Diego Lopez recently shared details about his move to Mexico, where he has now found a new home.
Lopez began training in Jiu-Jitsu quite early in his career, made his MMA debut at the age of 17 and competed in five bouts in one year, but his studies didn’t go well and he was forced to choose between his studies and work.
So when someone offered him a job as a jiu-jitsu instructor in Mexico, Lopez couldn’t say no — even though he knew nothing about the country’s culture or language. At age 19, Lopez left his home in São Paulo, Brazil, for Puebla, Mexico. Speaking Portuguese, Lopez initially struggled to communicate with his students and had to quickly learn Spanish.
“School wasn’t going well,” Lopez said recently on UFC Connect. “One day my mom said, ‘Do you want to work or study? What do you want to do?’ But I wanted to keep fighting and stay on the path. She asked, ‘What are you going to do?’ And I said, ‘I want to be a fighter.’ One day a guy came into the gym. He came up to me and asked, ‘Do you want to go to Mexico?’ To be honest with you, I didn’t even know where Mexico was. I didn’t know what language they spoke. I had no idea what the hell this was about except that they wanted me to teach them. So I said, ‘Yes, I’m going.’ Imagine coming to a country where you don’t speak the language and you have to teach a class and you don’t know how to communicate with your students. So I was forced to learn Spanish on the fly.”UFC 306: O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili airs Saturday at 10pm ET on ESPN+. Order now!
In Mexico, Lopez met fellow UFC flyweight Alessandro Costa, who was from São Paulo, and together they founded the Brazilian Warriors Gym, and then met the Robo Gym MMA team, whose members included Irena Aldana and Alexa Grasso, led by Grasso’s uncle Francisco “Pancho,” with whom Lopez has competed ever since.
Lopez initially focused on coaching and was seen celebrating in Grasso’s corner when Grasso upset Valentina Shevchenko to win the flyweight title at UFC 285 in March 2023. Two months later, Lopez was called up on short notice to face unbeaten Movsar Evloev in his UFC debut. Though he lost by unanimous decision, Lopez was largely credited with the bout being named “Fight of the Night.” Lopez then quickly rose to stardom, winning three consecutive fights in the first round before defeating Dan Ige four hours into a catchweight bout at UFC 303.
Lopez will face Brian Ortega on Saturday at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which also serves as UFC’s annual tribute to Mexico. The Brazilian, who has found Mexican family in his teammates, friends and coaches, is motivated to put on a show every time he sees the Mexican flag.
“I have family here in Mexico, my family, my Mexican friends, my coaches and training partners,” he said. “I’m adapting very well here. Meeting people in Mexico who share the same dream as me inspires me a lot. Every time I see the Mexican flag, [it] It inspires us to put on a great show that people can be proud of.”
