![T.J. Dillashaw shares thoughts on predicting Diego Lopes to defeat Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314 [Image courtesy: Getty Images]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/04/dd78a-17448254873368-1920.jpg)
![T.J. Dillashaw shares thoughts on predicting Diego Lopes to defeat Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314 [Image courtesy: Getty Images]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAX/xAAVAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACA//aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAuWia/8QAJRAAAQMCAwkAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgEDBAASBSExBgcRFBUjNXPT/9oACAEBAAE/AMAwoNtX2eqx4suI80kxI0lLgBCEBu9iZ56cCpjc92G/DktuvJt/Ov/EABYRAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIAAf/aAAgBAgEBPwAHL//EABgRAAIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEDAAIx/9oACAEDAQE/AGMsMM//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
T.J. Dillashaw recently weighed in on why he believed Diego Lopes would defeat Alexander Volkanovski going into their vacant featherweight title fight. The former UFC champion admitted that his prediction was wrong and praised Volkanovski.
Volkanovski entered UFC 314 following back-to-back knockout losses to Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev, respectively. There was plenty of speculation ahead of his vacant title fight against Lopes, as many in the MMA community believed he would retire if he suffered a loss to the younger surging contender. 'The Great' silenced the doubters as he earned an impressive unanimous decision win to regain the featherweight championship.
During his latest appearance on JAXXON PODCAST, Dillashaw explained his reasoning on predicting Lopes would defeat Volkanovski. He mentioned that the surging contender had the advantage of being younger and hungry for success, while 'The Great' is an older competitor nearing the end of his career:
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"I thought Diego Lopes had a shot cause he's young, hungry and was gonna be after it. And people were second guessing that Volkanovski is 36-year-old and gonna come in and get the win after the losses he's had. But he proved he's Alexander 'The Great'."
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Check out T.J. Dillashaw's comments below:
T.J. Dillashaw opens up about fighters losing confidence after suffering knockout losses
T.J. Dillashaw also opened up about fighters losing confidence in their abilities once they have suffered a knockout loss.
During the aforementioned appearance, Dillashaw discussed the narrative surrounding Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314 and recalled his former foe Renan Barao being in a similar situation. He mentioned that Barao's confidence level was much lower in their rematch compared to their first encounter:
"It happens to some of the best of them. When I beat Barao, I felt like he went on the downslope because he started second guessing his talent when before I fought him, he was pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world... And then when he got beat, it's kinda like, 'Sh*t', then you start second guessing who you are... That's when it goes downhill."
Check out T.J. Dillashaw's comments below:
