Diego Lopes gave his all in his UFC debut, and he’s impressed that Movsar Evloev was able to survive it.
The two featherweights put on a show this past Saturday on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 288 as they went back and forth to the final bell in a dramatic fight. In the end, Evloev (17-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) got the win, but Lopes (21-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) left with the respect of many viewers, especially considering he took the fight on just five days’ notice and gave an unbeaten contender hell.
Lopes came close to securing multiple submissions, but the closest was a kneebar attempt in the final 10 seconds of the third round.
“Yeah, (the kneebar) was the closest one,” Lopes told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I think if I would’ve had 20 or 30 seconds more, the result could’ve been different because his knee was fully extended, and I felt his knee cracking and hyperextending.”
Lopes knew that submitting Evloev and taking his unbeaten status wouldn’t be an easy task, but part of him is surprised he wasn’t able to get it done with the kneebar.
“Yeah, it did surprise me, but we know how these Russians are,” Lopes said. “They don’t like to tap and much more if they’re undefeated, so their mentality is very strong. I wasn’t fully surprised, but when I locked the submission I did believe he was going to tap, but he didn’t.”
The fight against Evloev officially stands as a loss in Lopes’ career. However, the Brazilian left UFC 288 with his head held high.
Despite the defeat, he did make it to the UFC by taking the short-notice fight and got a $50,000 bonus for Fight of the Night. Lopes also told MMA Junkie that UFC president Dana White promised to pay him his win bonus, as well.
“I feel very happy and really excited to have made it to the UFC and have a contract in hand,” Lopes said. “I fought someone who was ranked, who had a good record and is undefeated. Everything that I was able to do in the cage now gives me motivation.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.