce Mitchell, and he made it look as easy as it was fun. This was not a close fight. Mitchell was outclassed on the feet and in imminent danger every time the fight hit the mat. Normally, the grappling game is where he redeems himself. This time it was where he was eventually drowned, ending the night clinging to consciousness after tapping to a Silva choke in the second round.
Silva has a certain manic magnetism that you hesitate to call charisma, but it’s at least charisma-adjacent. He also seems very, very good at fighting — and he knows it. A guy like that could get far in this sport, barking all the way.
