Tag: Diego Lopes

UFC 308 Backup Fighter Diego Lopes Predicts Topuria vs. Holloway

The UFC 308 main event is one of the biggest fights of the year between featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and his first challenger, Max Holloway. As is often the case with a fight of this magnitude, there is a backup fighter on standby in case either man is unable to compete on Saturday night. #3-ranked […]

Continue Reading UFC 308 Backup Fighter Diego Lopes Predicts Topuria vs. Holloway at MMA News.

The UFC 308 main event is one of the biggest fights of the year between featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and his first challenger, Max Holloway. As is often the case with a fight of this magnitude, there is a backup fighter on standby in case either man is unable to compete on Saturday night.

#3-ranked Diego Lopes is in Abu Dhabi and will make weight on Friday knowing that he could be asked to step in and fight if anything happens to the main event. The Brazilian is coming off of a big win over Brian Ortega at UFC 306 but won’t likely be the next title challenger given Alexander Volkanovski’s current position.

Topuria vs Holloway is a fascinating contest but in the case that the fight falls apart at some stage on fight week, having a top contender and fan favorite ready and waiting would soften the blow.

In an interview with Submission Radio, Lopes gave his prediction for the headline attraction at the Etihad Arena on October 26. He’s previously stated that fighting Holloway would be his dream fight because he’s been watching him for a long time.

Despite the adoration that he has for the BMF titleholder, Lopes named the defending champion as his pick for the main event. A victory for “El Matador” on Saturday will surely lead to him bringing the belt back to Spain in the near future and this is something that the Brazilian contender also has his eye on.

“I hope, bro, I don’t know it’s crazy but Ilia mention my name. UFC have plans for UFC in Spain, UFC need the guy who speaks Spanish for the promotion for the fight. I don’t know, maybe Ilia wins, I win too. Maybe we go Spain, I speak Spanish for the promotion for UFC in Spain, it’s good.”

Continue Reading UFC 308 Backup Fighter Diego Lopes Predicts Topuria vs. Holloway at MMA News.

Aljamain Sterling Interested in Diego Lopes Fight After Withdrawing from UFC 307

Aljmain Sterling Interested in Diego Lopes Fight After Withdrawing from UFC 307After his fight with Movsar Evloev fell through, Aljamain Sterling has his eyes on a potential scrap with the…

Aljmain Sterling Interested in Diego Lopes Fight After Withdrawing from UFC 307

After his fight with Movsar Evloev fell through, Aljamain Sterling has his eyes on a potential scrap with the surging Diego Lopes.

After a successful featherweight debut at UFC 300 in April, the ‘Funk Master’ was scheduled to square off with Evloev on October 5 in Salt Lake City. Unfortunately, Sterling was forced to bow out of the bout due to an injury.

Aljamain Sterling

Though it sounds like he won’t be on the shelf for very long, the former bantamweight champion is already looking past Evloev, eyeing a fight with the featherweight division’s No. 3 ranked contender instead.

“I don’t know [who could be next], maybe Diego Lopes. “Sterling told The Schmo while discussing his UFC return. “Maybe that would be a battle for the three [ranking]. If we’re talking the next best fight if Movsar declines, I don’t know who else we would fight. But, if you give me the option, I always wanted Brian Ortega so I could get the next closest spot to the top.

“Now that next closest guy is Diego Lopes. That’s all it is. It has nothing to do with what this guy did or that, but it’s the name value, what it gets me, the risk vs. reward. If I’m going to risk it for the biscuit, that’s the guy I’d want to risk it with” (h/t BJPenn.com).

Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev likely to be rebooked

Lopes thrust into the featherweight top five at UFC 306 via a unanimous decision victory over ex-title challenger Brian Ortega. He is now 5-1 inside the Octagon with wins over the likes of Pat Sabatini, Sodiq Yusuff, and Dan Ige.

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With Evloev unable to secure a short-notice opponent for UFC 307 next month, the promotion will likely reschedule his bout with Sterling for some time in late 2024 or early 2025, but we can’t help but be excited by a potential meeting between the explosive Lopes and one of the best grapplers in the game.

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Diego Lopes Eyes Former Champion For Potential December Return: ‘He Doesn’t Like To Wait, & Neither Do I…’

Diego Lopes recently shared his ambitious plans for the future, stating his intention to challenge a former UFC featherweight champion upon his potential return in December. Lopes secured perhaps the most defining triumph of his career to date when he outclassed Brian Ortega, earning a unanimous decision win at Noche UFC 306 earlier this month. […]

Continue Reading Diego Lopes Eyes Former Champion For Potential December Return: ‘He Doesn’t Like To Wait, & Neither Do I…’ at MMA News.

Diego Lopes recently shared his ambitious plans for the future, stating his intention to challenge a former UFC featherweight champion upon his potential return in December.

Lopes secured perhaps the most defining triumph of his career to date when he outclassed Brian Ortega, earning a unanimous decision win at Noche UFC 306 earlier this month.

The victory not only skyrocketed the 29-year-old to the #3 spot in the 145-pound division but also significantly boosted his stock. Lopes has been on an absolute tear over the past year, racking up five consecutive wins and cementing his status as a force to be reckoned with.

Lopes is now primed for high-stakes matchups, eager to secure his first title shot at the earliest opportunity…

Lopes Offers To Serve As UFC 308 Backup Or Sets Sights On Volkanovski For December

During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Lopes reiterated his willingness to step in as the backup fighter for the featherweight title bout between reigning champion Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway at UFC 308 next month.

The surging contender also mentioned that if those plans fall through, he’s eager to face former longtime champion Alexander Volkanovski in December to move a step closer to the title.

“If that doesn’t happen, we’d like the possibility of fighting Volkanovski in December,” Lopes said. “He doesn’t like to wait, and neither do I, so that could be a good fight. A lot can happen, but I think the two most viable options for us right now are being the backup fighter in Abu Dhabi or fighting Volkanovski in December. The UFC is aware that I’m available for [UFC 308], so it depends on what they want to do.”

Lopes went on to express that a potential clash with “The Great” would present a highly intriguing stylistic matchup.

“The Volk fight would be very interesting because he’s shown he can adapt well to everybody’s style, especially when his opponent is taller until he fought Topuria. But I think I can also adapt well to guys who are shorter than me, so it would be a very interesting fight.”

Volkanovski is currently on a hiatus, having not fought since suffering the first back-to-back losses of his career. “The Great” was dethroned at UFC 298 this past February, where he endured a second-round knockout by Ilia Topuria, bringing an end to the title reign he had held since December 2019.

Continue Reading Diego Lopes Eyes Former Champion For Potential December Return: ‘He Doesn’t Like To Wait, & Neither Do I…’ at MMA News.

Aljamain Sterling Names Next High-Profile Opponent If Movsar Evloev Rejects Rebooked Fight

Aljamain Sterling recently name-dropped a high-profile opponent he hopes to face next if Movsar Evloev declines to rebook their fight. “Funk Master” was set to face Evloev in what could have been a pivotal featherweight title eliminator at UFC 307 on October 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. However, last week, […]

Continue Reading Aljamain Sterling Names Next High-Profile Opponent If Movsar Evloev Rejects Rebooked Fight at MMA News.

Aljamain Sterling recently name-dropped a high-profile opponent he hopes to face next if Movsar Evloev declines to rebook their fight.

“Funk Master” was set to face Evloev in what could have been a pivotal featherweight title eliminator at UFC 307 on October 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. However, last week, Sterling announced that he was compelled to withdraw from the matchup due to a serious elbow injury.

The former UFC bantamweight champion made a successful transition to the 145-pound division this past April at UFC 300, where he delivered a dominant victory over Calvin Kattar. Sterling has one goal in mind—to compete against elite opponents and secure his place in title contention as swiftly as possible.

With uncertainty surrounding the possibility of rescheduling his bout with Evloev, Sterling has a contender in mind who could propel him toward a title shot…

Sterling Finds Inspiration In Diego Lopes’ Journey & Wants To Face Him Next

During a recent interview with The Schmo, Sterling lavished praise on Diego Lopes for his success in the Octagon. “Funk Master” noted that while he maintains a strong camaraderie with Lopes, he feels that competitive tension is gradually building between them as the Brazilian climbs the ranks in the featherweight division.

“I think Diego rising to his stardom and his rise in the sport in the UFC has been huge; it’s nothing short of inspiring, to be honest,” Sterling said. “I’m happy for the guy. I got to train with him one time; he was a very nice dude, very polite. I can kind of feel the tension shift a little bit now whenever I see him. It seems like there’s a little bit more tension there. It’s not like I’m fighting him tomorrow or he’s my next scheduled fight, so for me, I don’t really see a point in being like that. But I can understand why he’s a little bit more on guard when seeing me or meeting me.”

Sterling further mentioned that if his fight with Evloev doesn’t get rebooked, he would definitely be eager to share the Octagon with Lopes in pursuit of his title shot.

“If we’re talking about the next best fight, if Movsar declines, I just don’t know who else he would fight. But if he gives me the option, I’ve always wanted Brian Ortega so I could get the closest spot to the top, and now that next closest guy is Diego Lopes. That’s all it is; it has nothing to do with what this guy did or that. It’s the name value and what it gets me—risk versus reward. If I’m going to risk it for the biscuit, that’s the guy I would risk it with.”

Lopes has been on a remarkable run in the Octagon since narrowly losing his promotional debut against Evloev at UFC 288. The Brazilian extended his win streak to five with a dominant victory over Ortega at Noche UFC 306, propelling himself to the #3 spot in the featherweight rankings.

Continue Reading Aljamain Sterling Names Next High-Profile Opponent If Movsar Evloev Rejects Rebooked Fight at MMA News.

UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away. And in the aftermath of UFC 306 (Noche UFC), MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings. Men’s Pound-For-Pound: Merab Dvalishvili closed out Saturday’s event with his long-awaited championship […]

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis at MMA News.

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away.

And in the aftermath of UFC 306 (Noche UFC), MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound: Merab Dvalishvili closed out Saturday’s event with his long-awaited championship crowning. As a result, the bantamweight kingpin has debuted on the P4P list at #7, one position above interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall. Further up, welterweight champ Belal Muhammad (#5) has jumped his middleweight counterpart Dricus Du Plessis (#6).

The defeated O’Malley, meanwhile, has slid seven positions to #13. Dvalishvili’s friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling is out of the top 15 entirely following the Georgian’s arrival.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound: Valentina Shevchenko is once again the flyweight queen, and she’s also back on the P4P mountaintop. “Bullet” has climbed two places back to top spot, while previous #1 Alexa Grasso has fallen to #3 following her lopsided loss to Shevchenko in their trilogy.

Women’s Strawweight: No changes.

Women’s Flyweight: The sole change at 125 pounds has seen Grasso slip back to top contender status, swapping positions with now-champ Shevchenko.

Women’s Bantamweight: Norma Dumont secured the biggest win of her career in the Noche UFC featured prelim, outpointing a badly damaged Irene Aldana. The result has seen the Brazilian ascend by three positions to #5 at 135 pounds. The defeated Mexican, on the other hand, is down just one spot to #6.

Flyweight: In the male 125-pound weight class, Asu Almabayev has moved up one place to share #14 with the recently retired Matt Schnell.

Bantamweight: Like in the women’s flyweight division, the only change in the men’s 135-pound division came with the switch on the throne. With Dvalishvili now occupying it, O’Malley is the #1-ranked bantamweight.

Featherweight: The biggest climber this week is the charging Diego Lopes, who got the better of former two-time title challenger and longtime top-five contender Brian Ortega on Saturday night. The Mexico-residing Brazilian has risen by a mammoth 10 positions to #3. “T-City,” meanwhile, has been relegated to #5.

With Movsar Evloev staying put at #6, the changes have led to a two-place fall to #7 for Arnold Allen.

Lightweight: No changes.

Welterweight: No changes.

Middleweight: No changes.

Light Heavyweight: No changes.

Heavyweight: No changes.

You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis at MMA News.

UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away. And in the aftermath of UFC 306 (Noche UFC), MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings. Men’s Pound-For-Pound: Merab Dvalishvili closed out Saturday’s event with his long-awaited championship […]

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis at MMA News.

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away.

And in the aftermath of UFC 306 (Noche UFC), MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound: Merab Dvalishvili closed out Saturday’s event with his long-awaited championship crowning. As a result, the bantamweight kingpin has debuted on the P4P list at #7, one position above interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall. Further up, welterweight champ Belal Muhammad (#5) has jumped his middleweight counterpart Dricus Du Plessis (#6).

The defeated O’Malley, meanwhile, has slid seven positions to #13. Dvalishvili’s friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling is out of the top 15 entirely following the Georgian’s arrival.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound: Valentina Shevchenko is once again the flyweight queen, and she’s also back on the P4P mountaintop. “Bullet” has climbed two places back to top spot, while previous #1 Alexa Grasso has fallen to #3 following her lopsided loss to Shevchenko in their trilogy.

Women’s Strawweight: No changes.

Women’s Flyweight: The sole change at 125 pounds has seen Grasso slip back to top contender status, swapping positions with now-champ Shevchenko.

Women’s Bantamweight: Norma Dumont secured the biggest win of her career in the Noche UFC featured prelim, outpointing a badly damaged Irene Aldana. The result has seen the Brazilian ascend by three positions to #5 at 135 pounds. The defeated Mexican, on the other hand, is down just one spot to #6.

Flyweight: In the male 125-pound weight class, Asu Almabayev has moved up one place to share #14 with the recently retired Matt Schnell.

Bantamweight: Like in the women’s flyweight division, the only change in the men’s 135-pound division came with the switch on the throne. With Dvalishvili now occupying it, O’Malley is the #1-ranked bantamweight.

Featherweight: The biggest climber this week is the charging Diego Lopes, who got the better of former two-time title challenger and longtime top-five contender Brian Ortega on Saturday night. The Mexico-residing Brazilian has risen by a mammoth 10 positions to #3. “T-City,” meanwhile, has been relegated to #5.

With Movsar Evloev staying put at #6, the changes have led to a two-place fall to #7 for Arnold Allen.

Lightweight: No changes.

Welterweight: No changes.

Middleweight: No changes.

Light Heavyweight: No changes.

Heavyweight: No changes.

You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Dvalishvili Lands Above Aspinall In P4P Top 10, Muhammad Jumps Du Plessis at MMA News.