Diego Lopes needs his rematch.
Lopes scored the most important win of his profession when he completed Sodiq Yusuff in simply 89 seconds at UFC 300. Lopes is the primary man to complete Yusuff within the UFC, and did so on the most important stage, and in response to the Brazilian prospect, that was the plan.
“I feel all of us believed this was going to be the consequence,” Lopes stated via a translator on The MMA Hour.
“Trying on the combat, we knew you might contact Sodiq, however not very many individuals have completed him. That was the purpose, and clearly the outcomes went they manner that they did, and that’s a testomony to our laborious work.”
Lopes’ win earned him his first spot within the UFC featherweight rankings, debuting at No. 14. He says that’s solely the start. Instantly after ending Yusuff, Lopes hopped the fence to talk to UFC CEO Dana White, who was cageside. Lopes laid out his precise plan for turning into the very best on the planet, and it begins with a rematch.
“I jumped over the cage and talked to Dana,” Lopes stated. “I stated, ‘Dana, I’m going to be champion at some point. Give me my rematch with Movsar Evloev on Worldwide Battle Week. After this, I’ll beat Movsar Evloev and go to Spain.’”
Lopes confronted Evloev at UFC 288, stepping in on lower than per week’s discover to make his promotional debut. Regardless of being a newcomer and dealing with one of many high fighters within the division, Lopes impressed, dropping a call in a aggressive bout that gained Battle of the Night time honors. Since then, Lopes has been close to excellent within the UFC, with three wins all by first-round end. In the meantime, Evloev has solely competed as soon as, successful a unanimous resolution over Arnold Allen in January to place himself on the cusp of a title shot.
However with Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski seemingly forward of Evloev within the title shot line, Lopes hopes this implies he can get the rematch subsequent and put himself in that title dialog as properly.
“I talked to [my manager] this morning and put on the market that I might love the rematch,” Lopes stated. “That’s the combat that I need. I additionally put on the market that I’m able to combat. I need that combat. That’s the combat to make. He can say all he needs about, ‘Oh, hey, guys don’t wish to combat me!’ However I’ll combat him. I’m right here. I’ll scrap.
“Positively,” Lopes continued. “That’s positively the combat that we wish. He’s proper there, No. 5, so beating him places me proper there in title competition and that’s what we wish.”
