Saturday night in Sydney, Australia, Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski returns to his home country to defend his UFC Featherweight title against Diego Lopes. Volkanovski became a two-time 145-pound champion in his last fight, defeating Lopes by unanimous decision at UFC 324 in April 2025. This card also includes two top 15 matchups in the Lightweight division: No. 6 Dan Hooker vs. No. 8 Benoit Saint Denis and No. 9 Rafael Fiziev vs. No. 14 Mauricio Ruffy.
Here are my three best bets for Saturday’s UFC 325 event.
Alexander Volkanovski Moneyline (-155)
After suffering back-to-back knockout losses to Islam Makhachev, Volkanovski proved that he is still capable of greatness when he got back on track against Lopes. In the UFC, Volkanovski is 7-3 in title fights and would tie Jose Aldo for the most UFC Featherweight title wins if he can get past Lopes once again.
Lopes has a knockout victory over Jean Silva since his first fight with Volkanovski. Even though Lopes is an impressive fighter while possessing a ton of power, this matchup still favors Volkanovski. Lopes is a good striker, but Volkanovski is an incredible striker and one of the best in Featherweight history. Volkanovski averages over two more significant strikes per minute (6.18 vs. 4.10) than Lopes does while being more efficient (56% vs. 48%).
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the defending champion is a -155 favorite with Lopes being a +130 underdog. If Volkanovski can put out a high volume on the feet while not allowing Lopes to land any big shots, he should be successful. Volkanovski only landed one of 11 takedown attempts in his first fight against Lopes and should continue to use this area in this matchup.
Mauricio Ruffy Moneyline (-120)
The first lightweight contest on this card is an intriguing fight between Rafael Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy. This fight will most likely take place on the feet as both fighters are primarily strikers. Fiziev lands more significant strikes per minute (4.77 vs. 3.84), with Ruffy being the more efficient striker (57% vs. 52%).
Since Ruffy is the taller fighter (5’11” vs. 5’8″) with a larger standing reach (75″ vs. 71″), it will likely cause issues for Fiziev on the feet. Ruffy should be able to dictate the pace of this contest with his twitchy style. Before his previous fight, Ruffy won seven straight bouts, with six of them coming by knockout.
Fiziev is a powerful striker as well, but lately he hasn’t been as aggressive. After spending time with the City Kickboxing team, a new and improved version of Ruffy will likely appear in this contest. Ruffy is a -120 favorite in this contest, with Fiziev being the underdog at +100.
Cam Rowston to Win in Rounds 1-2 (-135)
Another member of the City Kickboxing team fighting on this card is Cam Rowston, who is facing Cody Brundage on the Prelims. In 2025, Rowston went 3-0, including a win on Dana White’s Contender Series and a victory in his UFC debut against Andre Petroski in September. Rowston is currently on a five-fight winning streak, with his last loss coming against Torrez Finney, who is also competing on this card.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Rowston is -375 with Brundage at +295 to pick up the victory. Since 12 of Rowston’s 13 victories have come by finish, he is -185 to beat Brundage via KO/TKO/DQ or submission. Rowston has won back-to-back fights in the first round, and four of his previous five have come in the first or second round. In his MMA career, nine of his 13 victories have come in the first two rounds, making my favorite bet Rowston to win in Rounds 1-2 at -135.
