Timing really is everything.
Last May, Diego Lopes was called to replace Bryce Mitchell opposite Movsar Evloev at UFC 288 in Newark, New Jersey on impossibly short notice. It was the kind of unfavourable assignment that serves as the starting point for many a career in the UFC these days: a chance to fill in for an injured fighter, in a fight where the odds are invariably going to be stacked against you and the oddsmakers don’t feel too enthusiastic about your chances of winning.
Evloev was unbeaten at the time, brandishing a 16-0 mark and coming off a commanding win over Dan Ige, a veteran mainstay in the Top 15 who simply had no answers for the talented Russian. Long ticketed for title contention, the matchup with Evloev felt, on paper, like a chance for Lopes to land a spot on the roster and show a few things against a highly regarded prospect before truly putting his skills on display in his first full-camp appearance somewhere down the line.
Lopes had other ideas.
The Brazilian featherweight showed he wasn’t there just to be a warm body opposite Evloev from the outset of the fight, wading into the centre of the Octagon with authority and tagging his undefeated foe in the opening minute of the contest. When he got put on his back, Lopes constantly threatened, accepting whatever punishment was coming his way to hunt for arms, legs, and triangles.
Lopes landed on the wrong side of the result after three rounds, but as Thomas Gerbasi put it in writing about Lopes earlier this year, “Evloev kept the ‘0’ in his loss column, but it was Lopes who was the talk of the town for his Fight of the Night effort.”
That talk has only gotten louder since.
“It has been a crazy last year,” Lopes told Sportsnet through a translator, just a few days out from his UFC 303 co-main event pairing with Brian Ortega. “I’ve done a lot, a lot of things have happened, but the whole time, I’ve just been enjoying the whole ride.”
Three months after his eye-opening debut, Lopes rolled into Nashville, Tennessee and submitted Canadian Gavin Tucker in 98 seconds, attacking with a flying triangle that ultimately resulted in the Newfoundland native tapping to an armbar. Three months after that, he ventured to New York City and finished Pat Sabatini in even quicker fashion, shaving eight seconds off the time it took him to dispatch Tucker while showing he could finish with strikes too.
And then in April, Lopes rolled into the Octagon against Sodiq Yusuff as part of the stacked card at UFC 300, again besting his previous finishing time by halting the Top 15 staple in 89 seconds to push his winning streak to three and establishing himself as a bonafide threat in the 145-pound weight class.
“It’s been a crazy ride,” said Lopes, who lost a technical decision to Joanderson Brito on Season 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series when the bout was halted early in the third round after Lopes was accidentally poked in the eye and unable to continue. “I’ve never left the rhythm of training and it’s definitely been imperative for my success.
“I’m always active, I’m always training, helping out my teammates, my students whenever they have fights,” continued the Brazilian dark horse, who leads the Brazilian Warriors squad in Puebla, Mexico, as well as working with flyweight champ Alexa Grasso and the rest of the Lobo Gym crew in Guadalajara. “I’m usually always in some kind of camp, and that’s what leads to my success.”
Always being in camp has also led to the biggest opportunities of his career — first against Evloev last year in New Jersey and now opposite Ortega this weekend in Las Vegas.
UFC 303 has been the latest International Fight Week event to get significantly impacted by changes over the years, with the promotion scrambling to fill gaps in the last couple of weeks left by the loss of the main event matchup between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, as well as the co-main event pairing featuring former light heavyweight champ Jamahal Hill and Carlos Ulberg, who was already replacing Khalil Rountree Jr., in the matchup.
Once again, Alex Pereira was drafted to headline, pencilled in opposite Jiri Prochazka in a rematch of their championship battle from UFC 295 last year at Madison Square Garden, where “Poatan” won his second UFC title in just 736 days.
Lopes and Ortega agreed to face off in the penultimate pairing of the evening, giving the entertaining second-year UFC fighter another opportunity to make a massive statement on a huge stage.
“It means a lot,” he said when asked about frequently being called upon for high-profile fight cards such as last year’s stop at MSG, UFC 300 in April, and Saturday’s summer tentpole event. ”It speaks to all the work I’ve put in, all the success I’ve had. The UFC definitely has plans for me due to all my success and the hard work I’ve put in.”
“He’s a great fighter,” Lopes said of Ortega, who earned a third-round submission win over Yair Rodriguez earlier this year in Mexico City. “He’s only lost to ex-champions, so I like this opportunity to jump in the top five and demonstrate that I belong.”
Tucker, Sabatini, and Yusuff are a combined 15-8 inside the Octagon, with the latter holding a place in the rankings at the time of their encounter earlier this year and the opening duo living in the “Second 15” in the talent-rich weight class.
Each was considered a reasonable step up in competition at the time and many forecasted them to get the better of their respective encounters with the talented Brazilian, with each of his successive victories only further showing that Lopes is unquestionably someone with high-level upside.
And yet, the ascending all-action fighter still feels like he needs to prove himself, and sees a victory over Ortega on Saturday as a means to finally make it clear that his performance against Evloev wasn’t the result of fortuitous circumstances providing him with a greater opportunity to impress.
“Professionally, for me, it would mean that the first fight wasn’t a fluke; that I definitely belong,” said Lopes, still focused on proving himself despite residing in the Top 15 and owning one of the more impressive three-fight winning streaks in the UFC at the moment. “Personally, it will be (huge) for me and my team.”
Not only is this weekend’s pairing with Ortega a huge opportunity for the burgeoning fan favourite, but it also carries top-of-the-division ramifications as the UFC works to sort through the logjam at the top of the 145-pound ranks.
The expectation is that new champ Ilia Topuria will defend his title against BMF titleholder Max Holloway at some point later this year, while the shadow of former featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski continues to loom large over the top contenders.
Beyond that triumvirate of champions, the next fresh name in line is Evloev, who followed up his win over Lopes by defeating Arnold Allen at UFC 297 in Toronto in January. While he collected another win and remains unbeaten, Evloev’s performance was panned by UFC CEO Dana White, and six months later, he still doesn’t have another fight on the books.
Lopes has been vocal about wanting to face Evloev again, confident that he would improve on his initial performance with the benefit of more than three days to prepare, and beating Ortega this weekend could bring that wish closer to coming true.
“It depends how it all shakes out,” Lopes said with a laugh when asked if he would prefer a championship opportunity or to run it back with Evloev should he emerge victorious on Saturday. “If the UFC calls me for a title fight, I’m there. If they call me for a rematch, I’m also there.
“Logically, it makes sense,” he said of a second meeting with Evloev, which would carry obvious title implications and feels like both a strong potential addition to the September pay-per-view at The Sphere in Las Vegas or an outstanding five-round main event for a future Fight Night card. “If he wants to, I want to, but we’ll have to see what the UFC says.”
For now, Lopes’ focus is on Ortega.
So, can fans expect him to continue finishing a little faster than his previous outing when he steps into the Octagon this weekend?
“That’s definitely the object — start off strong, finish fast — but I’m ready for a three-round war,” Lopes said with a smile.
However it plays out, one thing is for certain: it’s bound to be entertaining for as long as it lasts because Lopes doesn’t know any other way.
