“I lost those fights back-to-back and that’s when I realized that’s what I wanted for my life.” Yes, even someone like Diego Lopes, who won three consecutive fights with first-round finishes in the UFC, has had to endure defeats inside the MMA cage. Currently, his professional MMA record reads 26 wins and 6 losses. But his performance has convinced Dana White that he’s worthy of a shot at the featherweight championship title.
Needless to say, Lopes’s MMA career has been a steady rise upward. However, his career under the banner of UFC began with a loss. Thankfully, that’s his only defeat in the fight promotion. As he gets ready for his next big fight, let us look at the Brazilian’s other defeats.
Diego Lopes’ only UFC defeat – Who did he lose to?
Born and rai͏sed͏͏͏͏ ͏in Manaus͏, Amazo͏͏͏nas, Brazi͏͏l, ͏Di͏ego ͏Lopes ͏͏was always fasc͏i͏͏na͏ted͏ ͏b͏͏y ͏m͏͏a͏͏rt͏ial art͏͏͏͏s. ͏Hi͏s ͏͏fami͏͏ly h͏a͏d a ͏͏tra͏dit͏i͏on͏ that ͏͏ev͏eryone s͏ho͏͏uld lear͏n͏͏ to ͏fight,͏͏ a͏nd this is h͏o͏͏w Lopes͏’ career in͏͏ ͏MMA ͏s͏ta͏rted. ͏He beg͏͏͏an t͏r͏aining in ͏B͏JJ at a y͏͏͏oun͏g͏ ͏͏a͏͏ge ͏͏and soo͏͏͏n st͏ar͏te͏d co͏m͏petin͏g ͏at t͏he a͏͏͏ge of͏ ͏7. Lopes received his purple belt at 16, and since then, transitioned to MMA and never looked back
If we were to talk about his endeavors in UFC, his initial faceoff was not that great. Diego Lopes fought in Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2021. His opponent was Joanderson Brito; after fighting brilliantly for three rounds, Lopes ultimately tasted defeat by a unanimous decision. He had to leave his UFC dreams behind and fight for Fury FC and LUX Fight League. But Dana White pulled him back to the UFC in 2023.
His debut fight was against Movsar Evloev, one of the division’s best, and again, after a hard-fought battle, Lopes lost the bout by way of a unanimous decision. Lopes has fought six times under the UFC banner, and Evloev was his only loss under the promotion. Nevertheless, the fight was enough to show the UFC head honcho that Lopes is a man with potential. After all, he did receive the Fight of the Night bonus for his debut at UFC 288.
Now that we know about his losses inside the Octagon, what about outside the UFC? Let’s take a closer look at Lopes’ losses outside the world’s premier MMA promotion.
Has the Brazilian UFC star lost outside the UFC? What is his record?
Diego Lopes has lost seven times outside the UFC, if we look at his professional as well as his amateur record. The first loss of his career came against Thiago Silva. Another loss followed, and this time, Rodrigo Praia defeated him. After back-to-back losses, Lopes went on a nine-fight winning streak before crossing paths against Amir Elzhurkaev, who knocked him out to clinch the victory in the second round.
After the humiliating loss, Diego Lopes again went on a seven-fight winning streak before facing the worst time of his career, losing two back-to-back fights against Joanderson Brito, Nate Richardson. Two wins after that, he found himself in a losing bout against Movsar Evloev in his UFC debut.
Despite many losses, Diego Lopes has kept his winning streak intact. Currently on a 5-fight win streak, Lopes is set to fight Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314. The fight is indeed for the vacant UFC featherweight championship throne. With the momentum that he’s carrying right now, can we expect the #3-ranked featherweight contender to claim the belt at the end of the night? What’s your take on their match? State your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Diego Lopes Losses: Who Has Defeated the Brazilian in His UFC Career appeared first on EssentiallySports.
