In the UFC, it matters less whether you win or you lose. What the fans and even Dana White really care about is how you fight, regardless of the result. And there is no better example of that in the UFC at the moment than Diego Lopes. The Brazilian #3 ranked featherweight power puncher, of course, is set to face Alexander Volkanovski atop UFC 314 next weekend for the vacant featherweight title after Ilia Topuria exodus from the division. This is a bit surprising since the BJJ black belt made his UFC debut less than two years ago in May 2023.
Not to mention, the only man who has beat him in the UFC—Russian phenom Movsar Evloev—who is also undefeated, did not get to fight for the title before the man he beat. The likely reason for this is that Lopes is all-action, all the time, while Evloev is a grappler who has a penchant for winning decisions. But former UFC double champ Henry Cejudo still has doubts about the Manaus native deserving a title shot.
“I feel like at 145 pounds, since Ilia [Topuria] has left it’s kind of like Volkanovski has gone three [and ‘O’], he’s lost his last three fights. And then Diego Lopes is kind of sliding in without—yeah, he did beat Brian Ortega—but he never really went through the number one contenders, you know what I’m saying. But I’m not mad at it, I mean it is what it is. The UFC had to do what they had to do,” Cejudo told co-host and fellow former champion Kamaru Usman on their Pound 4 Pound podcast.
“But I can see Diego’s Lopes either knocking Volkanovski out, or potentially putting him in a submission, bro… Then again man, look at look at Diego Lopes, bro. Like for him to get to a title. Let’s go over it real quick; Gavin Tucker, Pat Sabatini, Sodiq [Yussuf], Dan Ige, and then boom beat Brian Ortega to get to the title. Do you think that’s fair, Kamarudeen?” ‘Triple C’ asked.
June 29, 2024, Las Vegas, Nv, UNITED STATES: Diego Lopes blue of Brazil agains Dan Ige red in a 165-pound catchweight fight during the UFC 303 event at T-Mobile Arena on June 29, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas UNITED STATES – ZUMAv122 20240629_aap_v122_019 Copyright: xWilliamxVolcovx
Cejudo’s question is pretty fair. After all, Lopes skipped the entire top ten of the division and was straightaway put up against then #3 ranked Brian Ortega as the #12 featherweight. Before fighting ‘T-City’, Lopes had only beaten only two ranked guys—Dan Ige and Sodiq Yussuf—neither of whom were not in the top ten at the time they fought Lopes.
However, as we have mentioned, Lopes’s exciting, bar brawler fighting style is probably the thing that saw him get some of that sweet Dana White privilege. And Kamaru Usman, to answer Cejudo’s question, felt that Ortega should indeed fight for the title simply because he is the best candidate to do so.
Kamaru Usman agrees with Dana White giving Diego Lopes a title shot
“I’m not the police on fairness getting to the title or not,” Usman answered Cejudo. “All I know is hey, we have a vacant [title]… And so, now with the vacated title, you know, you got to go to the top two guys at the division. The hottest guy arguably right now in that division is Diego Lopes. So we put him in for the title shot against the former pound-for-pound [king] Alexander Volkanovski.”
Indeed, Lopes is the hottest guy in the division. Not to mention there is almost nobody in the division who deserves a title shot more than him. After all, he did absolutely demolish perennial contender Brian Ortega in impressive fashion, proving that he belonged at the highest level of the sport.
It may be a bit unfair that the Brazilian got to skip the top ten and go straight to ‘T-City’, but with the division left in chaos, no one seems to be complaining about the bout (not yet, at least). Who else could have fought for the title? Even Movsar Evloev is ranked lower than Lopes. The only people above the Brazilian in the rankings are Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway—who have gone to lightweight, and Volkanovski.
From that perspective it makes perfect sense for the Aussie legend and the Brazilian powerhouse to fight for the title. What do you think about Cejudo and Usman’s thoughts about Lopes fighting for the featherweight title at UFC 314?
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