The UFC 314 Fight Card Is Insane!

Published by Paul Browne on February 20, 2025

Major Fight Announcements For UFC 314

Dana White stunned the MMA world on Wednesday night when he went live on Instagram to announce an avalanche of massive fights that are set to take place in the next few months.

One main event has been rearranged, a UFC title has been vacated, 3 new UFC championship bouts have been confirmed, a major new promotional signing has been announced and an absolute monster of a fight card for UFC 314 has been finalized.

In the briefest terms possible, here’s what you need to know:

Jack Della Maddalena is no longer fighting Leon Edwards at UFC London on March 22nd, and has been replaced by Sean Brady. Della Maddalena will instead challenge Belal Muhammad for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 315 which goes down in Montreal, Canada on May 10th after Dana White revealed that the original no. 1 contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov, is carrying an injury.
Valentina Shevchenko will attempt to defend her flyweight belt against Manon Fiorot in the co-main event at UFC 315.
Ilia Topuria will vacate the UFC featherweight title and move up to 155 lbs. No fight has been confirmed as of yet for “El Matador”, although it is heavily-rumored that he will fight Islam Makhachev for the lightweight strap during International Fight Week.
Former Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull has signed with the UFC and is booked for his debut (more on that below).

UFC 314 Fight Card Released

Keeping up so far?

Good…because all of this has led to an absolutely STACKED fight card for UFC 314 being announced. The event takes place in Miami, Florida on April 12th…let’s take a look at who’s going to be in action.

Main Event: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes (Vacant 145 lb Championship)

Topuria’s featherweight strap will officially be vacated once the first punch is thrown between former champion Volkanovski (26- 4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) and rising star Diego Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC).

Volkanovski had been heavily linked to a rematch against Topuria, but will instead get the opportunity to win back the belt he lost to the Georgian/Spaniard when he squares off against Lopes, who finds himself fighting for a title less than 2 years after his UFC debut.

Co-Main Event: Michael Chandler vs. Paddy Pimblett (155 lbs)

UK star Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC), who currently sits 12th in the lightweight rankings, will face 7th-ranked Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) with a massive fight against someone in the top 5 likely awaiting the winner.

Nikita Krylov vs. Dominick Reyes (205 lbs)

Krylov (30-9 MMA, 11-7 UFC), who’s riding a 3-fight winning streak, faces a resurgent Dominick Reyes (14-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC), who finally looks to have put his injury woes behind him.

Yair Rodriguez vs. Patricio Pitbull (145 lbs)

Brazilian veteran Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (36-7) finally gets the opportunity to showcase his skillset inside the Octagon after being granted his release by the PFL.

The former Bellator champion, who holds wins over the likes of Michael Chandler, AJ McKee and Juan Archuleta, faces 5th-ranked Yair Rodriguez (19-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) who challenged for Volkanovski’s title back in 2023.

Geoff Neal vs. Carlos Prates (170 lbs)

This one makes a ton of sense. After Prates (21-6 MMA, 4-0 UFC) dispatched of Neil Magny in November, it was only a matter of time before a fight contract with Geoff Neal’s name on it landed on his desk.

After all, the UFC have made a habit of feeding both Magny and Neal to their biggest welterweight prospects in quick succession, and just like Ian Machado Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov did before him, Prates will likely overcome “Handz of Steel” to break into the top tne at 170 lbs.