Popular Brazilian featherweight Diego Lopes put on an impressive performance last night at The Sphere as he scored a unanimous decision victory over a tough Brian Ortega.
If the featherweight division wasn’t put on notice before UFC 306, it certainly is now with Diego Lopes earning a fantastic UD win in front of a raucous crowd in Las Vegas – one that’s caught the attention of a ‘Great’ former king.
Diego Lopes continues his ascent with win over Brian Ortega at UFC 306
Despite Brian Ortega having a solid showing on his return to action, the win for Lopes never really looked in doubt as he out-struck and outworked the former title challenger en route to a relatively smooth unanimous decision victory.
“I just got [through] the number three in the world,” he told Joe Rogan in the octagon, explaining that “I think Brian has been there for quite some time but whatever the UFC says [next], just my name on the table for a title fight.”
The undisputed featherweight title is set to be contested in just a few weeks’ time in Abu Dhabi, but there could be a way for Lopes to fight for UFC gold without stepping on the toes of either Ilia Topuria or BMF title holder, Max Holloway.
Alexander Volkanovski teases idea of an interim title fight against Diego Lopes
Breaking down the top three fights from UFC 306 via his YouTube channel, former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski was impressed by both fighters’ performances in The Sphere: albeit for very different reasons.
“Lopes landed crazy shots, probably most other people are sleeping [from that] but he was able to recover and get back to it so credit to Ortega for taking that [damage].
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“I felt like he [Ortega] probably had to sit more on his punches, his jab was landing but it was never going to be enough to hurt Lopes and he was still getting hit… Every time he tried to counter; he’s countering half-committed [with] sort of just arm punches.”
Whilst Volkanovski noted that last night was a “massive win” for Lopes given the current state of the division he once ruled over with an iron fist, he did also tease that there could be UFC gold on the line in the Brazilian’s next fight.
“Lopes, massive win [between] two top dudes, I like both of them so whoever was going to win I was going to be happy for – Lopes is right up there now, I’m guessing he’ll be ranked three.
“Obviously, my next fight is for the title, depending on what happens, are there injuries in the Max and Ilia fight, who knows what’s going to happen – could there be an interim with someone like Lopes? You never know so we’ll see what happens.”
Despite previously stating that he wanted some time away from MMA to recover from back-to-back knockout losses, Volkanovski has been itching to get back in the octagon for a number of weeks.
Given The Great’s desire to remain as active as possible in the hope of wrestling back control of his old title, the fan-favorite Australian athlete couldn’t help but plant the seed of an interim title matchup versus Lopes in the minds of fans.
“My next fight is for the title but if they can’t do that soon enough, say if Max wins is he going to go to lightweight and do BMF, is there going to be an interim fight?
“I haven’t had them proper discussions, so I’ll get back to the UFC and have a proper chat with them, all I know is that my next fight is for the title.”
Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway is currently scheduled for UFC 308 in October; with Lopes expected to snuggle behind ‘Blessed’ as the #3 ranked featherweight in the world come Tuesday’s update.