UFC 314 Picks for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes and Other Fights on April 12

We have some UFC 314 picks for you, most of which come with great MMA odds. The first of those is our top bet for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes, which will headline the event at the Kaseya Center on April 12, 2025.

That’s arguably the most exciting fight, but we also like the co-main event – Michael Chandler vs. Paddy Pimblett – as well as other main card events like Bryce Mitchell vs. Jean Silva and Nikita Krylov vs. Dominick Reyes.

Even the prelims are strong, with Yan Xiaonan vs. Virna Jandiroba standing out. We’re now going to preview the most exciting UFC 314 fights and share our top predictions for each of those.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes – Who’s Going to Become the Champ at UFC 314?

The UFC 314 fight card is headlined by the Volkanovski vs. Lopes fight, which is the battle for the featherweight title after Ilia Topuria vacated the championship belt.

This is going to be the 10^th straight title bout for Volkanovski. In fact, the Aussie fighter has fought exclusively in title fights since 2019 but lost three of his last four, including KOs to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria.

Lopes (26-6) is on a five-fight win streak, finishing Gavin Tucker and Pat Sabatini impressively. He’s a high-volume striker (4.20 per minute) but absorbs nearly as much damage (4.11).

His weak takedown defense of 52% isn’t that great, which could be costly against such an elite wrestler as Volk.

Michael Chandler vs. Paddy Pimblett – Biggest Fight in Both Fighters’ Careers

Michael Chandler (23-9) is a proven MMA star, though his 2-4 UFC record might not show it. Since joining in 2021, he’s only faced elite competition, scoring KOs over Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson while losing to Charles Oliveira (twice), Justin Gaethje, and Dustin Poirier.

He’s a former Bellator champ and NCAA Division I wrestler, and as such, Chandler thrives in brawls, landing 4.49 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.30.

Paddy Pimblett (22-3) is undefeated in the UFC with a 6-0 record in Dana White’s organization. However, he’s yet to face elite competition. Wins over Tony Ferguson and Bobby Green just aren’t enough to make us think of him as a strong favorite.

Betting odds do favor the Englishman, but Chandler’s power and experience make him the favorite in our eyes. Chandler’s priced at +135 right now, but if that makes you suspicious about this bet, we have a few other UFC 314 picks you might wanna consider.

For example, over 2.5 rounds in the Chandler vs. Pimblett fight looks certain. In fact, we’re pretty confident this fight will go the distance.

Bryce Mitchell vs. Jean Silva – Time for “Thug Nasty” Nonsense to Stop?

UFC boss Dana White obviously thinks that any publicity is good publicity. After all, he decided to leave Bryce Mitchell on the roster despite the huge controversy “Thug Nasty” made with his comments about Hitler – he called him a “good guy” in January.

It was one in a series of controversial statements made by the Arkansas-based fighter. Previously, he called Elon Musk the antichrist, called out Joe Rogan for ridiculing flat-earthers, and claimed that gravity is a hoax.

And mind you, all that happened before he got sent to the shadow realm by Josh Emmett in 2023. It was one of the nastiest KOs we’ve ever witnessed, but he sort of bounced back.

In 2024, he defeated Kron Gracia, a member of the Gracie grappling family (who practically invented Brazilian jiu-jitsu). He did win by a KO, but there’s caveat – Kron is a horrible striker, who landed just 6 strikes that evening.

Now, Mithcell is fighting a much tougher opponent. Jean Silva lands 5.26 significant strikes per minute and has a knockout-to-win ratio of 80%.

The Brazilian also has an 80% takedown defense, so Mitchell probably won’t be able to utilize his wrestling skills on April 12.

UFC 314 Picks for All Remaining Fights

• Yair Rodriguez (-200) vs. Patricio Pitbull (+170) – Yair Rodriguez
• Nikita Krylov (-190) vs. Dominick Reyes (+163) – Dominick Reyes
• Dan Ige (+107) vs. Sean Woodson (-128) – Sean Woodson
• Yan Xiaonan (+133) vs. Virna Jandiroba (-155) – Yan Xiaonan
• Jim Miller (+450) vs. Chase Hooper (-600) – Chase Hooper
• Darren Elkins (+340) vs. Julian Erosa (-460) – Julian Erosa
• Sedriques Dumas (+165) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (-195) – Michal Oleksiejczuk
• Su Mudaerji (-225) vs. Mitch Raposo (+190) – Su Mudaerji
• Tresean Gore (+280) vs. Marco Tulio (-360) – Marco Tulio
• Nora Cornolle (-183) vs. Hailey Cowan (+158) – Nora Cornolle

Take a look at our UFC 314 picks and you’ll see that we’re backing favorites in most fights. There are some notable exceptions, though. For example, we think Dominick Reyes is going to beat Nikita Krylov.

After going into a horrible period following the loss to Jon Jones, Reyes is back at his best again. Last year, he got himself two KO/TKO wins – over Dustin Jacoby and Antony Smith – and we think he can do the same against Krylov.

Despite what the UFC 314 odds are suggesting, we think Yan Xiaonan will beat Virna Jandiroba in one of the most exciting prelims we’ve seen this year. Virna is a real warrior, but Yan is a former title challenger who lost to Zhang Weili by decision after five rounds. That’s something that proves that she’s elite.

When it comes to the safest UFC 314 picks, some bets with minus-money odds you might want to focus on include Yair Rodriguez, Michal Oleksiejczuk, and Chase Hooper.