Diego Lopes has been on a roll inside the Octagon.
One of Mexico’s brightest young stars has put the Featherweight division on notice with no time wasted after a short-notice arrival in 2023. Putting up a valiant effort against top undefeated 18-0 contender, Movsar Evloev, Lopes lost a unanimous decision before stringing together a thrilling four-fight winning streak.
Lopes, 29, has the biggest fight of his 31-fight career (25-6) on deck when he battles two-time title challenger, Brian Ortega, at Noche UFC’s UFC 306 this weekend (Sat., Sept. 14, 2024). Should Lopes come out victorious, he expects to be incredibly close to his goal of a title shot and believes it’s helped that the champion, Ilia Topuria, has mentioned him in recent interviews.
“It’s great that he actually mentioned this because if he’s saying my name, it is for a reason,” Lopes told Shak MMA. “You’re telling me a champion that goes out there and mentions the No. 12 guy in the rankings … If he literally mentions my name, to be the next potential title contender. That means he’s aware and he’s seen what I’m doing.
“That just gives me more motivation to go out there, do my job, get this win,” he concluded. “So that way my name is on the table to be the next title contender.”
Before Lopes and Topuria can think about the possibility of competing against each other, they have to win their scheduled match ups. In his first title defense, Topuria will be challenged by the former champion and all-time great, Max Holloway, at UFC 308 next month (Sat., Oct. 26, 2024).
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