“UFC really wanted Lopes” – Alexander Volkanovski addresses Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev getting snubbed for title shot in favor of Diego Lopes 

Alexander Volkanovski recently addressed his title rematch against Diego Lopes at UFC 325 and gave his thoughts on featherweight contenders like Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev getting overlooked.

Volkanovski is set to face Lopes in a featherweight title rematch on Jan. 31 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. In their previous encounter at UFC 314 in April, Volkanovski easily outpointed Lopes over five rounds to win via a dominant unanimous decision and took home the 145-pound title left vacant by Ilia Topuria after his move up to lightweight.

Given that contenders like Murphy and Evloev have made their mark in the division, many believe one of them should have been booked to face ‘The Great’. However, it appears the UFC was firm about giving Lopes another shot at the championship.

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Volkanovski admitted that there were “more deserving” contenders than Lopes:

“UFC really wanted Lopes, but at least everyone knows they’re in for a treat… With Movsar and Lerone, they’re more deserving. But are they gonna bring the fight like Lopes would? I think the fans are gonna appreciate the fight that me and Lopes are gonna have.”

Check out Alexander Volkanovski’s comments below (via Championship Rounds on X):

Lerone Murphy reacts to Diego Lopes securing Alexander Volkanovski title rematch

Lerone Murphy isn’t happy about being overlooked for a title shot and recently aired his frustration about Diego Lopes getting another championship opportunity against Alexander Volkanovski.

Murphy is coming off an impressive first-round knockout victory over Aaron Pico at UFC 319 in August and boasts an undefeated 17-0-1 record. While many thought Murphy’s KO win over Pico would earn him a title shot, the UFC seemingly had other plans.

Soon after the Volkanovski-Lopes fight was announced, Murphy reacted to the news in an X post:

“Missing the opportunity to fight one of the featherweight goats is what hurts me the most. It’s not about who’s the best anymore. It’s about who’s most popular.”