Topuria opted to leave his 145-pound title behind for a move up to lightweight. As a result, Volkanovski (26-5 MMA, 13-4 UFC) will battle Diego Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) for the vacant title in Saturday’s UFC 314 main event ( ESPN+ pay-per-view) at Kaseya Center from Miami.

Alexander Volkanovski ushered in his second reign as UFC champion after getting the better of a game Diego Lopes. Paddy Pimblett thrust himself into the spotlight with a shockingly dominant win over Michael Chandler. There's also Jean Silva's rising star to address, and the failed debut of former Bellator champ-champ Patricio Pitbull.

This is the UFC 314 live blog for Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes, the featherweight championship main event Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami. In the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, Volkanovski (26-4) holds the No.