After a smiling Lopes made his walkout, Volkanovski, who was carrying the Australian flag above his head, was serenaded towards the octagon in a party-like atmosphere by exuberant fans at the Qudos Bank Arena in Western Sydney.
Volkanovski oozed calmness and took control from the opening bell with his footwork and distance management.
Although the pair traded leg kicks in early rounds, it was Volkanovski who landed the more telling shots as he stung Lopes intermittently with his right hand.
Lopes briefly knocked down Volkanovski with a right hook in the third round, but he bounced straight back up to regain control of the encounter.
It was a brief moment of success for Lopes, who struggled to land meaningful shots on the evasive Volkanovski for the majority of the encounter.
Fearing Lopes was nearing defeat, his team told him “you’ve got to go all out” before the final round, and although he threatened with submissions, Volkanovski defended stoutly.
The fight ended with Volkanovski geeing up cheering fans in the closing stages as he stamped his authority on the encounter by finishing in top position on the ground.
Victory marked Volkanovski’s 13th win in the UFC and sixth title defence across two reigns.
Although he twice failed to beat former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in 2023 to become a two-division champion, Volkanovski’s magnificent featherweight record means his place among the sport’s greats is already cemented.
After the fight, he pointed to Britain’s fourth-ranked featherweight Lerone Murphy or Russia’s Movsar Evloev, who is ranked first, as potential next opponents.
There is speculation the pair will fight at UFC London on 21 March, but there has been no confirmation from the promotion.
“Obviously whoever is next deserves it. I think [the UFC] might be doing maybe Movsar and Lerone, but while they’re doing that we’ll talk to the team and see what’s next,” said Volkanovski.