Diego Lopes believes his arsenal is simply too diverse and dangerous for Alexander Volkanovski to handle.
Lopes is set to collide with Volkanovski for the vacant featherweight crown in the headlining bout of UFC 314, taking place this Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Although he came up short in his Octagon debut at UFC 288 in May 2023, Lopes has been on a meteoric rise ever since — stringing together five consecutive victories, three of which came during a relentless run of form over the past year. Now, the Brazilian is taking that confidence into the most significant fight of his career.
During the UFC 314 media day on Wednesday, Diego Lopes made it clear he has the skill set to defeat “The Great,” claiming he’s capable of winning by knockout, submission, or on the judges’ scorecards, no matter where the fight goes.
“I think whichever opportunity shows up first,” Lopes said through a translator. “I have heavy hands to put him down, and my jiu-jitsu is also dangerous – both on top and on bottom. We’ve seen that he obviously hasn’t been finished on the ground, he has really good ground defense, but guys have been able to lock submission on him. I think I just need one opportunity to finish.”
Diego Lopes enters UFC 314 riding the momentum of a dominant unanimous decision victory over Brian Ortega at UFC 306 this past September.
Meanwhile, Volkanovski last competed at UFC 298 in February 2024, where his long-standing reign as featherweight king came to a sudden halt after suffering a second-round knockout loss to Ilia Topuria. “The Great” has dropped three of his last four appearances.
