Just months before Diego Lopes’ rematch against Alexander Volkanovski was made official, the Brazilian was honest about who the champion should have fought next.
Diego Lopes got his first opportunity to win undisputed gold in April of this year when he fought Alexander Volkanovski, for the featherweight crown at UFC 314.
The Australian dominated the Brazilian for five rounds before reclaiming his title by unanimous decision.
Lopes fought against featherweight Jean Silva a few weeks later in what was considered to be a significant fight for the division.
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Lopes admits that a fellow competitor should face Volkanovski to win the title
Not long before his fight against ‘Lord’ Silva, Lopes spoke about the top of the division, and he admitted that undefeated contender Lerone Murphy was in the best position for a title shot.
“I think Lerone Murphy (should fight Volkanovski next for the belt), Lerone Murphy did a good job in his last fight, I think he deserves to fight for the title, but I feel bad for Movsar (Evloev),”Lopes appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show.
Just a few weeks before Lopes’ clash against Silva, Murphy welcomed Aaron Pico to the UFC with an astonishing knockout, which will go down as potentially the Knockout of the Year.
Following the win, Volkanovski revealed that he wanted to fight ‘The Miracle’ next, with him being a contender that the Australian hasn’t fought yet.
Despite that, just a few weeks later, Lopes put an end to Silva’s win streak, almost taking the shine away from Murphy’s win, but it still seemed as though Murphy was in poll position for the title shot considering Volkanovski’s preference.
However, this past Thursday, it was announced by the UFC boss Dana White that Volkanovski’s next title defense will come in a rematch against Lopes in the UFC 325 main event in Sydney, Australia.
Watch how Alexander Volkanovski reacts to his UFC 325 match-up! Would you rather have seen his opponent’s wish granted?
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2025-11-28 22:00:00
