Volkanovski vs Lopes 2, Hooker vs Saint Denis, Fiziev vs Ruffy Fight Picks – UFC 325 – January 31, 2026

Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes 2

• Alexander Volkanovski
• Age: 37
• UFC Record: 13-1 at 145 lbs. 13-3 overall.
• Key Wins: Knocked out The Korean Zombie and Chad Mendes. Beat Diego Lopes, Brian Ortega, Max Holloway thrice, and Jose Aldo.
• Striking: near plus plus (75)
• Power: near plus (65)
• Wrestling: near plus plus (75)

• Diego Lopes
• Age: 30
• UFC Record: 5-3
• Key Wins: Knocked out Jean Silva, Sodiq Yusuff and Pat Sabatini. Submitted Gavin Tucker, Marcos Beltran, and a 14-3 grappler. Beat Brian Ortega.
• Striking: near plus plus (75)
• Power: near plus plus (75)
• Wrestling: near plus plus (75)
• Grappling: plus (70)

If you watch the first Volkanovski vs Lopes fight, it looks close. Volkanovski clearly landed more, out struck Lopes 142 to 59. Crazy numbers. But Lopes seemed to do more damage. And there have been fights when Volkanovski looks like he has top of the scale 80 striking where he really runs up the score. But his striking tool is inconsistent. It’s hovered between a 75-80 the last few years. And even if Lopes’ striking wasn’t a 75 in that first Volkanovski fight, I’m pretty sure the tool is a 75 now. I know for sure Bryce Mitchell has 70 grappling. No doubt about it. And he couldn’t get Jean Silva to the ground. Thus, I know for sure Silva’s wrestling is a 70. Therefore, with Lopes being able to out wrestle Silva in his last fight, I’m comfortable grading his wrestling a 75. And lastly, Volkanovski talking about retirement means we need to bake that risk into the cake. Possible regression. Volkanovski hasn’t fought in almost a year, has had only 2 fights in the last 2 years. Ultimately, I think the main differentiator in this fight is that both careers here are going in opposite directions.

Chris’ Pick: Lopes by 1st round knockout.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Lopes -135

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Dan Hooker vs Benoit Saint Denis

• Dan Hooker
• Age: 35
• UFC Record: 10-5 at 155 lbs. 13-9 overall.
• Key Wins: Knocked out Claudio Puelles and James Vick. Beat Al Iaquinta and Nasrat Haqparast. Split decision wins over Mateusz Gamrot, Jalin Turner, and Paul Felder.
• Striking: plus (70)
• Power: plus (70)
• Wrestling: plus (70)

• Benoit Saint Denis
• Age: 30
• UFC Record: 8-2 at 155 lbs. 8-3 overall.
• Key Wins: Submitted Mauricio Ruffy, Ismael Bonfim, Niklas Stolze, a 4-0 striker, an 8-1 grappler, a 6-2 striker, and a 15-4 striker. Knocked out Beneil Dariush, Matt Frevola, Thiago Moises, Gabriel Miranda, and a 13-4 grappler.
• Striking: plus (70)
• Power: plus (70)
• Grappling: plus (70)

Chris’ Pick: Saint Denis by split decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Saint Denis -135

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Rafael Fiziev vs Mauricio Ruffy

• Rafael Fiziev
• Age: 32
• UFC Record: 7-4
• Key Losses: Majority decision loss to Justin Gaethje.
• Key Wins: Knocked out Rafael dos Anjos, Brad Riddell, and Renato Moicano. Beat Ignacio Bahamondes, Bobby Green and Marc Diakiese.
• Striking: plus (70)
• Power (70)
• Wrestling: plus (70)

• Mauricio Ruffy
• Age: 29
• UFC Record: 4-1
• Key Wins: Knocked out King GreenJamie Mullarkey, a well rounded 10-1 fighter, Ronys Torres, and a well rounded 11-4 fighter. Beat James Llontop.
• Striking: plus (70)
• Power: plus (70)
• Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Ruffy by 2nd round knockout.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Ruffy -125

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Tai Tuivasa vs Tallison Teixeira

• Tai Tuivasa
• Age: 32
• UFC Record: 8-8
• Key Losses: Submitted by Serghei Spivac.
• Key Wins: Knocked out Derrick Lewis, Augusto Sakai, Greg Hardy, and Cyril Asker. Beat Andrei Arlovski. 
• Striking: near plus (65)
• Power: near plus (65)
• Wrestling: above average (60)

• Tallison Teixeira
• Age: 25
• Pro Record: 8-0
• UFC Record: 2-0
• Key Wins: Knocked Justin Tafa, out a 6-1 striker and a 4-1 striker.
• Striking: near plus (65)
• Power: near plus (65)
• Wrestling: above average (60)

Chris’ Pick: Teixeira by 1st round knockout.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Teixeira -135

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Quillan Salkilld vs Jamie Mullarkey

• Quillan Salkilld
• Age: 26
• Pro Record: 10-1
• UFC Record: 4-0
• Key Wins: Knocked out Nasrat Haqparast, Anshul Jubli, a 3-1 grappler, and a 6-1 striker. Submitted a well rounded 4-1 fighter. Beat Yanal Ashmouz and a 9-1 striker.
• Striking: plus (70)
• Power: plus (70)
• Wrestling: plus (70)

• Jamie Mullarkey
• Age: 31
• UFC Record: 6-6
• Key Losses: Knocked out by a 5-6 striker.
• Key Wins: Knocked out Devonte Smith, Khama Worthy, and a 4-1 wrestler. Beat Rolando Bedoya and John Makdessi. Split decision over Michael Johnson
• Striking: near plus (65)
• Power: near plus (65)
• Wrestling: near plus (65)

Mullarkey out struck Bedoya 40 to 37, so it looks like his 65 striking and also his 65 wrestling have returned. But Bedoya doesn’t have much power and I still don’t trust Mullarkey’s chin.

Chris’ Pick: Salkilld by 1st round knockout.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Salkilld -300

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Junior Tafa vs Billy Elekana

• Junior Tafa
• Age: 29
• UFC Record: 2-3
• Key Wins: Knocked out Sean Sharaf, Parker Porter, and a 6-1 striker.
• Striking: above average (60)
• Power: above average (60)
• Wrestling: a little above average (55)

• Billy Elekana
• Age: 30
• Pro Record: 9-2
• UFC Record: 2-1
• Key Wins: Submitted Kevin Christian. Knocked out a 4-0 striker and another 4-0 striker. Beat Ibo Aslan, a well rounded 5-1 fighter. Split decision over a 5-2 wrestler.
• Striking: near plus (65)
• Power: near plus (65)
• Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Elekana by 1st round knockout.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Elekana -400

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Cameron Rowston vs Cody Brundage

• Cameron Rowston
• Age: 30
• Pro Record: 13-3
• UFC Record: 2-1
• Key Wins: Knocked out Andre Petroski and a 5-0 striker.
• Striking: near plus (65)
• Power: near plus (65)
• Wrestling: above average (60)

• Cody Brundage
• Age: 31
• UFC Record: 5-7-1
• Key Draws: Fought Mansur Abdul-Malik to a draw.
• Key Wins: Knocked out Julian Marquez, Zachary Reese and Tresean Gore. Submitted Dalcha Lungiambula and a 4-1 grappler. Split decision loss to Eric McConico.
• Striking: above average (60)
• Power: above average (60)
• Wrestling: near plus (65)
• Grappling: above average (60)

Chris’ Pick: Rowston by decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Rowston -175

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Jacob Malkoun vs Torrez Finney

• Jacob Malkoun
• Age: 30
• UFC Record: 4-3
• Key Wins: Knocked out Andre Petroski. Beat Nick Maximov, AJ Dobson, and Abdul Razak Alhassan.
• Striking: near plus (65)
• Power: a little above average (55)
• Wrestling: plus (70)

• Torrez Finney
• Age: 27
• Pro Record: 11-0
• UFC Record: 4-0
• Key Wins: Knocked out a 7-1 striker and a 5-1 grappler. Submitted a 7-0 grappler. Beat a well rounded 8-2 fighter. Split decision over Robert Valentin.
• Striking: above average (60)
• Power: above average (60)
• Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Malkoun by decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Malkoun -225

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Jonathan Micallef vs Oban Elliott

• Jonathan Micallef
• Age: 26
• Pro Record: 8-1
• UFC Record: 2-0
• Key Wins: Submitted a 5-0 grappler and a 13-4 striker. Beat Kevin Jousset, a well rounded 4-1 fighter, and a 7-1 grappler.
• Striking: above average (60)
• Power: average (50)
• Grappling: above average (60)

• Oban Elliott
• Age: 28
• UFC Record: 4-1
• Key Wins: Knocked out Bassil Hafez. Beat Preston Parsons, Valentine Woodburn and a well rounded 6-2 fighter. Majority decision over a 17-4 striker.
• Striking: near plus (65)
• Power: a little above average (55)
• Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Elliott by decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Elliott -250

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Kaan Ofli vs Zha Yi

• Kaan Ofli
• Age: 32
• Pro Record: 11-4
• UFC Record: 1-2
• Key Wins: Submitted Ricardo Ramos and a 6-1 striker. Beat a 5-2 wrestler and another 5-2 wrestler.
• Striking: above average (60)
• Power: average (50)
• Grappling: near plus (65)

• Zha Yi
• Age: 28
• UFC Record: 6-2
• Key Losses: Split decision loss to Jeong Yeong Lee.
• Key Wins: Knocked out Westin Wilson and a well rounded 8-3 fighter. Submitted Kaiwen Li and a well rounded 9-1 fighter. Beat Sang Won Kim. Split decision wins over a 13-5 striker and a well rounded 10-3 fighter.
• Striking: above average (60)
• Power: above average (60)
• Wrestling: above average (60)
• Grappling: a little above average (55)

Chris’ Pick: Yi by 2nd round knockout.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Yi -135

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Dom Mar Fan vs Sang Wook Kim

• Dom Mar Fan
• Age: 25
• Pro Record: 8-2
• UFC Record: 2-0
• Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 4-0 fighter. Submitted a 4-1 striker. Beat Jae Hyun Park and a well rounded 11-0 fighter.
• Striking: above average (60)
• Power: average (50)
• Grappling: near plus (65)

• Sang Wook Kim
• Age: 32
• Pro Record: 13-3
• UFC Record: 3-1
• Key Wins: Submitted Yawei Ren. Knocked out a well rounded 6-0 fighter.
• Striking: above average (60)
• Power: above average (60)
• Grappling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Kim by split decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Kim -125

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Keichiro Nakamura vs Sebastian Szalay

• Keiichiro Nakamura
• Age: 27
• Pro Record: 7-1
• UFC Record: 2-0
• Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 9-1-1 fighter. Beat Kaiwen Li.
• Striking: near plus (65)
• Power: above average (65)
• Wrestling: above average (60)

• Sebastian Szalay
• Age: 31
• Pro Record: 10-1
• UFC Record: 2-0
• Key Wins: Knocked out Chang Min Yoon. Beat Jieleyisi Baergeng, an 8-0 wrestler and a 6-0 wrestler. Split decision over a 4-0 grappler.
• Striking: near plus (65)
• Power: a little above average (55)
• Wrestling: above average (60)

Possible Szalay is tapping into more power but he still only has 2 knockouts in 10 pro wins.

Chris’ Pick: Nakamura by split decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Nakamura -125

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Sulangrangbo vs Lawrence Lui

• Sulangrangbo
• Age: 20
• Pro Record: 10-3
• UFC Record: 2-0
• Key Wins: Knocked out Peter Danesoe. Beat Sim Kai Xiong.
• Striking: above average (60)
• Power: above average (60)
• Wrestling: above average (60)

• Lawrence Lui
• Age: 29
• Pro Record: 7-1
• UFC Record: 2-0
• Key Wins: Knocked out Van Y Ngheim and a well rounded 6-2 fighter.
• Striking: above average (60)
• Power: above average (60)
• Wrestling: above average (60)

Chris’ Pick: Sulangrangbo by 2nd round knockout.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Sulangrango -125

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Aaron Tau vs Namsrai Batbayer

• Aaron Tau
• Age: 32
• Pro Record: 11-1
• UFC Record: 2-1
• Key Wins: Knocked out an 8-0 grappler. Beat Shuai Yin.
• Striking: near plus (65)
• Power: near plus (65)
• Wrestling: near plus (65)

• Namsrai Batbayar
• Age: 24
• Pro Record: 9-1
• UFC Record: 2-0
• Key Wins: Submitted Agulali and a 5-1 wrestler. Knocked out a 7-1 striker.
• Striking: above average (60)
• Power: above average (60)
• Grappling: above average (60)

Either Agulali isn’t as good as we all thought or Batbayer is better than we all thought. Not sure which it is, but I think it’s most plausible that Agulali isn’t as good since we’ve seen so little of him. Could be wrong though.

Chris’ Pick: Tau by decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Tau -200