Diego Lopes has become a sensation in the UFC since he stepped in on days’ notice to face the undefeated Movsar Evloev at UFC 288. Even though he lost the fight to Evloev, he came to finish the Russian fighter in the first round and earned a Fight of the Night bonus. Since then, he has been on a three-fight first-round finishing streak and wants a main-event spot.
After his loss at UFC debut, he arm-barred Gavin Tucker, knocked out Pat Sabatini, and knocked out Sodiq Yusuff at UFC San Diego, UFC 296, and UFC 300, respectively. He then knocked out Yusuff, jumped over the cage and requested Dana White for a rematch with Movsar Evloev at UFC 303. However, it seems he now has a different plan.
Lopes retweeted the UFC’s fight night announcement of the promotion return to UFC Louisville with the caption, “hey, @danawhite @seanshelby, let me put on the show for the fans in the main event, the fighter you say is ready,” with emoji flags of Brazil and Mexico as he is a Brazilian who is a resident of Mexico. He expressed his desire to star in the main event in Louisville.
hey, @danawhite @seanshelby , let me put on the show for the fans in the main event, the fighter you say is ready 👊🏻🇲🇽🇧🇷 https://t.co/qmLZqtRbsl
— Diego Lopes 🇧🇷🇲🇽 (@Diegolopesmma) April 24, 2024
Lopes has shown impressive striking and grappling in his four fights in the UFC as evidenced by his finishes in fights. Training under the watchful eye of Fransico Grasso, the uncle of Alexa Grasso, Lopes has evolved very much after a disastrous loss in the Dana White Contender Series in 2021, per MMAJunkie.
UFC Louisville is not the only event Diego Lopes has set his sights on as he had earlier mentioned his plans for 2024 with the promotion.
Diego Lopes’ fight plans for 2024
Diego Lopes wants to stay active and become a UFC champion like his teammate, Alex Grasso, the UFC women’s flyweight champion who would fight Valentina Shevchenko later this year.
Lopes, now ranked 14th in the division, would have to fight 2 or 3 times before he would get a title shot at the stacked featherweight division. Apparently, Lopes has it all planned out as evidenced by his latest tweet.
“My plan is to fight on June 29, international fight week, September 14 in the sphere. I hope ufc will honor my request. I didn’t stop training, the Monday after the fight I was already active again 👊🏻,” tweeted Lopez in Spanish, announcing his plans.
Mi plan es pelear día 29 de junio, internacional fight week, 14 de septiembre en la sphere. Espero que ufc atenda mi pedido. No deje de entrenar, el lunes después de la pelea ya estaba activo otra vez 👊🏻
— Diego Lopes 🇧🇷🇲🇽 (@Diegolopesmma) April 23, 2024
Max Holloway is potentially next in line to challenge Ilia Topuria’s featherweight title even though the latter was dismissive of Holloway’s victory against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
Aljamain Sterling, the ex-bantamweight champion who made his featherweight debut at UFC 300, also has an inside shot at the title. He was promised a shot at the title but his loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 halted those plans.
Do you think Diego Lopes will get his wish from the UFC to headline a fight night event? Leave your thoughts below!
