Things didn’t go as well as he hoped for UFC 324. While the fights were incredible, it was a true lesson in finding value. While we didn’t lay on Paddy Pimblett, the value was all on Justin Gaethje, and he proved to be the better fighter. Umar Nurmagomedov continued to prove that he lacks true finishing capabilities, and Alex Perez’s weight cut controversy worked in his favour as he finished Charles Johnson. Worst of all, Ateba Gautier was unable put on a show against Andrey Pulyaev. We go 0-4 on UFC 324, for a loss of -2.75 Units, but as always, we’ll make it all back as we move forward to UFC 325.
UFC 325 features a main event between Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes for the UFC featherweight title. This is a rematch after Volkanovski took the first fight in a technical war. The co-main event stars two exciting fighters, Dan Hooker and Benoit Saint-Denis, who should be throwing heavy and looking for a knockout. Let’s take a look at the entire main card, and don’t forget to check back later in the week for our UFC 325 best bets.
UFC Main Card Breakdown
Quillan Salkilld
1.09
7.75
Jamie Mullarkey
Quillan Salkilld has made a name for himself in a short while. He’s only 10-0 overall, but he’s 3-0 in the UFC with a head kick finish over Nasrat Haqparast last time out. He had a massive 2025 and is entering 2026 by fighting fellow countryman Jamie Mullarkey. He has power, mixes his strikes well, and seems to be getting better with every fight. At this number, it’s obvious that his stock is booming right now.
Jamie Mullarkey may have been in a real hotseat if he didn’t score a win against Rolando Bedoya last time out. He was coming off two losses in the first round and needed a win to get back in the UFC’s good graces. At just 31 years old, it’s obvious that the damage has been compounding over time, and his durability is a massive question mark. He’s been knocked out six times in his eight losses and tends to struggle against powerful volume strikers.
Mullarkey’s path to victory has to be the grappling. Salkilld has never been knocked out, but he’s been submitted in the past, and Mullarkey has resorted to wrestling when things get tough. If he chooses to stand and bang, things could end quickly, because he takes far too much damage and Salkilld always goes for the kill. On the flip side, Salkilld averages 7.77 takedowns/15 mins and could look to take it to the ground as well. There’s a clear gameplan for both fighters, but it will come down to who executes better.
Tai Tuivasa
3.45
1.32
Tallison Teixeira
Between 2022 and 2024, Tai Tuivasa has lost five straight fights, but is still getting a chance at UFC 325 against Tallison Teixeira. In his defence, Tuivasa fought Ciryl Gane, Sergei Pavlovich, Alexander Volkov, Marcin Tybura and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, all tough outs at the time. However, his development stagnated due to his lifestyle, and his exciting wins against lesser competition moved him up the ranks. He’s had plenty of injuries, but has taken to social media to show his athletic progress leading up to this fight. He’s always had power, but taking damage and lacking cardio have stopped him from gaining any traction earlier in his UFC career. He’s getting a hometown fight against Teixeira, but it’s no walk in the park.
Teixeira has to be motivated after his last fight. He took a loss against Derrick Lewis, but it wasn’t short of controversy. The referee ruled it a knockout, but people believe he should have been allowed to continue fighting. Before that loss, Teixeira was on a five-fight, first-round KO win streak, which included his Dana White Contender Series fight and his UFC debut against Justin Tafa. He’s tall, fights long, and packs a serious punch, which could pose serious problems for Tuivasa.
Even with Tuivasa putting in the work to show up better at UFC 325, this looks like a terrible fight for him. Teixeira will have an eight-inch reach advantage and is five inches taller, making it hard for Tuivasa to land the big blows on the chin. With a flash knockout being his usual path to victory, it seems the UFC is giving him one of the toughest tests on the roster, given his style. Teixeira will jab from the outside, use kicks, and find ways to frustrate Tuivasa as he struggles to get in his boxing range. With everything considered, it’s hard to see Tuivasa pull this one off.
Rafael Fiziev
1.98
1.84
Mauricio Ruffy
For hardcore MMA fans, this has to be one of the best fights on the card. Not only does the betting line show how close the fight is, but both guys have exciting styles and should go for the kill.
Mauricio Ruffy took a surprising loss to Saint-Denis after closing as a big favourite. While fans marvelled at his style, Saint-Denis went the grappling route and finished the fight via second-round submission. Ruffy is known for his unpredictable strikes and combinations, but Saint-Denis proved that game planning is the most important part of the fight. He’ll have a good reach advantage in this one, about four inches, and the only way Rafael Fiziev takes this fight to the ground is if he’s overwhelmed on the feet.
Fiziev took a loss to Gaethje in their rematch last year and won against Ignacio Bahamondes after that, but the most important takeaway is that he looked good after a tough injury. His defence was on point, we saw him sprinkle in some wrestling, and his striking has always been world-class. He’s a more technical striker, but has been able to land big against opponents in the past. His mix of kicks and punches is his best asset, and he’s most successful in the kickboxing range.
This fight is elite for striking fans, as both guys pack a punch, are technically sound, and can make their opponents miss. While Ruffy has a 60% striking defence, Fiziev maintains a 50% defense against much tougher competition. Both guys throw with volume, and while fans would hate to see this, Fiziev resorting to wrestling makes some sense in this fight. He had success against Gaethje, and Ruffy prides himself on his footwork and striking. Taking that away and forcing him to fight in the clinch and on the ground could be Fiziev’s best path to victory.
Dan Hooker
3.50
1.32
Benoit Saint-Denis
Dan Hooker is a character, but that shouldn’t take away from his fighting ability. While he’s taken losses over the course of his career, they’ve come against solid fighters at both weight classes. Last time out, he took on Arman Tsarukyan, easily the best lightweight contender right now, and got dominated. Before that, he was on a three-fight win streak. He’s a solid kickboxer, but his ability to keep it on the feet and fight with high volume for all three rounds is what keeps him in every fight. He’s a kill-or-be-killed fighter and now gets Saint-Denis coming off three-straight wins.
Saint-Denis is a great grappler, but his punching power made him popular in the UFC. As he took on better competition, the striking proved to be a harder means to an end. He was out-grappled by Renato Moicano, but came back well against Ruffy. He then knocked out Beneil Dariush in 16 seconds, earning back the respect of a power puncher. He had an incredible 2025, earning two bonus performances, and now gets another top fighter in Hooker to start 2026.
This fight is interesting because it will come down to a chess match. Saint-Denis has the power edge, but Hooker is a great striker in his own right. He fights with volume, should have the better defence, but Saint-Denis is no slouch. He throws more with better accuracy, but both guys take plenty of damage. This will come down to Hooker avoiding the ground and turning this into a technical kickboxing fight. He needs to maintain range to use his kicks, and avoid the boxing range and wrestling of Saint-Denis. Saint-Denis has all the finishing upside, but we’ve seen Hooker pull off big upsets like this in the past.
Alexander Volkanovski
1.64
2.30
Diego Lopes
The first time Volkanovski and Lopes fought, we saw vintage Volkanovski pull off a technical masterpiece to earn his belt back. Four months later, these two will run it back in the UFC 325 main event. What will be different? Lopes improves with every passing fight. Nobody expected him to finish Jean Silva the way he did, but his creativity and footwork helped him secure another title shot. There was some adversity against Silva, but Lopes weathered the storm and was able to find the best areas to take the fight. It was a masterclass in his own right after Silva dominated the division on his way to the title picture.
Volkanovski doesn’t have much time left, but he proved there’s more than enough left in the tank in the first fight against Lopes.
In his recent losses, it was the power factor against Ilia Topuria and the overall size and skill of Islam Makhachev that were too much. Those are two of the pound-for-pound elites in the UFC today, and it will take a lot for anyone to beat them. After a tough 2023, he also took the Topuria fight far too soon and was finished in the second round after holding his own in the first. Against Lopes, we saw a return to form where his footwork and versatility were on point. It’s how he beat Max Holloway in his prime, and it’s what makes him such a tough puzzle to solve. He has good low kicks, solid boxing, elite footwork and cage IQ. Even at 37 years old, Volkanovski continues to be a problem for rising stars.
For things to go differently in the second fight, Lopes needs to dictate the pace and find his way inside Volkanovski’s distance management. When you look at Topuria and Makhachev’s best performances, they were not afraid to enter the danger zone, and it paid off. If Lopes allows Volkanovski to dictate the pace and distance, it will be another long night. He has power, which is the most important path to victory at this point in Volkanovski’s career, but the only two fighters to ever land big against him are the two best fighters on the planet right now.
Volkanovski landed 159 significant strikes in their first fight versus Lopes’ 63. The reason why Holloway came close to beating him was by matching the volume. He also changed levels a lot, but only landed one takedown out of 11 attempts. While that’s a feather in Lopes’ cap, he needs to make the most of the time at a distance. If he can’t find his range and land big shots to put Volkanovski away, we could be looking at another masterclass performance from one of the greatest fighters in UFC history.
UFC 325 is the second numbered card in a row and should continue to start the year off with a bang. We get another solid lineup with great matchups and title implications for some. After this, there’ll be lesser-known fighters on smaller cards, so enjoy another packed card from the UFC. Keep it locked to SlotsFighter to get all the best bets for UFC cards, and don’t forget to follow SlotsFighter and SOOKY MMA on Instagram.
