UFC 314 In the book, Alexander Volkanovsky defied multiple trends when he became a two-time champion.
On Saturday, in the main event of UFC 314, Volkanovski won the decisive decision against Diego Lopes and regained his featherweight title. “The Great” became the first fighter under 155 pounds to win UFC gold at the age of 35, and did so after consecutive knockout losses.
Additionally, in the co-main event, Paddy Pinblett delivered his career performance against Michael Chandler, and Jean Silva crueled Bryce Mitchell in their passionate matchup.
So we talked a lot about moving away from the latest pay-per-view entries, and MMA once again gained brain trust and analysed the big topics coming out of UFC 314.
1. What are your reviews for UFC 314 blurb?
Heck: It shows what happens when the product is delivered and the UFC actually puts its effort into. So do we when they care. All solid A grade.
Martin: This is the best card of the year so far, and it’s not particularly close. The old ones are featherweight and newer once again, and the UFC may have finally found a new superstar named Conor McGregor.
Lee: We have returned orders to Featherweight, one of MMA’s marquee divisions, taking the Paddy Pimblett Show to the next level.
mesh: Because man that’s right What a good MMA event looks like! For a long time since the UFC tried so hard to make really good cards, every time they do it, it’s just as fun as Saturday. I hope they do it more often.
2. Does Alexander Volkanovsky’s recovery title mean _____?
Lee: The featherweight division can be moved from Ilia Toplia.
I can’t lie. He’s as excited as Topria’s prospects as he’ll fight Islamic Makachev. Part of me is disappointed to find out that Topria can’t watch her take on a legendary run at 145 pounds. Movsar Evloev, Jean Silva, Lerone Murphy, and even UFC rookie Aaron Pico, predicted he would be a compelling challenger for Topuria, but the seduction of the two divisions has improved. To his achievement, he left the title without any problems, and the UFC 314 main event tied a neat bow in this chapter of his story.
So we returned with Alexander Volkanovsky. When Volkanovski handed the torch to Topuria, this is probably another opportunity for him to create his own indelible legacy while at the same time giving him similar friction to one of the aforementioned challengers.
It’s a new day with the old and familiar faces that lead the charging.
Heck: Movsar Evloev was the second biggest winner in the UFC 314 division and didn’t even have to fight.
Before you get there, the tip of the cap will be Volkanovsky. The man is MMA’s Pedro Martinez – anytime he can look like the best he’s ever had, but even if he doesn’t have his A+, something indifferent, the man can still deliver. He stuck to it (mostly) and had a stunning game plan despite giving up on the double to remove proverb base in two innings, but Volkanovski settled down to complete the outing beautifully.
As for Evloev, UFC 314 could have been a really bad night for him. Yair Rodriguez won as he did, but while dominant, fans didn’t want him to generally play a title fight. However, with Volkanovski’s victory, only his team, Rodriguez, and his close relatives of “Elpantera,” are interested in the rematch. Evloev is planning on getting a chance to fight for UFC Gold.
Martin: He is a featherweight goat now.
Now, the immediate pushback to that statement is, “Jose Aldo… defending the featherweight title seven times, which is what Volkanovsky probably never matches.” There’s nothing wrong with regard to title defense streaks, but Volkanovski makes history as the first fighter jet for ages 35 and above. Volkanovski is currently a two-time champion, and yes, Aldo lost his belt to Conor McGregor and effectively achieved the same thing when he regained the title and regained the title after the Irish superstar disappeared from the division.
Still, Volkanovski does it at age 36 and is very impressive to face young guns like Diego Lopez. He has now won seven of his eight UFC featherweight title fights, and his defeat to Ilia Topuria was rough, but he wasn’t dropping his chin enough to be flattered by McGregor in 13 seconds. Honestly, there’s no wrong answer, but for me, Volkanovski solidified his position in history with that victory on Saturday.
mesh: I’m not going to dig into Damon Martin’s ridiculousness. Talk to me when Volkanovski has nine title defenses. You can then discuss the goat status. Even Volkanovski himself knows what’s going on.
And the truth is, Volkanovski means a few things, meaning regaining the title. First of all, it is he is an exceptional fighter. Volkanovski was one of the 10 best fighters of all time, and Saturday was the magnificent feathers of the already mounted cap. True all-timers have elite performances even when they’re not the best anymore, and Volkanovsky is definitely that.
However, Volk has regained its title, but is it meaningless? I hate to downplay that achievement – because it’s definitely one thing – but for fighters other than those who are loved like Volk, we all agree that he is a “bad” outcome, as Topuria is still the champion. Certainly, he left the title free, but I am old enough when John Jones was there to dismiss Daniel Cormier’s entire light heavyweight reign.
Volkanovski is currently a legitimate UFC champion, but he is not the best featherweight in the world. If Topria loses his first fight at 155, he may soon return. Most of the time, my biggest point is how lame it is to have Topuria bailed to his title.
3. What’s next for Paddy Pimblett?
Heck: I might be on the island here, but if I’m Uncle Dana and the crew, Paddy is next fighting for the belt.
Obviously, there is a lot going on and there could be changes over the coming months, and many questions will be answered after UFC 315. However, even if Beral Muhammad holds the welterweight title against Jacques de Rama Dalena, UFC Book Islam Makachev vs. Iliatopria will need to win a lightweight belt, pinbullet. If JDM wins, when Makhachev moves to 170, it is Pimblett in the free belt of Topuria vs. Pimblett.
The UFC was a brilliant match-maid with “Baddy” and did so in the way his confidence and overall skill set grew dramatically. Paddy isn’t just saying something anymore, she really believes it.
Can you throw a pinblet with Charles Oliveira or Ahman Zarkian? of course. But why are you trying to put it at risk when you’re in front of you? What if Paddy loses the title fight? He’s still a star and still has a big fight. He can still face other names and probably has a very successful career. Do that!
Lee: I’m proud to have predicted Pimblett vs. Tony Ferguson and Pimblett vs. Michael Chandler correctly, but I’m not that confident this time.
It’s Charles Oliveira.
How do you get here? The process of elimination.
Islamic Makachev? It’s surprisingly reasonable. Especially when asking yourself what the possibility is, you either give Ahman Zarkian another chance (Dana White has already shot down) or ride a wave of pinblets. After Saturday, the answer is obvious, but I think it’s still too early.
Dustin Poilier or Justin Gettege? Pimblett may finally intrigue them, but we don’t know if he meets Poirier’s “Legacy Fight” standards.
So Oliveira is like that. It’s a fun stylistic matchup, a true test, and even Pinblett’s solid critic can’t poke the hole if he can actually beat the former lightweight champion. And if Oliveira stops the Pinbullet Parade, the rematch with Makhachev is so justified.
Martin: I definitely won’t dislike Paddy’s suggestion about fighting Charles Oliveira next, but why am I confused – book him against Ilia Topria and have fun.
Now that he’s moved to 155 pounds, it wasn’t my favorite option as much as Topria points to getting an immediate title shot. It was very impressive that he defeated a pair of legends with Alexander Volkanovsky and Max Holloway, but Topria has not really cleared the division and one title defense really does not guarantee he will get the next crack at Islamic Makhachev.
Of course, Topuria could have been as easily thrown away as he would win a title shot alongside Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, but he has a history with Paddy, which would be a massive battle. It will likely be the biggest non-title fight since UFC staged Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz in a string of battles where the UFC sold all of its pay-per-views.
Yes, you’ll remove one of them from the title conflict, but the concept is so tired and old. Dustin Poilier was “excluded” from the title fight less than a year after Geche lost his head in 2023. So, book Paddy vs. Ilia right away and start the hype!
mesh: Before UFC 314, Pimblett vs. Chandler said Ilia Topuria Derby. I agree with Damon. This is the best business decision. They have ready-made rivalries. Both men are sharp figures of title conflict, and the losses are not catastrophic. If I’m the UFC, that’s the fight I’ve booked.
But things changed on Saturday night if I booked the fight I wanted to see with Jed alone. I wasn’t a big Pinblet fan, but the guy got consistently better every time. On a Saturday night he may have turned the corner. Pinblet has a bit of Doricus du Plessis inside him, but I think I’m on Team Paddy now. And as a new Instated member of Pimblett Posse, I would like to see the battle of Charles Oliveira. Paddy destroys Chandler in a way that Oliveira couldn’t do at all, and the stylistic matchups there suddenly became very interesting.
4. Who is the biggest loser in UFC 314?
Heck: As my colleagues mention, others are certainly ranked highly, but the Patricio Pitbull will be my answer.
Watching the Pitbull at the UFC Octagon on Saturday was surreal, but my biggest fear of the signature, and my matchup with Rodriguez, became clear as soon as the battle began. Pitbull has many miles on him, and although he can still win the UFC fight, certainly he will not do so near the title. There aren’t many people in the top 15, and many of the athletes outside of it would choose a pit bull for me to beat right now.
One of the Pitbull’s most important weapons has always been speed, but he does not have that advantage over most of the division. Rodriguez was warp speed compared to Bellator legends, but the level of competition between the two fighters in the past few years is day and night. Hopefully, the UFC can give Pitbull a good chance to win before he throws into the outlook of the buildings of the UFC magical land.
Martin: I really hate the word “loser” but who’s lost the most in UFC 314? It’s easy to do with Michael Chandler.
If there is one thing Chandler can wear a hat after starting his UFC career with a 2-4 record, then all of his losses came in the fight for Bernburner against the former champion. He went to war with Charles Oliveira (twice), Justin Gesche and Dustin Polier. None of them were bad defeats, he was giving him as good as he got with all of them.
That wasn’t the case with UFC 314.
Certainly, Chandler had some decent moments early, but his gas tank was running low and Paddy Pinblett passed through him. The fight wasn’t particularly close, but it wasn’t even that exciting. Currently, he is 38 years old with a 2-5 record in the UFC, and after this loss he may be barely clinging to the top 15 rankings. Dana White called Chandler Arturo Gatti of the UFC, but does anyone remember how his career ended? He went 1-3 in the final four fights and was knocked out by the infamous pillow input Floyd Mayweather.
Lee: You have to feel Darren Elkins, a true MMA lifeform that must be seen written on the wall as clearly as “damage” written on his chest.
The loss is nothing new to Elkins, who made his 30th UFC appearance on Saturday, and is not used to taking long-term beat hits (he’s back to winning!). However, there was something very uncomfortable about how he came across a fight with Julian Erosa after clipping early on his fight with Julian Erosa and then finished a sequence of defenseless strikes. It’s hard to imagine that everyone is watching it. I’m not wondering whether Elkins should consider his 41st birthday to be embarrassing for a month.
Of course, the real loser of the contest was referee Mike Bertrand. Mike Bertrand continues to stumble and run through slow stops, even as warriors like Drew Dover rely on him to protect them. Yesterday I revoked my Bertrand license.
mesh: I’ll go to Diego Lopez because he’ll never get another shot like that again. Lopez became a beloved featherweight division after his honorable defeat as he ran up Movsar Evloev and subsequent Weight Class, but I was concerned that he was heading for this fight and they all showed up. Lopez doesn’t have many ideas because he’s as dangerous as possible.
Plus, I think Lopez is awake today. Twice on Saturday, he hurt Volkanovski in the second and fourth rounds and instead of going to break, he unhooked Volkanovski from the hook. Well, certainly, some of them can be attributed to Volk for being familiar and tough, but part of that is that they don’t push the problem onto the rope. Never on Saturday, Lopez did not fight the urgency that suited his style.
5. Who was the hero in UFC 314?
Lee: Virna Jandiroba has entered UFC 314 as the Strawweight Division No. 1 competitor and left UFC 315 as the Straw -Wight Division No. 1 contender.
Though Jandirova’s tough matchup with Jan Xiaann, she made the most of the opportunity and showed off her elite grappling towards a clear decision. This isn’t just a Jan Dirova holding serve, but the talented Brazilian fighter made things easier for the UFC matchmaker as he was even more convinced that if Zhang moved to Flyweight to pursue the second title, he would be a persuasive challenger for Zhang Weili, or half of the vacant title fight would become fans.
Even with the strange arrangement in the preliminary part of the pay-per-view, Jandi Roba’s victory over Yang was well received by the Miami crowd (although most of the other grappling-heavy contests, he portrays boos).
Heck: Give me Dominic Reyes – mostly because his incredible story was covered on Saturday night.
Reyes’ combat career was left dead at UFC 281 in November 2022. People were scared to see Reyes fight anyone after being brutally knocked out on a three-game winning streak. The 35-year-old was becoming Mount Rushmore’s “what-if” in UFC history, but now he’s got three knockouts in a row.
It’s not a top-of-minded outing, but Reyes had the best finish of the entire event, excavating Nikita Krillov right into the bones of his face with his left hand, as Krillov was running to him. But unfortunately there is no bonus.
The emotions poured into Reyes were amazing to see, and it could have been a bonus enough for him to see. In my opinion, then give him Carlos Ulberg. If he wins, give him a last chance to win the belt. Because if he achieves that goal, it might be one of the coolest things we’ve seen in sports.
Martin: No one has done his career over the past week as much as Pound Pound, Jan Silva.
Paddy Pimblett Mauling Michael Chandler is a big win, but Silva lost himself to a new level of stardom after choosing to fight Bryce Mitchell. It’s not too subtle from laughing him as flat land Inglourious Basterds Reference leading up to the battle, Silva was playing chess, but everyone else was playing the checkers. Four knockout wins on his record allowed Silva to easily target a higher ranked opponent and take a similar route to his teammate Carlos Prato, who is about to find four fights in his UFC career in his first event.
But instead, Silva saw the opportunity to wait for Mitchell to be almost universally despised (at least a day or two) after the abominable comments he made about Hitler and the Holocaust in January. Silva then proceeded to Mitchell’s style, unconsciously choking him in the second round. With Colby Covington smashing his jaw outside Kamal Usman, Silva produced the most famous results in recent history with the way Mitchell puts him to sleep on Saturday, and now a bigger and better fight awaits him.
mesh: Come on, man! It’s Jansilva, not nearby.
Yes, “The Lord” is an extra ton of extras and can be quite horny, but aside from being a very great fighter, the man made the UFC 314 his. He spoke all the mess of garbage and put himself out there in the way that if Bryce Mitchell beat him, he might never have eased it. Instead, Silva cried out to Mitchell from the opening bell, then slept with him. dirty Ninja Chalk.
Saturday was Jean Silva’s comening party. Let’s enjoy the ride.