UFC 314 Cage Locks: Stacked card in Miami ushers in new featherweight era

UFC 314 is stacked top to bottom with compelling matchups, hungry underdogs and fights featuring some wide age gaps.

Apr 11, 2025 - 23:52

UFC 314 Cage Locks: Stacked card in Miami ushers in new featherweight era

UFC 314 is stacked top to bottom with compelling matchups when the Octagon returns to Miami on Saturday night with a headline matchup of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes.

The card also has Michael Chandler returning to action in a five-round lightweight co-main event versus English star Paddy Pimblett who’s looking to improve to 7-0 in the UFC and move closer to a title shot.

Volkanovski is looking to become a two-time champion at 145 pounds.

Lopes is hoping to extend his win streak to six by scooping up the vacant title and begin a new era in the division.

Watch UFC 314 on Sportsnet+

Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes compete for the vacant featherweight title and Michael Chandler faces Paddy Pimblett in a five-round co-main event. Watch UFC 314 on Saturday, April 12 with prelim coverage beginning 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and pay-per-view main card starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
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The pair will be competing for the UFC’s featherweight title, which will be vacated by reigning champ Ilia Topuria once the main event begins. The 28-year-old undefeated Spanish star announced his plans to move up to the lightweight division and vacate the title he won when he beat Volkanovski 14 months ago at UFC 298.

There are five bouts in the 145-pound division scheduled for UFC 314, one of which has the UFC debut of Bellator MMA legend Patricio “Pitbull” Freire who’ll face one-time interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez.

A grudge match between Bryce Mitchell and Jean Silva, plus a pivotal light-heavyweight meeting featuring streaking 205-pounders Nikita Krylov and Dominick Reyes help round out the pay-per-view main card.

The 14-bout fight card takes place at the Kaseya Center in Miami. Below is the projected bout order, plus full predictions for UFC 314:

MAIN CARD

— Alex Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes (for vacant featherweight title)

— Michael Chandler vs. Paddy Pimblett (five rounds)

— Bryce Mitchell vs. Jean Silva

— Patricio Pitbull vs. Yair Rodriguez

— Nikita Krylov vs. Dominick Reyes

PRELIMINARY CARD

— Dan Ige vs. Sean Woodson

— Yan Xiaonan vs. Virna Jandiroba

— Jim Miller vs. Chase Hooper

— Sedriques Dumas vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk

— Darren Elkins vs. Julian Erosa

— Su Mudaerji vs. Mitch Raposo

— Alberto Montes vs. Roberto Romero

— Tresean Gore vs. Marco Tulio

— Nora Cornolle vs. Hailey Cowan

Ahead of each UFC event in 2025, UFC reporter Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter), producer Dan Fernandes (@DanFernandes__) and writer/editor Mike Johnston (@MikeyJ_MMA) will peruse the odds and make four betting predictions: one best bet, one favourite, one underdog and one dart throw wager. REMINDER: Sportsnet is committed to promoting and educating audiences about the importance of betting responsibly. Sources for responsible gambling can be found HERE.

AARON’S PICKS
Cage Lock: Tulio vs. Gore Ends does not go the distance -313
Favourite: Krylov vs. Reyes ends inside the Distance -200
Underdog: Yan Xiaonan +125
Dart Throw: Sedriques Dumas by decision +550

Tulio and Gore are both potent finishers and I would be surprised if that fight hit the scorecards. … Similarly, I think Krylov and Reyes will see a finish. … I believe that Xiaonan is the best strawweight not named Weili Zhang right now, and while Jandiroba’s takedown heavy approach may give Xiaonan issues, I believe the wrong fighter is favoured. … Dumas was previously a known finisher, but now that he is in the UFC, he is fighting more tactically and if this fight hits the scorecards, I could see Dumas getting the nod.

DAN’S PICKS
Cage Lock: Chase Hooper to win -850
Favourite: Jean Silva -227
Underdog: Diego Lopes +120
Dart throw: Paddy Pimblett by decision +1000

All four of my picks feature rising contenders who could make significant breakthroughs at UFC 314 against some of the organization’s most experienced fighters. … Jim Miller is a legend of the sport and keeps proving that he has plenty of tread left on his proverbial MMA tires but I’m afraid the rubber meets the road with Chase Hooper and I don’t see a path to victory for the veteran lightweight. … The last time Bryce Mitchell faced a hard-hitting fighter with an orthodox stance was against Josh Emmett at UFC 296 and it ended in a KO defeat. Jean Silva has run through a gauntlet of talented fighters recently and seems unstoppable. Very likely the trend continues. … Alexander Volkanovski is one of the best to ever do it and a loss on Saturday to Lopes doesn’t change that in my opinion. Lopes is a rising contender who should have Volk on the backfoot from the opening bell. I think we will be ushering in a new era in the featherweight division. … Finally, Paddy Pimblett is on a rocket ship to stardom but Michael Chandler will be a tough fighter to finish, even over 25 minutes, and +1000 is crazy value here on what I believe is a likely outcome on scorecards.

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MIKE’S PICKS
Cage Lock: Dominick Reyes +155
Favourite: Virna Jandiroba -149
Underdog: Bryce Mitchell +275
Dart Throw: Mitchell by KO/TKO/DQ +1400

This card is awesome and could see many dogs get their hand raised but I locked in Mitchell at this price early in the week since I figured the line would get tighter as the fight got closer – and it has indeed. If Mitchell insists on striking with Silva and/or fights emotionally it could backfire big time. On the other hand, just looking at the matchup in a vacuum, Mitchell has serious skills on the ground and I see him getting the fight there after withstanding some chaos on the feet early. Eyeing a ground-and-pound finish. … Hand up, I blew the parlay yet again last week and I’m going with an unconventional lock here but I am a big believer in Dom Reyes 2.0 and think he keeps this fight on the feet until he gets the finish. Shout-out to my parlay pals (even if they don’t end up liking my pick this week) since both Aaron and Dan have had more success picking underdogs than I have with my locks this year! Lots of value on the board at UFC 314.

CAGE LOCKS PARLAY
Three legs: Tulio vs. Gore Ends inside the distance + Chase Hooper + Dominick Reyes
Parlay odds: +276 (to win: $276.05)

2025 STANDINGS AFTER 12 EVENTS

CAGE LOCKS PARLAY
2025 record: 6-6 (L1)
2025 winnings: -$48.66 (on $100 bets)

AARON’S RECORDS/TOTALS (+10.30 units)
Cage Lock: 10-2 (-$17.53)
Favourite: 3-9 (-$746.81)
Underdog: 8-3-1 (+$795.24)
Dart Throw: 4-8 (+$1,000)

DAN’S RECORDS/TOTALS (+2.51 units)
Cage Lock: 11-1 (+$143.03)
Favourite: 6-6 (-$201.75)
Underdog: 9-3 (+$950.24)
Dart Throw: 1-11 (-$640)

MIKE’S RECORDS/TOTALS (-12.20 units)
Cage Lock: 8-4 (-$176.38)
Favourite: 7-5 (+$80.71)
Underdog: 4-7-1 (+$75)
Dart Throw: 0-12 (-$1,200)

Cage Lock: The pick deemed to be the wager most likely to win regardless of what the odds look like. The Cage Locks parlay will combine Aaron’s, Dan’s and Mike’s respective best bet for each event.

Favourite: A fighter with winning odds shorter than -300 but not longer than -110. On chalkier cards with a dearth of available moneyline favourites that meet those criteria, prop bets are allowed to be selected.

Underdog: Any fighter with longer odds than their opponent’s.

Dart throw: Any prop bet or moneyline wager with odds of +400 or longer.

(Betting odds above are via BetMGM, submitted at various times throughout week, and subject to change prior to the fights)