Diego Lopes has shifted his focus beyond Yair Rodriguez and is now eyeing a potential title fight.
Lopes recently confirmed that he will not be fighting Rodriguez, a bout that was rumored for the UFC Mexico City main event on March 29. Instead, he revealed in an interview that the UFC has other plans for him.
“The fight with Yair never happened,” Lopes told Submission Radio. “UFC talked to me, ‘OK, now you sit down, you stay here, relax. Maybe we do a big fight for you.’ I’m training, I’m staying ready for one big fight. I need one big fight now. I’m No. 3 in the rankings. I think Max (Holloway) is out of the rankings, but moved to lightweight. I don’t know what’s happening in the division now.”
With UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria teasing a potential move to lightweight, Lopes has turned his attention to a possible championship fight against Alexander Volkanovski. This comes after the Australian suggested a fight with Lopes at UFC 314 should Topuria vacate the featherweight belt.
“If (Topuria) moves, I think I’m next for the title to face Volk,” Lopes said. “I think they vacate the belt, no? I don’t know if Ilia would be ready for 145, maybe October, September? I don’t know. Ilia, I think he’ll move to lightweight.”
Lopes believes a fight against Volkanovski makes the most sense, given the current rankings.
“I think this makes sense, right? Because I’m No. 3, Alex is No. 1,” Lopes said. “Ilia has moved to lightweight. Who’s the next fight for the title? I don’t have one fight for the title. I think me and Alex makes sense for the fight.
“April for me is really good timing. This is a great fight — I need it so much,” Lopes continued. “Alex has a lot of experience in the UFC. I think his last 10 fights were five rounds. The guy has a lot of experience, but it’s a good fight for me. I proved myself. I’m ready for the champ.”
