Diego Lopes
Brazil
Set for rematch against Volkanovski
Lopes will fight Volkanovski at UFC 325 on Jan. 31, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Volkanovski emerged victorious and captured the UFC Featherweight Championship when these two last faced each other in April. Now that Volkanovski has recovered from a hand injury he suffered in that fight, Lopes will receive a second chance to claim the title. The 30-year-old regained momentum by taking down Jean Silva in September; meanwhile, Volkanovski has lost three of his last five fights.
Volkanovski emerged victorious and captured the UFC Featherweight Championship when these two last faced each other in April. Now that Volkanovski has recovered from a hand injury he suffered in that fight, Lopes will receive a second chance to claim the title. The 30-year-old regained momentum by taking down Jean Silva in September; meanwhile, Volkanovski has lost three of his last five fights.
Fight Log
Loading Fight Log...
More Fantasy News
Ends Silva hype train in style
Lopes defeated Jean Silva via TKO (punches) at 4:48 of Round 2 at UFC Noche on Saturday in San Antonio.
ANALYSIS
Lopes got the headlining spot on the Noche card despite not being very competitive in a title fight against Alexander Volkanovski in April. He took full advantage of the opportunity, upsetting Silva with arguably his most complete performance to date. Silva gave up full mount just minutes into the fight, allowing Lopes to spend nearly all of Round 1 in a dominant position. Silva managed to survive and take the momentum back early in Round 2, but Diego was able to drop his opponent with a spinning elbow, which combined with a handful of unanswered follow-up shots, led to the stoppage. The massive win puts Lopes right back on track in a loaded featherweight division. It will also go down as one of the most financially lucrative nights of Lopes' young career, as he'll take home an extra $100,000 in bonuses -- $50,000 for Performance of the night, and another $50,000 for Fight of the Night.
Lopes got the headlining spot on the Noche card despite not being very competitive in a title fight against Alexander Volkanovski in April. He took full advantage of the opportunity, upsetting Silva with arguably his most complete performance to date. Silva gave up full mount just minutes into the fight, allowing Lopes to spend nearly all of Round 1 in a dominant position. Silva managed to survive and take the momentum back early in Round 2, but Diego was able to drop his opponent with a spinning elbow, which combined with a handful of unanswered follow-up shots, led to the stoppage. The massive win puts Lopes right back on track in a loaded featherweight division. It will also go down as one of the most financially lucrative nights of Lopes' young career, as he'll take home an extra $100,000 in bonuses -- $50,000 for Performance of the night, and another $50,000 for Fight of the Night.
Announced as Noche UFC headliner
Lopes will take on Jean Silva in a featherweight bout as the main event of Noche UFC on Sept. 13 in San Antonio, per Aaron Bronsteter of TSN.ca.
ANALYSIS
Lopes is coming off a tough loss in a championship bout in April, falling at the hands of Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision. That dropped his UFC record to 5-2, but he'll get a chance at the big-time once again with a headlining fight against a daunting opponent in Silva, who has begun his career a perfect 5-0 in the promotion.
Lopes is coming off a tough loss in a championship bout in April, falling at the hands of Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision. That dropped his UFC record to 5-2, but he'll get a chance at the big-time once again with a headlining fight against a daunting opponent in Silva, who has begun his career a perfect 5-0 in the promotion.
Hangs tough in championship loss
Lopes came up short in his quest for the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision (47-49, 46-49, 46-49) at UFC 314 in Miami.
ANALYSIS
Lopes earned this opportunity on the strength of five straight wins, and although he came up short, he proved he's most definitely a championship-caliber fighter in arguably the deepest weight class in the sport. Diego remained competitive in this fight on the strength of his granite chin and ridiculous power. Volkanovski landed far more strikes, but Lopes' blows were the hardest, highlighted by a Round 2 knockdown. When all was said and done, however, he just got outworked by a future Hall-of-Famer. There's no shame in that. Diego is going to have to keep winning in order to remain in the title picture in a loaded featherweight division, but he has the skill set to do so. He's absolutely legit despite this result. Another bright spot is that he'll walk away with a $50,000 bonus for his efforts after this matchup was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
Lopes earned this opportunity on the strength of five straight wins, and although he came up short, he proved he's most definitely a championship-caliber fighter in arguably the deepest weight class in the sport. Diego remained competitive in this fight on the strength of his granite chin and ridiculous power. Volkanovski landed far more strikes, but Lopes' blows were the hardest, highlighted by a Round 2 knockdown. When all was said and done, however, he just got outworked by a future Hall-of-Famer. There's no shame in that. Diego is going to have to keep winning in order to remain in the title picture in a loaded featherweight division, but he has the skill set to do so. He's absolutely legit despite this result. Another bright spot is that he'll walk away with a $50,000 bonus for his efforts after this matchup was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
Title fight set
Lopes will challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 314 on April 12 in Miami, according to UFC President Dana White.
ANALYSIS
Lopes is certainly deserving of this shot after five consecutive dominant victories, but most thought it would come against Ilia Topuria, who was the champion at featherweight up until Wednesday. Topuria is set to vacate the belt and move up to lightweight, however, which leaves Lopes in line to face the former champion, who had one of the most dominant runs in featherweight history. Youth and momentum are on the side of Lopes, as Volkanovski is 36 years old and has lost three of his last four, though no man other than Topuria and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev have beaten him. Look for this to be an exciting affair filled with high-volume striking.
Lopes is certainly deserving of this shot after five consecutive dominant victories, but most thought it would come against Ilia Topuria, who was the champion at featherweight up until Wednesday. Topuria is set to vacate the belt and move up to lightweight, however, which leaves Lopes in line to face the former champion, who had one of the most dominant runs in featherweight history. Youth and momentum are on the side of Lopes, as Volkanovski is 36 years old and has lost three of his last four, though no man other than Topuria and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev have beaten him. Look for this to be an exciting affair filled with high-volume striking.
Rolls past Brian Ortega
Lopes defeated Brian Ortega via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) at UFC 306 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
These two were scheduled to fight at UFC 303 in late July, only to have Ortega withdraw just hours before the bout. Dan Ige got off his couch -- literally -- and stepped in, dropping a unanimous decision to Lopes. The two finally got it on here, and Diego left zero doubt who the better man was. Lopes dropped Ortega moments after the opening bell rang, and that one blow set the tone for the rest of the fight. Diego probably would have got the stoppage if he just allowed Brian to return to his feet, but he decided to go to the ground with his opponent, seemingly hoping to prove a point. The finish never materialized the rest of the way, but Lopes was in full control throughout. A win over Ortega doesn't mean as much in 2024 as it did just a handful of years ago, but he was still by far the best opponent Lopes had faced to date, and Lopes passed the test with flying colors. Diego may just need one more big victory to earn himself a title shot at 145 pounds.
These two were scheduled to fight at UFC 303 in late July, only to have Ortega withdraw just hours before the bout. Dan Ige got off his couch -- literally -- and stepped in, dropping a unanimous decision to Lopes. The two finally got it on here, and Diego left zero doubt who the better man was. Lopes dropped Ortega moments after the opening bell rang, and that one blow set the tone for the rest of the fight. Diego probably would have got the stoppage if he just allowed Brian to return to his feet, but he decided to go to the ground with his opponent, seemingly hoping to prove a point. The finish never materialized the rest of the way, but Lopes was in full control throughout. A win over Ortega doesn't mean as much in 2024 as it did just a handful of years ago, but he was still by far the best opponent Lopes had faced to date, and Lopes passed the test with flying colors. Diego may just need one more big victory to earn himself a title shot at 145 pounds.