5 takeaways from UFC 314: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes

The UFC visited Miami, Florida last night for a major pay-per-view event. In the end, the event delivered everything fans hoped it would.

UFC 314: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes saw some entertaining fights, thrilling performances and a new champion crowned at 145 pounds.

With plenty of talking points, this is likely to be an event that fans will be discussing for some time. On that note, let's take a look at the five big takeaways from the event.

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#5. Dominick Reyes is back and might not be far from a UFC title shot

It seems hard to believe now, but when he lost to Ryan Spann in November 2022, many fans were calling for Dominick Reyes to hang up his gloves.

The former light-heavyweight title challenger seemed to be unable to arrest a slump that'd seen him lose four fights in a row, including three via TKO. At the very least, it felt like his UFC run was over.

Thankfully, the promotion had more faith in 'The Devastator' than that. Smartly, Reyes took a long period of time away following that fourth defeat, and didn't return until June 2024. Clearly, the break has done him good.

Reyes came into last night's event on the back of two straight wins via knockout, and made it a third by stopping Nikita Krylov in the main card's opening bout.

Krylov had not been stopped by strikes since 2013, but this was an absolutely wicked finish from Reyes. He waylaid 'The Miner' with a perfectly-timed counter left hand midway through the first round.

Based on his last three fights, Reyes is not only back to his best, but he actually might be better than he was during his initial run to the top. At this point, nobody should be surprised if he sneaks back into title contention.

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#4. Jean Silva is ready to face the elite at 145 pounds

Thanks to the bad blood that brewed prior to the fight, Jean Silva's bout with Bryce Mitchell was one of the most highly-anticipated at UFC 314.

In the end, despite Mitchell's assertion that God was on his side, 'Thug Nasty' was well beaten by his Brazilian foe.

Silva lit Mitchell up standing, hurting him on multiple occasions, and then finished him off with a slick ninja choke, slicing through his foe's vaunted grappling game. It was about as one-sided a clash as you'd see at the higher end of the spectrum.

'Lord' is now 5-0 in the octagon, has finished all of his opponents, and in all honesty he hasn't really been tested.

There's absolutely no disputing the fact that he's ready to take on the elite of the 145-pound division, and it's now up to the UFC to find him a tougher opponent. To see him challenge for the featherweight title before the year is out would not be a surprise.

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#3. Yair Rodriguez ruined Patricio Pitbull's UFC debut

Champions in rival promotions have often seen mixed results when entering the UFC for the first time. Unfortunately for former Bellator featherweight champ Patricio Pitbull, his octagon debut did not go as planned.

The Brazilian fell to Yair Rodriguez in what was, to be honest, a very disappointing performance from him.

His vaunted heavy hands, which he famously used to knock out Michael Chandler in the Bellator cage, never really came into play.

Instead, Rodriguez kept him on the end of his kicks for the majority of the bout, never letting him get comfortable. 'El Pantera' even dropped Pitbull in the third round, and although the former Bellator star survived, it was painfully clear who was about to get his hand raised.

Only time will tell whether Pitbull can recover from this loss to enjoy a fruitful UFC career, as the likes of 'Shogun' Rua and Gilbert Melendez did in the past. For now, though, it feels like he might've left this run at the top a little too late.

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#2. Paddy Pimblett showed that he's for real, but did Michael Chandler waste too much time?

With respect to Alexander Volkanovski, the most stirring performance at UFC 314 was produced by Paddy Pimblett in the night's co-headliner.

Many fans were writing off 'The Baddy' as he attempted to make a step up in competition against Michael Chandler.

In the end, though, not only did Pimblett step up, he did so big time. The native of Liverpool absolutely destroyed 'Iron', slicing him open and finishing him via TKO in the third round.

It's hard to convey how dominant Pimblett was in this fight. A first-round takedown from Chandler gave him no real issues, and on the feet, he landed plenty of damaging leg kicks.

Once he got on top in the second, he opened up with some vicious ground-and-pound, and Chandler looked exhausted at the end of the stanza. The third opened with a flying knee from Pimblett that cut Chandler badly on the left cheek, and from there, Pimblett landed a slam takedown and the finish came soon after.

The story of the fight, of course, will be that Pimblett is for real and absolutely proved himself as an elite-level lightweight.

That's absolutely true, but it may also be worth considering that Chandler may simply have wasted too much time waiting for Conor McGregor.

Chandler doesn't look like the same fighter anymore, and after last night, his spot as an elite 155-pounder is hanging by a thread.

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#1. Alexander Volkanovski's time off did him the world of good - he's back to his best

UFC 314's headliner wasn't the most exciting bout on the card, but it definitely ended in climactic fashion. When all was said and done, Alexander Volkanovski had reclaimed his throne at 145 pounds.

'The Great' was faced with the dangerous Diego Lopes last night, a fighter on a seriously hot streak.

More to the point, the Australian had not fought since losing his featherweight title to Ilia Topuria via KO just over a year ago. It was easy to see why many fans were writing him off.

However, Volkanovski looked back to his best last night, proving that a little time off was just what he needed to get his mojo back.

Lopes tried his best, even knocking the Aussie down late in the second round, but for the majority of the bout, he was second-best.

The Mexico-based Brazilian just couldn't cope with Volkanovski's jab, which landed over and over across the five rounds, both damaging Lopes and keeping him at bay.

Who is next for Volkanovski remains to be seen, as there's plenty of new blood at the top of the division, with old foes like Max Holloway and Brian Ortega seemingly on the way down.

However, this win helped to erase the memories of that Topuria loss - and reaffirmed Volkanovski's status as probably the greatest featherweight in UFC history.