UFC 325 staredowns: Mauricio Ruffy shakes off Rafael Fiziev’s gab assault during final face off | Video
UFC 325 goes down this weekend (Sat., Jan. 31, 2026) from Sydney, Australia, and the main card fighters are all hyped up to compete, based on what we just saw during ceremonial weigh-in face-offs.
The biggest moment came between Lightweight contenders Rafael Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy. Fiziev came into their staredown with intensity and started talking to Ruffy from the moment they squared off. Ruffy stayed silent, simply staring at his opponent. Fiziev continued to talk, and Ruffy continued to ignore him … until they turned to face the cameras and Ruffy held a shaking hand out to imply Fiziev was all nerves.
The crowd erupted in reaction to Ruffy’s cold response, and we dub that a Mauricio win in the mental warfare department. We’ll see what happens in the cage Saturday night — or rather, Sunday morning local Australian time.
Dan Hooker also had a fun family moment, bringing his daughter with him to face off against Benoit Saint-Denis.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Tai Tuivasa fight (here’s why) and even longer since he’s won, but he’s still clearly a fan favorite with the Australian crowd. He arrived to big cheers and didn’t hesitate to note the size differential between himself and Tallison Teixeira by holding his arm up over Teixeira’s head.
Last, but not least, you’ve got Featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, and repeat challenger, Diego Lopes, who kept things civil.
UFC 325’s main cart starts on Paramount+ in the United States at 9 p.m. E.T., so make sure to tune into MMAmania.com for all the results, highlights, news and opinion from the event.
To checkout the latest and greatest UFC 325: “Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
