The Trilogy is a column about three recent goings-on in the UFC world, designed to be a fun and informational view into the fights and outside-the-octagon news. Without further ado, welcome to The Trilogy!
“IT’S TIME,” for this week’s edition of The Trilogy. Looking ahead to UFC 314 in Miami, there are two fights that the world will be watching: Volkanovski vs. Lopes for the UFC Featherweight Title and Pimblett vs. Chandler in the co-main event. We’ll also take a look at another fight on the main card in Rodríguez vs. Pitbull. Without further ado, let’s get into the octagon!
Volkanovski vs. Lopes
In a hastily sprung about fight after former Featherweight champion Ilia Tuporia vacated his title to move up to the Lightweight division, the No. 1 contender Alexander Volkanovski will step into the ring against the No. 3 contender Diego Lopes.
Volkanovski is an interesting fighter. Also known for his cooking abilities, Volkanovski has fought for the belt in each of his last nine fights. He initially won the belt against Max Holloway back in 2019, and defended the Featherweight belt successfully five different times, beating Holloway twice as well as Chan Sung Jung and Yair Rodríguez, both by knockout. But more recently, he lost to current pound-for-pound No. 1 Islam Makhachev twice while trying to obtain a second belt and got slept by Tuporia, ending a title reign that lasted a little over four years.
He is a scrappy fighter that thrives in the standup game, with 13 knockouts and seven first round finishes in his UFC career. But Volkanovski’s main issue is that he is not great at defending takedowns, only doing so 70% of the time, which is something that his opponent will likely try to take advantage of.
Lopes will be the man on the other side of the octagon. The Brazilian can do it all, with 10 knockouts and 12 submissions, but he is known for his groundwork. He has submissions in nearly every position, making his prior opponents tap to knee bars, heel hooks, arm bars, triangle chokes and the classic rear-naked choke. Despite not being good at defending takedowns, that almost works in his favor as a second-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. When being taken down to his back, Lopes becomes extremely dangerous from the bottom position, especially against opponents like Volkanovski, who might not be the best in grappling. Lopes can easily trap his opponents on the ground, and if they give up their neck, it could lead to major trouble and a quick tap from even the top grapplers in the world. Look for Lopes to try and stay on his feet, but quickly move to the ground if the bout seems like it’s taking a turn against him at any point.
Chandler vs. Pimblett
The co-main event for the evening will be between Michael Chandler and Paddy Pimblett.
Chandler certainly has a resume of going up against some big fighters, and while Pimblett might not be in that category yet, he will still most definitely pose a challenge. The one card playing to Chandler’s advantage is that he has already fought against debatably the top BJJ fighter in all of UFC in Charles Olivera—twice. Ironically for Chandler, the first time he fought Olivera, which was for the Lightweight belt back in 2021, he got knocked out late in the second round. In odd fashion, Chandler was also recently submitted by one of the UFC’s top strikers in Dustin Poirier. Coming off two straight losses and slipping in the rankings, this is a must-win fight for Chandler if he wants to stay relevant in the rankings.
Pimblett, on the other hand, is an electric fighter that just keeps surprising fans with each win he puts under his belt. He has earned a performance of the night bonus in four of his six fights in UFC, most recently with a first-round submission victory over King Green to make himself the No. 12 contender. In that fight, Pimblett countered a takedown into an immediate guillotine choke, which he quickly transitioned into a triangle choke. With that triangle, Pimblett threw a few huge elbows before grabbing Green’s arm and combining the choke with an arm bar before the official stepped in to stop the fight.
Pimblett should continue to look for submission opportunities, as that presents his best chance of winning. He is still strong on his feet, but sometimes makes mistakes in the stand-up game that leaves opportunities for his opponents to punish him. Pimblett would love to make himself a top 10 contender with a statement against a solid opponent in No. 7 contender Chandler.
Rodríguez vs. Pitbull
A sleeper fight on the card, the aforementioned Rodríguez will face Patrício Pitbull in the latter’s UFC debut.
Rodríguez is the No. 5 contender, which means that this will be a crucial important fight for both sides, as Pitbull will look to prove that his dominance in Bellator MMA will transfer over to his new company. Rodríguez is a balanced fighter, thriving in his ability to mix in both punches and kicks as well as working on the ground with some efficiency. If he wants to win though, he should look to stay up in the air—and it’s not because Pitbull is necessarily a master on the mat.
Instead, it is because the two have exponentially different body types, with Rodríguez standing six inches taller than Pitbull and possessing a nearly identical reach advantage. This means that the former Bellator champion will have to work in the pocket more and push inside of Rodríguez. This will eliminate the reach advantage, and in some ways lower the height advantage as well. Pitbull has the strength to win with 13 TKOs under his belt, but if worse comes to worst, he can also work to the ground as well with 11 submission victories to his name.
Either way, fireworks will fly in Miami as these two featherweights go at it on Saturday, with the main card starting at 7 p.m.