Details of UFC 314 including start time and complete fight card with Volkanovski vs. Lopes headline fight.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back on the road for its latest pay-per-view (PPV) offering, as UFC 314 is set to go down later TONIGHT (Sat., April 12, 2025) inside Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Headlining the ESPN+-streamed PPV event is a Featherweight title fight as former champion, Alexander Volkanovski, battles Diego Lopes for the 145-pound vacant title. In the co-main event, Michael Chandler will take on Paddy Pimblett in a pivotal Lightweight affair.

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After losing his Featherweight title to Ilia Topuria over two years ago via knockout (see it again here), Volkanovski returns to action with the chance to win his belt back. It’s been a rough stretch for “The Great,” who is just 1-3 in his last four outings with a pair of losses to Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, joining his setback against “La Leyenda.” He has a chance to turn it all around with a big championship win against Lopes, but a loss would be catastrophic for the Aussie, who will undoubtedly start to hear whispers of being “washed” should he lose his third in a row. But, that’s just mixed martial arts (MMA) in an nutshell: Fans and media alike are quick to praise you as one of the greatest of all time one day, but are just as fast to jump off the bandwagon at the first sign of a slight decline. Nevertheless, “The Great” isn’t read to call it a day anytime soon, and another title to put on his mantle will prove that.

As for Lopes, the fan-favorite slugger is living the dream at the moment after a rocky start to his UFC career. He came up short in his debut fight against Movsar Evloev, but has since rattled off five straight wins, including taking out top contenders Dan Ige and Brian Ortega. The always-entertaining Brazilian bomber now has his eyes on the top prize, a shot he got a little faster than most expected seeing as how he made his debut a little under two years ago. But Lopes is more than deserving because he brings his all to the cage night in and night out. And when you can entertain as well as win, you get opportunities such as this. A few years ago many would have said this is a mismatch of epic proportions when Volkanovski was a dominant force at 145 pounds. Now, however, the scales have a tipped a bit and Lopes may be getting “The Great” at the right time due to his struggles. Still, Lopes knows not to take a fighter the caliber of Volkanovski lightly because things can get very ugly, very fast.

What’s Not:

Ige is currently riding a two-fight losing streak and is just 1-3 in his last four fights. “50K” could surely use a win tonight as he goes up against Sean Woodson, who has been enjoying nothing but success as of late, rattling off six wins inside the Octagon with one “No Contest.” I get that Ige is ranked No. 15 while Woodson is looking to break into the Top 15, but I hate the matchup based on sheer wins and losses as of late for each man. It’s almost a lose-lose situation for Woodson.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card:

A Welterweight bout between Gilbert Burns vs. Michael Morales was scheduled for this card before it was ultimately moved one month later to UFC 315, which is set to go down Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Injuries:

Geoff Neal was in line to face Carlos Prates on this card before he bowed out with an undisclosed injury. As a result, Prates was booked to face Ian Machado Garry on April 26 in the main event of UFC Kansas City.

New Blood:

Patricio Pitbull will finally make his long-awaited UFC debut when he takes on Yair Rodriguez. Pitbull has been eyeing a move to the promotion for a while now, and once Bellator MMA was put out to pasture by Professional Fighters League (PFL), he got his wish. Pitbull had long been known as the face of Bellator, competing for the promotion for the last 15 years of his career. During his time with the promotion, the Brazilian bomber amassed a 24-7 record, which includes 16 title fights and eight title defenses of the 145-pound strap. Now, Pitbull hopes to kick off his UFC career on the right foot in hopes to one day compete for the title.

The big question on everyone’s mind, however, is whether or not it’s too late for the 37 year-old veteran to make a run at the title in a division that is loaded with top-tier talent. We will find out soon enough because his first test is no walk in the park as he goes up against the very dangerous and exciting Rodriguez, who could use a big win himself. Indeed, “El Pantera” is currently riding a two-fight losing streak into this fight against the aforementioned Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. While he was finished in both fights (see here and here), Rodriguez is still a very dangerous foe for Pitbull, as he has secured several highlight reel finishes of his own (example here). Since Rodriguez is currently ranked No. 5 at Featherweight, a win will give Pitbull his ranking spot and put him on the fast track toward a title fight. This one should be good.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

No. 1 ranked women’s Strawweight contender, Yan Xiaonan, will attempt to make her case for a title shot when she battles Virna Jandiroba, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the division and is on a hot streak of four straight wins. The winner of this fight could very well be in line to face off against current division champion, Zhang Weili, who is coming off a dominant title defense over Tatiana Suarez.

After suffering back-to-back losses to kick off his UFC run, Tresean Gore has turned it around to win two straight. He looks to earn his third in a row when he goes toe-to-toe against Marco Trulio, who is on a nine-fight win streak and is coming off a big debut win against Ihor Potieria, knocking him out earlier this year.

Michał Oleksiejczuk has lost three straight fights and is 1-4 in his last five fights inside the Octagon. As for his opponent, Sedriques Dumas, he is 3-1 in his last four fights and is coming off a big win over Denis Tiuliulin. It drives me crazy when I see these types of matchups, a skidding fighter against a hot one. They simply do not make sense to me.

Darren Elkins is on the hunt for his first three-fight win streak inside the Octagon in seven years as he goes head up against Julian Erosa, who is also eyeing his first three-fight win streak in three years. This Featherweight showdown could steal the show since both of these men always go full speed ahead.

UFC’s very own iron man, Jim Miller, will step foot inside the Octagon once more when he battles Chase Hooper. It’s a matchup of old vs. new, and Miller wants to show the young pup — who is 16 years younger than him — that he still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, and isn’t ready to play stepping stone for anyone. This would be a huge win for Hooper, who is currently enjoying a four-fight win streak.

Kicking off the event will be a women’s Bantamweight fight between Nora Cornolle and Hailey Cowan. Cornolle is coming off a tough split-decision loss at the hands of Jacqueline Cavalcanti, he first loss inside the Octagon. As for Cowan, she came up short in her UFC debut against Jamey-Lyn Horth.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Mitch Raposo got off to a bad start to his UFC career after he lost a split-decision to Andre Lima at UFC 302. Now, he is out to secure his first win inside the Octagon when he takes on Su Madaerji, who has lost three straight fights. One more loss for “Tibetan Eagle” could very well spell the end of his UFC run. On the other hand, if Raposa goes 0-2 in his first two bouts for the promotion, his UFC career could be cut short, as well. It’s a must-win situation for both men.

Interest Level: 8/5 of 10

In the co-main event of the evening, Michael Chandler will face off against Paddy Pimblett in what is “The Baddy’s” biggest fight inside the Octagon to date. Pimblett is 6-0 under the UFC banner, but many have accused the promotion of protecting him from top-tier competition. But that is no longer the case as his fight against “Iron” is one that could catapult him into the Top 10, maybe even Top 5. For Chandler, a win over Paddy will give him some much-needed confidence because he is on a two-fight losing streak and is 2-4 with the promotion since making the jump over from Bellator in 2021. And that’s been the knock on Chandler for some time now; that he is entertaining as all heck but just can’t win the big fights. This is his opportunity to prove the doubters wrong and get a big win for his sanity. This one has all the makings of a classic and could very well steal the show.

Bryce Mitchell has become somewhat of a headline stealer over the last few months thanks to his over-the-top beliefs and controversial takes, like his one on Adolf Hitler, which prompted his boss to go in on him with the media, though it didn’t cost him his job. Inside the Octagon, “Thug Nasty” has cooled down some after starting off his career a perfect 15-0, including winning his first six fights under the UFC banner. Since then, however, he has gone 2-2, with his most recent win coming against Kron Gracie via technical knockout (TKO) last year (highlights here). But he has a very tall task ahead of him in Jean Silva, who has quickly become fan-favorite and a threat at 145 pounds. Silva has won all four of his UFC fights via stoppage, as the Fighting Nerds-team member is one of the most aggressive fighters in the division 9examples here and here). Facing someone liek Mitchell is right up his wheelhouse because “Thug Nasty” is also a push forward type of fighter, which gives us hope that this one could be entertaining.

It’s been over two years since we last saw Nikita Krylov compete inside the Octagon. Krylov — who is ranked No. 8 — last competed was last seen submitting Ryan Spann with a triangle choke in March 2023 (highlights). Per a recent report, it was revealed that he was out due to a shoulder injury, but he is now ready to return to his winning ways as he eyes his fourth straight win. He will be facing off against a rejuvenated Dominick Reyes, ho has turned it around after an awful four-fight losing streak to win two straight over Dustin Jacoby and Anthony Smith. Overall, this just feels like a fun fight card with the chances of delivering on all fronts, especially with the main card being as loaded as it is.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC 314 Fight Card:

UFC 314 Main Event on ESPN+ PPV:

145 lbs.: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes for vacant featherweight title

UFC 314 Main Card on ESPN+ PPV:

155 lbs.: Michael Chandler vs. Paddy Pimblett
145 lbs.: Bryce Mitchell vs. Jean Silva
145 lbs.: Yair Rodriguez vs. Patricio Freire
205 lbs.: Nikita Krylov vs. Dominick Reyes

UFC 314 Prelims Card on ESPN/ESPN+:

145 lbs.: Dan Ige vs. Sean Woodson
115 lbs.: Yan Xiaonan vs. Virna Jandiroba
155 lbs.: Jim Miller vs. Chase Hooper
145 lbs.: Darren Elkins vs. Julian Erosa

UFC 314 Early Prelims Card on Disney+/ESPN+:

185 lbs.: Sedriques Dumas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
125 lbs.: Su Mudaerji vs. Mitch Raposo
185 lbs.: Tresean Gore vs. Marco Tulio
135 lbs.: Nora Cornolle vs. Hailey Cowan

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

LIVE! Watch UFC 314 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

FEATHERWEIGHT MADNESS! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues its 2025 pay-per-view (PPV) schedule on Sat., April 12, 2025, with a high-stakes clash between Featherweight standout, Alexander Volkanovski, and rising contender, Diego Lopes, battling for Ilia Topuria’s vacated Featherweight title in the five-round main event. In UFC 314’s electrifying co-headliner from inside Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla., Lightweight fan-favorite Michael Chandler will face the brash Paddy Pimblett in a five-round co-main event. UFC 314 will also feature a must-watch, bad-blood Featherweight showdown between Bryce Mitchell vs. Jean Silva, alongside another 145-pound clash with Yair Rodriguez taking on promotional newcomer, Patricio Pitbull, and so much more! UFC 314’s start time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET (“Prelims” undercard) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV main card).

Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching action!

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