Volkanovski claims featherweight belt at UFC 314 with unanimous decision over Lopes

MIAMI (AP) — Title fights are nothing new to Alexander Volkanovski.

His featherweight bout early Sunday morning against Diego Lopes was his 10th championship fight in a row, but Volkanovski had been in a slump in which he had lost three of his past four matches.

He left little doubt against Lopes at UFC 314, winning by unanimous decision. Two judges scored the fight 49-46 and the other had it 48-47.

“It's good to be back,” Volkanovski said. “I promised my girls I would bring the belt back to them. It doesn't matter about bringing the belt back. The message was a lot of people counted me out.”

Volkanovski (27-4) had successfully defended his belt four times before moving up a weight class and losing to Israel Makhachev on Feb. 11, 2023. Then after reclaiming the featherweight title five months later over Yair Rodriguez, Volkanovski lost back-to-back matches.

Now he has championship back.

President Donald Trump, a longtime friend of UFC President and CEO Dana White and a fan of the sport, watched from the front row. Shaquille O'Neal approached Trump and shook his hand. Cabinet officials Tulsi Gabbard, Marco Rubio and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also were in attendance as was X (formerly Twitter) owner and White House adviser Elon Musk.

In the co-main event, No. 12 lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett continued his UFC rise with a technical knockout of No. 7 Michael Chandler at 3:07 of the third round. Pimblett, a 30-year-old from Liverpool, England, has won all seven of his bouts since moving to the organization, giving him a 23-3 record overall.

“I want that world title,” Pimblett said. “Some say I'll never be champ, I'll never get run, I'll never be in the top 10. But what now?”

At nearly 39, Chandler has some decisions to making after winning just two of his most recent seven bouts. He is 23-10.

Featherweight Bryce Mitchell, who fought for the first time since praising Adolf Hitler and denying the Holocaust on a podcast, was also on the card. He later backed off his comments and though White heavily criticized Mitchell, he didn’t discipline him.

Mitchell was little match for Jean Silva in their featherweight fight. Silva won by submission with a guillotine choke with 1:08 left in the second round.

Volkanovski, despite getting cut below his right eye in the second and being floored by an overhand right in that round, dominated the first three rounds. But Lopes' glove caught Volkanovski's other eye in the fourth round and then pounced, but failed to put him away.

That set up the fifth round and, barring a knockout, Volkanovski appeared on his way to victory even though Lopes spent much of the fight verbally challenging him and inviting him to box. Theatrics to the contrary, Volkanovski was the aggressor.

Volkanovski had hoped to get another shot at Ilia Topuria and avenge his loss from more than a year ago at UFC 298. But Topuria moved up to the lightweight division, leaving the featherweight class vacant.

In stepped Lopes, the third-ranked challenger, to take on Volkanovski, the 36-year-old from Australia. Lopes, a 30-year-old from Brazil, was in first title bout.

“Maybe I came up short on the technical piece,” Lopes said through an interpreter. “I can see myself coming back. I have only two years in this organization, and I think I'm going to train better. I'm going to get better."

Volkanovski was a -160 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook to defeat Lopes (26-7), whose five-match winning streak ended.

In preparing for Lopes, Volkanovski said he fully committed himself by beginning training camp earlier than usual and focusing on the workout recovery process and dieting in addition to the physical demands. He said he has never been this lean going into a bout.

Volkanovski had plenty of reason for wanting to get to work. He took an extended layoff after losing in February 2024 to Topuria. More than that, he’s coming off defeats in three of his past four fights, including losing the two most recent matches. All four fights occurred in less than a year, so he was much more rested.

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Diego Lopes, left, and Alexander Volkanovski, right, battle during a mixed martial arts fight at UFC 314, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Diego Lopes, left, and Alexander Volkanovski, right, battle during a mixed martial arts fight at UFC 314, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Alexander Volkanovski, left, and Diego Lopes battle during a mixed martial arts fight at UFC 314, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

President Donald Trump, from left, Elon Musk, his son X Æ A-Xii, and from background left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard attend a mixed martial arts fight at UFC 314, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

President Donald Trump waves to the crowd as he arrives at a mixed martial arts fight at UFC 314, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Michael Chandler, left, and Paddy Pimblett , right, battle during a mixed martial arts fight at UFC 314, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Michael Chandler is bloodied during his fight against Paddy Pimblett in a mixed martial arts fight at UFC 314, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Paddy Pimblett reacts after defeating Michael Chandler during a mixed martial arts fight at UFC 314, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — An independent expert will review security at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence after investigators accused a man of scaling a wall and setting fire to the mansion, state police said Wednesday.

State police said the review will be a risk and vulnerability assessment of the governor’s official residence following the arson attack, which caused extensive damage and forced Shapiro and his family to flee.

Authorities allege Cody Balmer scaled an iron security fence, eluded police and set the residence ablaze early Sunday morning. Investigators were combing his background to try to determine any motive for the attack, including whether it had anything to do with the Democrat's politics or Jewish faith.

In court on Monday, Cody Balmer denied having any mental illness and described himself as an unemployed welder with no income or savings. A judge denied bail and ordered him held on charges including attempted homicide, terrorism and arson. He did not enter a plea.

Balmer told police he planned to beat Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he encountered him after breaking into the building, according to court documents filed in this latest case of violence against political figures in the U.S.

Balmer, 38, had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but didn’t believe the assessment, his brother, Dan Balmer, told The Associated Press. He said he twice helped Cody get treatment at the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute.

Dan Balmer said his brother had displayed concerning behavior, including the night before the fire, when he flipped over a table at the home where Cody Balmer lived with their parents.

Balmer appeared to have carefully planned the attack and was inside the residence for about a minute before escaping, police said. Authorities allege that after scaling a nearly 7-foot-high (2-meter-high) security fence, he broke two windows and set a room on fire using Molotov cocktails made from beer bottles filled with gasoline.

The fire caused significant damage and forced Shapiro, his family and guests, including other relatives, to evacuate the building early Sunday. The residence, built in 1968, did not have sprinklers, and the damage could be in the millions of dollars, Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline said.

Shapiro said he, his wife, their four children and another family had celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover on Saturday night in the same room. They were awakened by state troopers pounding on their doors at about 2 a.m. Firefighters extinguished the fire and no one was injured.

Balmer said he had walked for an hour to reach the governor’s residence, and during a police interview “admitted to harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro,” according to a police affidavit that did not expand on that point.

Balmer turned himself in at state police headquarters after confessing to his former partner and asking her to call police, the affidavit said.

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Contributors include Associated Press reporter John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

This image provided by Commonwealth Media Services shows damage after a fire at the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside on Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (Commonwealth Media Services via AP)

This image provided by Commonwealth Media Services shows damage after a fire at the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside on Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (Commonwealth Media Services via AP)

This image provided by Commonwealth Media Services shows damage after a fire at the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside on Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (Commonwealth Media Services via AP)

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro pauses during a news conference at the governor's official residence discussing the alleged arson that forced him, his family and guests to flee in the middle of the night on the Jewish holiday of Passover, Sunday, Apr. 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)