Diego Lopes impressed many in his return to the octagon, but not enough to enter the UFC’s official featherweight rankings.
Lopes (23-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC) knocked out fellow prospect Pat Sabatini in just 90 seconds this past Saturday on the main card of UFC 295 in New York City. He’s now on a two-fight winning streak, with both being first-round finishes. Prior to that, he had a close loss to unbeaten title contender Movsar Evloev in his short-notice UFC debut.
The Brazilian fighter told MMA Junkie prior to the contest that he was hoping to get ranked with an impressive win. Well, the first-round KO win was impressive enough to get him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, but not a spot on the promotion’s featherweight rankings – which is managed by a panel of media members.
“Imagine this, your first fight is against a No. 10 in the world, and you give him the fight of his life,” Lopes told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “Your second fight, you fight (and submit) someone who was coming off a fight against No. 9 in the rankings. Then your next fight against Sabatini, you knock out someone who’s got a winning record in the UFC of 5-1.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I thought I could get a spot in the rankings. I think many people saw it that way too, but it didn’t happen. What can I do? That doesn’t depend on me making the rankings. What I need to do now is make it very clear I need a spot in the rankings. I need an opportunity. And even if that doesn’t come, I’ll keep working. That’s all I can do. I’m very motivated, and I’m very happy with everything that’s happening in my career. I will continue to win every fight the UFC puts in front of me until I get myself in the rankings. If you ask me, I think I’ve shown enough to deserve a spot in there. I’ve shown enough, but if they don’t see it that way, then I have to keep showing them. My next fight, I would love for it to be against a ranked fighter.”
Although Lopes was hoping to get ranked, he is by no means losing his motivation. The Lobo Gym and Brazilian Warriors product does hope that for his next fight he either gets Bryce Mitchell or someone else in the UFC’s official rankings.
“Honestly, anyone that’s ranked,” Lopes said. “I think there are plenty of good names. There’s Alex Caceres, Sodiq Yusuff, Dan Ige, Edson Barboza. I want those guys who are from 10 to 15. There are plenty of names, but if I could pick, I want Bryce Mitchell, but if not him, someone that’s in the rankings.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.
