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Diego Lopes: A Star In The Making
Brazilian Featherweight Diego Lopes Faces Former Title Challenger Brian Ortega This Saturday At UFC 306: O’Malley vs Dvalishvili At Sphere
Few fighters have experienced a rise to stardom as rapid as UFC featherweight Diego Lopes.
The Brazilian first caught the eye of the masses in May of 2023, when he accepted a short notice opportunity against No. 6 ranked Movsar Evloev in his UFC debut. While Evloev got the nod on the judges’ scorecards, Lopes gave Evloev a far tougher test than he expected from a promotional debutant. The fight earned Lopes his first $50,000 bonus with Fight of the Night honors.
Order UFC 306: O'Malley vs Dvalishvili
He carried that momentum into his next fight against Gavin Tucker just three months later. Lopes stunned the crowd once again, finishing Tucker via armbar in the first round to earn his second bonus in as many fights. The rising star made it three-for-three on bonuses later that year, when he knocked out Pat Sabatini in just 90 seconds at Madison Square Garden.
After earning Newcomer of the Year honors in 2023, Lopes returned to the Octagon on the historic UFC 300 card to face his second Top 15 opponent Sodiq Yusuff. Coming into the fight on a full training camp, Lopes recorded his fastest UFC finish to date, putting Yusuff away in one minute and 29 seconds into the first round.
But Lopes didn’t achieve the level of fame he has today until his most recent fight, when he faced Dan Ige at UFC 303 on less than a day’s notice. Lopes was originally scheduled to face Brian Ortega, but the former title challenger was forced out of the bout due to illness on fight day.
Ige was residing down the road and was available to make the walk in Ortega’s place. Both fighters agreed to meet at a catchweight of 165 pounds, creating one of the most unprecedented moments in UFC history. Despite the opponent change on just a few hours’ notice, Lopes delivered another entertaining performance and secured a unanimous decision victory. The dramatic turn of events went viral online, catapulting Lopes into the spotlight and making him a standout name in mixed martial arts.
UFC 306: Fight By Fight Preview | How To Watch | Public Events Schedule
“First, it told me that I can certainly overcome anything that’s thrown my way,” Lopes said. “I can push and make it happen. It was probably the most stressful week of my life, and I pushed through and made it happen.
“I think I’ve shown throughout my tenure in the UFC that I always evolve, and I’m always a better fighter in the given event than I was before. I definitely showed in my last event that I can overcome adversity. You can look at my record, I’ve showed that I can knock people out, I can also submit people and, above all, I always want people to know that I’m going to bring an exciting fight into the Octagon.”
Full Fight | Diego Lopes vs Dan Ige
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Full Fight | Diego Lopes vs Dan Ige
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All of this happened in just 13 months. Lopes' willingness to fight frequently and embrace any challenge is why his fanbase continues to grow.
“I definitely love the fact my career has gone so fast,” Lopes said. “I’ve been able to fight several times in a short period of time. I’m here for it and I love it.”
So that brings us to the present day, where Lopes is closing out training camp for what is now the biggest fight of his professional career. He’s once again set to face Brian Ortega, the current No. 3 ranked featherweight contender, but now on the main card of UFC 306: O’Malley vs Dvalishvili, a once-in-a-lifetime event at the revolutionary Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.
READ: New Fighter Kits Launched For UFC 306
“This speaks of my work,” Lopes said about fighting on some of UFC’s biggest events. “It definitely tells me that I’m doing my best and doing great work. It motivates me to keep on going. I’m ready to fight again, I’m looking forward to it.”
While Ortega ultimately was the primary cause of the most stressful week and day of Lopes’ career, he has no animosity toward his upcoming opponent since he understands the grueling challenges every fighter has to endure leading up to a fight.
“He’s a fighter, I’m a fighter, so we know how difficult this sport is, especially the weight cut,” Lopes said. “He had a very painful one according to what I’ve been told. He was sick. I take it as is. I don’t hold any grudges. At the end of the day, we are all fighters. The only thing I hope is that he manages to get well and get through the camp better and weight cut better so he can come in top condition, and we can give a great show.”
With that being said, Lopes is ready for all outcomes after what he went through last time out. If it’s Ortega, then he’s had months of preparation for him dating back to when they were first scheduled to meet at UFC 303. He’s equally prepared, however, if someone else were to step in.
“We obviously know this fighter and what he brings to the table,” Lopes said. “We are certainly ready because we’ve prepared for him, and we continue to prepare for him. After the last event and all the crazy stuff that happened, I’m also ready to undertake anything that comes my way that is out of the ordinary or has craziness involved. I feel more ready than ever.”
MORE UFC 306: Fighters Talk About Fighting At Sphere
Aside from UFC 306 being held at Sphere, what makes this event even more special to Lopes is that he gets to share the card with his teammates, UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and No. 5 ranked bantamweight contender Irene Aldana.
“It honestly feels great,” Lopes said. “Last year, I had the chance to also share with [Grasso] at Noche UFC, but it was from the outside because I was just a teammate being in her corner. This time around we’re going to share the Octagon, so it feels amazing. It is also a very important show for Mexico because it’s built around Mexico, so we are definitely very excited about that, as well... It feels like it’s an event for our team.”
UFC 306: O'Malley vs Dvalishvili took place live from Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 14, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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