UFC 325 predictions and betting tips

By Deniss Novickis | Published: January 30, 2026

MMA fans can rejoice with a second numbered event in two weeks, as UFC 325: Volkanovski vs Lopes 2 lands in Sydney this weekend. The card isn’t as stacked as the last, but familiar names are present. Plus, we’ll see three Road to UFC Season 4 Tournament finals, spotlighting top Asian MMA prospects.

MightyTips provides UFC 325 betting predictions and tips ahead of the event at Qudos Bank Arena. This article forecasts each bout, identifies valuable betting spots, and advises on which fights to avoid for betting.

Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes will headline the UFC 325 card with a featherweight championship rematch. Volkanovski defeated Lopes by unanimous decision at UFC 314 in April 2025. Benoît Saint Denis will face crowd favourite Dan Hooker in the co-main event, while Rafael Fiziev and Maurício Ruffy battle it out in a featured fight, promising fireworks. Check out the full schedule for the event in Australia:

Main card

• Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes
• Dan Hooker vs. Benoît Saint Denis
• Rafael Fiziev vs. Maurício Ruffy
• Tai Tuivasa vs. Tallison Teixeira
• Quillan Salkild vs. Jamie Mullarkey

Prelims

• Junior Tafa vs. Billy Elekana
• Cameron Rowston vs. Cody Brundage
• Jacob Malkoun vs. Torrez Finney

• Jonathan Micallef vs. Oban Elliott
• Kaan Ofli vs. Yi Zha
• Kim Sang-wook vs. Dom Mar Fan
• Keiichiro Nakamura vs. Sebastian Szalay
• Sulang Rangbo vs. Lawrence Lui

Diego Lopes backstage after the first Alexander Volkanovski fight 😢

Shows how much it meant to him pic.twitter.com/IPbLTe9nYC

— MMA On Point (@mmaonpoint) January 27, 2026

Read our UFC 325 betting tips, as we start with the main event and break down every matchup all the way to the first preliminary bout. One last thing to note: long-term success comes from being selective, so don’t bet on every fight, but focus on the ones with the greatest value.

Main event: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes prediction

With only a handful of fights likely left in his career, Volkanovski has the perfect opportunity to make another statement. Fighting at home and with a decisive win over Lopes already, he presents value in markets favouring a repeat victory. Volk excels by controlling range and combining speed and precision - angles that offer potential betting value, especially for decision win props.

Lopes still has much to prove, and his perceived durability may inflate his betting odds. Defensive lapses shown in the Jean Silva fight present value for bettors considering Volkanovski inside the distance. However, Lopes is very durable, and Volkanovski via decision looks like the most probable outcome with the decent odds of 2.55. His victory by any method at 1.66 looks a safer option.

Prediction: Volkanovski retains his title via 49-46 decision.

Co-main event: Dan Hooker vs. Benoît Saint Denis prediction

Hooker enters as a major underdog at 3.75, reflecting his reliance on striking only. For Hooker to win, Saint Denis would need to avoid his own strengths on the ground, which would make zero sense. If the bout does stay standing, however, expect it to be competitive and possibly earn the Fight of the Night award.

Saint Denis showed strong fight IQ and often capitalised on his grappling, proven by 11 submissions in his professional career. While backing the Frenchman outright at 1.28 offers minimal value, targeting him via submission win at 2.45 is a more strategic betting approach.

Prediction: Saint-Denis wins by submission. Let’s say it’s an arm-triangle choke.

Featured fight: Rafael Fiziev vs. Maurício Ruffy prediction

Two high-class strikers are facing off in this one, and we are about to see a real show. Fiziev has eight knockout wins to Ruffy’s eleven, and while the Ataman has keys to victory via wrestling, he surely won’t go that way. This one is the real contender for the Fight of the Night bonus, as it has violence all over.

Yet from the betting point of view, it’s completely unpredictable (and that’s why we love the sport so much!) Unfortunately, we can’t bet that this fight will not be boring. Both men are hard to finish on the feet, both are quite durable, and both can knock the opponent out via kicks, punches, or elbows. Betting on the total number of rounds is not a wise decision either. Just pass this one and enjoy the fireworks.

Prediction: If Fiziev is healthy, we’ll go with him winning a 29-28 decision. No bet on this one.

Tai Tuivasa vs. Tallison Teixeira prediction

The 32-year-old Tuivasa, the crowd favourite and on a five-fight losing streak, returns to the octagon after almost 18 months of inactivity. He is up against Teixeira, who is six years younger and three places lower in the rankings, at number 15. Walking at around 150 kilos outside the training camp, Tuivasa should be in shape for this bout, and we all would love to see him drinking beer out of someone’s shoe again.

However, at this point, we can say that his career is virtually over. The man doesn’t take it seriously, and that’s why he is such a huge underdog at 3.75. Teixeira should knock him out at 1.52, yet those odds are not encouraging either. If you have to bet this fight, which we doubt, under 1.5 rounds at 1.37 looks like a solid parlay piece. Tuivasa can always find a lucky punch, while poor cardio won’t let him go into the deep waters. Pass is the option for us here.

Prediction: Teixeira by TKO in round 1. It’s a pass.

Quillan Salkild vs. Jamie Mullarkey prediction

Salkild was supposed to fight Rong Zhu, but the latter withdrew and was replaced by Jamie Mullarkey. In the last four years, Mullarkey has won four fights by decision and lost another four via knockouts. The pattern is quite clear - he can win against average fighters, but UFC feeds him to talented prospects in between, and he gets his lights switched off.

Salkild is one of the top Australian prospects, winning all three bouts in the UFC. The plot is simple, as UFC would love to move the 26-year-old forward and put him against a ranked opponent after another victory or two. The odds of 1.08 on Salkild winning are not good, but his victory by KO/TKO at 1.71 is totally different. Mullarkey was knocked out six times before, and the seventh KO is inevitable.

Prediction: Salkild to win by knockout and receive a third performance bonus from UFC.

Australian Light Heavyweight fighter Junior Tafa doesn’t know much about his UFC 325 opponent Billy Elekana but is happy to go for a beer with him after Sunday, knowing they’re both proudly Samoan. pic.twitter.com/paKjrpNNi8

— 10 News (@10NewsAU) January 28, 2026

Junior Tafa vs. Billy Elekana prediction

Tafa’s brother Justin is already retired after being released from the UFC, and Junior is highly likely to follow in his footsteps. His game plan is always similar, trying to find a one-punch knockout. In the meantime, he has no wrestling and an awful takedown defence. We won’t write a poem on this one - Elekana will take him down at will and finish the fight early, either by submission or ground & pound. His victory by finish (KO or SUB) at 1.86 is destined to succeed.

Prediction: Elekana finds a SUB. Another rear-naked choke incoming?

Cameron Rowston vs. Cody Brundage prediction

Another bout with a clear favourite, as Rowston can be had at 1.28 only. Brundage is another athlete who shouldn’t be on the UFC roster. The American has only one legit victory in the last three years, defeating Zachary Reese via a body slam. Brundage was losing the bout against Jacob Malcoun and got his hand raised thanks to a disqualification, while it was clear that he just didn't want to continue. A knockout win against Julian Marquez, who was released from the UFC, does not have much weight either.

Rowston, another Australian prospect, should find a finish in this one. While it’s hard to say how exactly he’ll win, a bet builder tool will be useful here. We believe that Rowston will defeat Brundage in the first half of the fight, betting his victory plus under 1.5 rounds at 2.20.

Prediction: Rowston will knock Brundage out, and the latter will finally be released from the promotion.

Jacob Malkoun vs. Torrez Finney prediction

Finney arrives in Australia with an undefeated record, but Malkoun is expected to neutralize the American’s strengths using his own skill set. Malkoun is highly proficient in wrestling, making him one of the best in his division, and he will execute takedowns to control Finney on the ground. Additionally, holding his opponent against the fence may allow Malkoun to win more valuable minutes.

Finney is quite durable, and he should survive until the scorecards. Yet we can’t see him outbox Malkoun, who should get his hand raised if he manages to avoid stupid mistakes. Hence, we go with the local athlete winning by a decision.

Prediction: A 30-27 decision goes Malkoun’s way.

Jonathan Micallef vs. Oban Elliott prediction

This fight was originally scheduled for September 2025 in Perth, but Elliott withdrew because of illness. Apparently, the UFC matchmakers just need this one to happen in Australia, so they’ve rescheduled it for the Sydney card.

Elliott is 3-0 in the promotions, yet none of his victories were celebrated against decent opposition. Micallef, on the other hand, did impress on his UFC debut by defeating Kevin Jusset via unanimous decision. He will have a 5-inch reach advantage and a great kicking game, while also being stronger on the mat than his opponent. Elliott is a better boxer, but we believe that the body kicks by Micallef will significantly slow him down. Betting the local fighter at 1.72 is the choice.

Prediction: Likely a 29-28 decision for Micallef, but he could also find a knockout in this one.

Kaan Ofli vs. Yi Zha prediction

We’re up for a wrestling matchup here, as both athletes have the majority of their fights won by submissions. The Chinese fighter is a rightful favourite, at 1.45, as he should be faster and stronger than Ofli. One important thing needs to be mentioned - Ofli has no problem in making fouls, so we’ll see plenty of fence-grabbing if the referee is not strict enough. The refs tend to miss lots of fouls nowadays. Besides, it’s a low-level MMA fight. Pass is the choice.

Prediction: Yi Zha should win a decision. Not the fight to bet on.

Kim Sang-wook vs. Dom Mar Fan prediction

Now it’s time to talk about the three Road to UFC Season 4 Tournament finals. However, first and foremost, these bouts are not good for betting due to obvious reasons. Each of the fighters had only a few professional bouts, and there aren’t many videos on the internet to understand how each encounter will unfold. While we will still try to predict each of these fights, there are much better events to bet on, so we advise skipping all three altogether.

Dom Mar Fan is the favourite here at 1.66, but his striking and cardio are very questionable. He tries to win rounds by grappling and control, but the guy is not trustworthy at all. While Kim Sang-wook is not a future champion either, he should survive the early pressure and find a knockout in the second part of the fight.

Prediction: Kim Sang-wook by KO/TKO in round 3.

Keiichiro Nakamura vs. Sebastian Szalay prediction

Szalay is the favourite at 1.66 here, while Nakamura can be had at 2.25. We believe the bookmakers got the odds just about right in this bout. Szalay is a karate black-belt with excellent movement, yet his hands are always down, and he is there to be hit.

Nakamura has no wrestling, so it will be a standing matchup, likely an entertaining one. The Japanese athlete has various tools to knock his opponent out, but his defence is not good either. Under 2.5 rounds at 1.71 is the choice if you just can’t watch fights without a bet.

Prediction: Nakamura gets a KO/TKO victory.

Sulang Rangbo vs. Lawrence Lui prediction

Rangbo, a 20-year-old cousin of Su Mudaerji, is a significant favourite at odds of 1.40. We believe the odds could have been even lower, as his opponent, Lui, is susceptible to strikes, and there are concerns regarding his durability. Lui trains at City Kickboxing gym in New Zealand, indicating he has a respectable background, but there are distinct levels of skill in this sport.

The Chinese athlete will likely win by knockout, as he has six career victories this way. While betting on the Rangbo outcome could be a parlay option, we recommend avoiding this bet for clearer value elsewhere.

Prediction: Sulang Rangbo finds a late knockout.

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