From Crocodiles to Champions: Sydney Prepares for UFC 325’s Deadliest Night
What stories have come from Australia that have surprised people the most? Man eating crocodiles or spiders of extraordinary sizes may come to mind when one thinks of this nation's wild countryside. However, the city of Sydney will house a different predator, and on January 31st, 2026, the Qudos Bank Arena will contain some of the deadliest human beings on Earth. This date is none other than UFC 325 and the day where the fighters Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes hunt for the Men’s Featherweight Division title. They already faced each other last year at UFC 314, where Volkanovski won by unanimous decision. Diego even sustained injuries during this close loss, making this upcoming fight somewhat of a grudge match. Perhaps Lopes will become the predator that definitively ends speculation on who will win this rematch.
The arena itself houses a maximum of 21,032 people. On average, 18,000 people attend its events each year. The first UFC event here was UFC 110, which was attended by 17,831 people. Remarkably, UFC 110 managed to outsell UFC 83 in merchandise sales and even beat the total sales of the band Iron Maiden in 2010. It is, without a doubt, a destination for UFC fans where there is plenty of history outside of the sport itself. They may even see a KO punch from Lopes in revenge against Volkanovski at UFC 325. This would be ironic considering UFC 110 ended with Cain Velasquez inflicting a KO punch on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Nevertheless, if history repeats itself with UFC 325, the upcoming year will see the sunshine favorably on this rowdy fighting arena in Sydney. Originally, it was named the Sydney Superdome, but as ownership and rights have changed, so has its name to the Qudos Bank Arena. Also, the modern era of UFC has changed, but one thing has remained the same. This is the core of why UFC fans go to big arenas like this, and that core is to witness modern gladiators do battle. This is why the arena hosts these fighters, because there is no other place quite like the Qudos Bank Arena that once encompassed the 2000 Summer Olympics. Most importantly, though, this jewel of an arena will always be a place for the gladiators and their fans to call home.
