Diego Lopes beat Brian Ortega via decision at UFC 306 to rise to the top ranks of the UFC featherweight division. He almost secured a finish in the first, but unsurprisingly, Ortega showed unbelievable toughness and survived until the final bell.
Lopes earned a takedown and controlled Ortega for nearly three minutes while the latter struggled to get going throughout the fight. The prospect outstruck the former title challenger and fans are excited to see him face the likes of Max Holloway or Ilia Topuria for UFC featherweight gold.
Lopes is the new talk of the town after his dominant win, but former UFC champ Michael Bisping has found a silver lining for Ortega as well...
Michael Bisping Explains Why Diego Lopes Couldn't Finish Brian Ortega At UFC 306
Bisping heavily appreciated Lopes for getting the better of Ortega at UFC 306 while reacting to the event on his YouTube channel. However, he believes that losing via decision is better for the veteran than being finished.
Lopes, was kind of, he wanted to test his ground game. He wanted to send a message, he wanted to choke him out, and beat Brian Ortega at his own game. Because of that, he kind of allowed Brian to get back into the fight and see the final bell. There's a moral kind of victory if you're Brian Ortega and you see the final bell. Trust me, as a fighter, you want to lose by decision rather than getting finished. And there were finishes multiple times for Diego Lopes.
"The Count" explained that trying to submit Ortega on the ground worked against Lopes. "T-City" used his experience to get a guard quickly and rejuvenate himself.
Bisping had an interesting theory about the knockdown in the first too. He claimed that the right hand knocked Ortega out and the left hook pushed him back to his senses. The former UFC champ feels the fight could have been stopped early if the Brazilian fighter stuck to striking.
Although he couldn't get a finish, Lopes' stock is higher than ever. He can either fight another top-ranked contender in a title eliminator or get the opportunity to grab the UFC featherweight title next.