Diego Lopes almost cracked the top 10 rankings in his first UFC fight.
It is quite strange to think that Lopes has not been on the UFC selection for two years and the UFC candidate for featherweight is already a challenge for the title, recently left by champion Ilia Topuria.
In the main event of UFC 314 on April 12, Diego Lopes will fight against former champion Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant belt.
Lopes earned the chance after an impressive 5-1 point at 145 pounds. The only blemish on the UFC record of Lopes came to the unbeaten Movsar Evloev in his promotion debut in 2023, a fight that he is interested in running back for the title.
The circumstances were far from perfect, but Lopes got the most out of it.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty images
Diego Lopes almost stopped Movsar Evloev on 5 days of notice period
Lopes was signed at the UFC for the EVLOEV fight and filled in as a short-notice replacement for Bryce Mitchell on UFC 288 on 6 May 2023. Lopes accepted EVLOEV, the #10 candidate at that time, on a five-day notification.
No training camp? No problem for Lopes, the +625 Underdog that is absolutely all in New Jersey.
Lopes had a huge cardio and had a fiery first round against Evloev. Lopes surprised his opponent with bumps on the feet before threatening a tight armbalk on the floor.
Evloev has passed a nasty storm and survived around 1 to eventually see Lopes slow down.
In the second round, Evloev established more than two minutes of control time and landed soil and pounds with Lopes on his back.
Diego Lopes came up in the last seconds to get up
The Lopes entry match came back to life in the third and final round, with Evloev almost being submitted with a kimura during one of his Takedowns.
Evloev hardly escaped a scrambling. The Russian was still in danger to the last 30 seconds of the battle with Lopes who tried a leg lock.
Lopes attracted Evloev's leg as if his from it depended until the buzzer sounded and marked the end of the fight.
Diego Lopes has earned everyone in this building and most people who look into the world in the world after they have held us at the tip of our seats in a great performance in his debut against the tough Movsar Evloev. Movsar should nod on the cards here. #Ufc288 pic.twitter.com/9km0ndoyoy
– Patrick Danna (@patdannamma) 7 May 2023
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It was not enough to secure Diego the victory (he lost due to unanimous decision) but instead global recognition as a legitimate player in the Vederweight division.
Moreover, despite the loss, the Brazilian received a profit bonus from UFC boss Dana White.
The next UFC title Challenger Lopes has proven its value with victories on former title -Uitdager Brian Ortega, then IgE (that fight took place in a few hours of cancellation period) and Sodiq Yusuff.
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