Newly-Crowned UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski Suffers Medical Scare During UFC 314 Fight With Diego Lopes ‘I could not see'

Yahoo

11-05-2025

In combat sports, victory often comes at a steep physical cost, with fighters absorbing devastating damage even in winning performances. Battered faces, swollen eyes, and hidden injuries frequently tell a deeper story than the judges' scorecards. Many athletes push through pain to secure a win, only to later discover the toll it takes on their long-term health. Winning may bring glory, but the scars—both visible and unseen—linger far beyond the final bell.
In a post-fight revelation, former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski admitted he temporarily lost vision in one eye following his brutal battle against Diego Lopes at UFC 314. The Australian star, known for his durability and heart, was visibly damaged during the post-fight press conference as he answered questions.
Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) reacts after defeating Diego Lopes (not pictured) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center.Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Volkanovski, who won a hard-fought decision over Lopes, revealed in a post-fight interview with Australian outlet Main Event TV that his vision was compromised midway through the fight.
Advertisement
After absorbing a punch from Lopes, Volkanovski admitted, "I completely lost vision in my left eye. It was a good shot and I could not see. I was trying to get it back and it was just completely gone."
Later in the fight, however, the newly crowned featherweight champion slowly regained his vision.
'[My vision was] slowly coming back a little bit, and at least for most of the fight, I could at least see a little blur, which helped,' Volkanovski revealed. 'It went from nothing; I was like, 'Oh sh— this ain't good,' but then the little blur helped with the distance and stuff like that.'
Despite the impairment, "The Great" pushed through, showcasing his trademark toughness. However, the damage was evident as his left eye was visibly swollen while his other eye was not blinking during the post-fight press conference.
Advertisement
Watch the full press conference here:
According to the F.I.G.H.T. System's Damage-to-Victory Ratio or DVR, Volkanovski's ratio sits at 63.0, raising concerns about the long-term effects of his relentless fighting style. At 36 years old, however, Volkanovski was able to make history as the first fighter in the history of the UFC's lighter weight divisions (flyweight to lightweight) to win a title fight past the age of 35.