UFC 325 Preview
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is live TONIGHT (Sat., Jan. 31, 2026) with the second numbered event of the Paramount+ era. UFC 325 is the first Paramount+-streamed event to take place outside the United States. Indeed, we’re in Australia for this one, inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe main event tonight is Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes 2 for Volkanovski’s UFC Featherweight title. The Aussie recaptured that belt with a decision win over Lopes last year (watch highlights). That was a pretty exciting fight, with the crafty Volkanovski showing he had too much for the rather one-note Lopes.
Lopes said he has “fixed many things” for this fight, though.
The co-main event tonight is Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis in the Lightweight division. Hooker got the brakes beat off him by Arman Tsarukyan in one of the final events of 2025. Since then, he said he just wants to spoil other guys title chances. Saint-Denis — who sparked out Beneil Dariush recently — will hope to keep his title aspirations intact through Saturday.
UFC 325’s main card also has Rafael Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy. Both those guys are coming off losses. Fiziev lost a decision to Justin Gaethje last year. We just saw that Gaethje is still pretty damn good. Ruffy was dominated by Saint-Denis in his last fight.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRounding out the main card is Tai Tuivasa vs. Tallison Teixeira and Quillan Salkilld vs. Jamie Mullarkey. Tuivasa has been out for awhile, after suffering his fourth loss in a row. Teixeira is looking to rebound after his quick loss to Derrick Lewis in his debut main event last year. Salkilld has made a big impact in UFC with two thunderous knockouts. He’s got a countryman as his short-notice opponent in Sydney.
UFC 325’s “Prelims” are headlined by Junior Tafa vs. Billy Elekana. There are some pretty good prospects on the undercard tonight. Cam Rowston will get tested by Cody Brundage. And Jonathan Micallef has a tough fight scheduled with Oban Elliott. The early “Prelims” has a slew of Road to UFC fights, the 20 year-old Sangrangbo might be one to keep an eye on (and not just for potential betting irregularities).
UFC 325 Start Date and Time
It’s the same as last week, folks.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIf you are in the United States you can watch all of UFC 325 with Paramount+ right here. The early ‘Prelims’ start at 5 p.m. ET. The late ‘Prelims’ start at 7 p.m. ET. and the main card kicks off at 9 p.m. ET.
I will be providing live play-by-play, instant results, highlights and updates for all the fights right here from 5 p.m. ET. onward.
I hope you join us! Please say hi in the comments and chat it up with your fellow readers/fans.
UFC 325 QUICK RESULTS
Main card145 lbs.: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes
155 lbs.: Dan Hooker vs. Benoit Saint Denis
155 lbs.: Rafael Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy
265 lbs.: Tai Tuivasa vs. Tallison Teixeira
155 lbs.: Quillan Salkilld def. Jamie Mullarkey by submission (rear naked choke), round 1 (3:02) — HIGHLIGHTS
205 lbs.: Billy Elekana def. Junior Tafa by submission (rear naked choke), round 2 (3:18) — HIGHLIGHTS
185 lbs.: Cam Rowston def. Cody Brundage by TKO (ground and pound), round 2 (4:08)
185 lbs.: Jacob Malkoun def. Torrez Finney by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
170 lbs.: Jonathan Micallef def. Oban Elliot by technical submission (rear naked choke), round 2 (3:31) — HIGHLIGHTS
145 lbs.: Kaan Ofli def. Yizha by majority decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
155 lbs.: Don Mar Fan def. Sangwook Kim by unanimous decision (30-27. 30-27. 30-27)
145 lbs.: Keiichiro Nakamura def. Sebastian Szalay by TKO (knee), round 3 (3:28) — HIGHLIGHTS
135 lbs.: Lawrence Lui def. Sulangrangbo by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
UFC 325 PLAY-BY-PLAY UPDATES
Main card
Tai Tuivasa vs. Tallison TeixeiraRound 1: Coming Soon…
Round 1: Mullarkey didn’t seem intimidated by Salkilld at all. He chased the youngster and looked to pressure him, immediately with his wrestling. He got him down once and then spent a lot of time with a body lock on him against the fence. However, from that position, Salkilld executed an athletic body drop takedown to slam Mullarkey down. He then got the back and quickly tapped him out with a rear naked choke. Kid looks for real.
Official decision: Quillan Salkilld def. Jamie Mullarkey by submission (rear naked choke), round 1 (3:02)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPrelims
Junior Tafa vs. Billy Elekana: It was all Junior Tafa in the first round. He hurt Elekana a few times and looked like he might have been able to finish Elekana in this fight. In the second, though, Elekana woke up. He stunned Tafa with a shot. Then, when he took him down, he took the back easily and scored the fight ending choke.
Official result: Billy Elekana def. Junior Tafa by submission (rear naked choke), round 2 (3:18)
Cam Rowston vs. Cody Brundage: Rowston showed his debut win over Andre Petroski was no fluke. He danced around and landed at will against Brundage, who never got out of first gear (much to the dismay of his corner). Rowston was able to drag Brundage down in the second and put him away with ground and pound.
Official decision: Cam Rowston def. Cody Brundage by TKO (ground and pound), round 2 (4:08)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJacob Malkoun vs. Torrez Finney: Malkoun dominated Finney with his striking in this fight. He hit him early and hit him hard and Finney was mostly a sitting duck after that. Finney, who might have torn his calf in the fight, showed some desperation in the last round with some big swings, but he couldn’t get himself out of the hole. Malkoun got a shut out on my card.
Official decision: Jacob Malkoun def. Torrez Finney by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Early Prelims
Jonathan Micallef vs. Oban Elliott: Elliott started the fight really well, lighting up Micallef with punches and showing he had the speed advantage. Elliott was a little reckless, though. He got caught with a big punch at the tail end of the round. In the second round Micallef got a takedown and quickly took the back. On the back Micallef locked on a choke and put Elliott to sleep! He then mocked Elliott, striking his trademark pose over top of him.
Official decision: Jonathan Micallef def. Oban Elliot by technical submission (rear naked choke), round 2 (3:31)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKaan Ofli vs. Yizha: That was a fun back and forth fight. Ofli did a lot of good things, but he couldn’t keep up with Yizha’s power. Yizha really hurt Ofli in the second round and could have gotten a 10-8. The third was close, but Yizha scored some key takedowns. I scored the fight 29-28 for Yizha.
Official decision: Kaan Ofli def. Yizha by majority decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Don Mar Fan vs. Sangwook Kim: Dom Mar Fan fought with a lot of confidence and character. He also looked quite polished for a Road to UFC prospect. He landed a number of nice shots, including spinning elbows. Sangwook Kim was ultra tough, but he couldn’t find a way through with his offense. There was some excellent sportsmanship in this fight and Mar Fan feels a like a guy who could win over a lot of fans. I had him winning every round.
Official result: Don Mar Fan def. Sangwook Kim by unanimous decision (30-27. 30-27. 30-27)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSebastian Szalay vs. Keiichiro Nakamura: Szalay looked like a UFC ready product in the first two rounds, tagging Nakamura with combos and getting a couple of knockdowns. But in the third, Nakamura willed himself forwards and started landing shots. With around a minute left Nakamura landed a big knee to get the come from behind finish.
Official decision: Keiichiro Nakamura def. Sebastian Szalay by TKO (knee), round 3 (3:28)
Sulangrangbo vs. Lawrence Lui: Sulangangbro showed some good quickness and threw nice combos. But Lui walked forwards the entire fight and was able to mix his striking with takedowns. I think he also benefited from having good coaching from Eugene Bareman in the corner. I scored it 29-28 Lui.
Official decision: Lawrence Lui def. Sulangrangbo by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLive stream begins at 5:30 p.m. ET. …
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