After weighing in as a backup for the UFC 308 main event between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway this past Saturday, Diego Lopes is seemingly being overlooked for the next featherweight title fight.
This past Saturday at UFC 308, Ilia Topuria defended his 145lb title for the first time, making history by becoming the first fighter ever to knock out Max Holloway.
Even prior to his fight against ‘Blessed’ Holloway, ‘El Matador’ began online feuds with the likes of Conor McGregor and current lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, stating his desire to move up to lightweight.
Diego Lopes unhappy that he is being overlooked for featherweight title fight
With UFC 308 being such a big event, the UFC made sure to have a backup ready for the main event, and that was number three-ranked featherweight, Diego Lopes.
Similarly to the Spanish champion, Lopes has had a quick rise to stardom and has ridden the momentum, currently on a five-fight win streak with his most recent win coming against former title challenger Brian Ortega.
Following Topuria’s win over Holloway, his former rival Alexander Volkanovski stepped into the cage for an impromptu face-off with the 27-year-old champion.
During the post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White admitted that ‘The Great’ Volkanovski will likely be the next title challenger, despite Lopes having weighed in as a backup just two days prior.
The UFC posted a graphic on their social media this Tuesday evening, asking the fans who they think will be next for ‘El Matador’, providing the three options of, Islam Makhachev, Alexander Volkanovski, and Conor McGregor.
“And I’m a soccer player? Or what’s going on?” Lopes questioned the UFC.
Diego Lopes suggests an interim title fight against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 312
After Topuria’s win, he stated that he wanted to take a little bit of time away from the Octagon before he jumped back into another huge fight.
With the promotion scheduled to land back Down Under in Sydney on February 9, the Brazilian contender has the perfect idea for his next fight and believes it’s only fair.
“Ilia mentioned on Saturday night that he wanted to take some time off, also the UFC mentioned that they’re working on a date for Spain, while this is all going on, it makes the most sense for me to fight Volkanovski in Sydney for the interim title,” Lopes said on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“Volk has already suggested this, I’ve already agreed to it, let’s just do it. It all just makes sense. Ilia wants to take some time off and wants to fight in Spain. Volk wants to fight and doesn’t want to wait, I don’t mind flying to Sydney to fight him,” Lopes added.
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