Diego Lopez wants a rematch.
Lopez scored the biggest win of his career at UFC 300, defeating Sodiq Yousaf in just 89 seconds. Lopez was the first man to finish Yousaf in the UFC, and he did it on the biggest stage. According to the Brazilian prospect, that’s the plan.
“I think everyone believed it would end like this,” Lopez told The MMA Hour through an interpreter.
“Watching the game, we knew we could get a touch on Sodiku, but there weren’t that many guys who could finish him off. That was the goal and obviously the result went their way and it’s a testament to our effort. is.”
Lopez’s win earned him his first spot in the UFC featherweight rankings, debuting at No. 14. He says that’s just the beginning. Immediately after finishing Yusaf, Lopez jumped the fence and spoke to UFC CEO Dana White, who was cageside. Lopez has a precise plan to become the best in the world, and it starts with a rematch.
“I jumped over the cage and talked to Dana,” Lopez said. “I said, ‘Donna, I’m going to be a champion one day.’ Let me have a rematch with Movsar Evloev at International Fight Week. After this, I’m going to beat Movsar Evloev and go to Spain.”
Lopez made his promotional debut in a preview appearance less than a week later, facing Evloev at UFC 288. Despite being a rookie and facing one of the top fighters in the division, Lopez impressed, suffering a decision loss in a competitive bout that earned him Fight of the Night honors. Since then, Lopez has had a near-perfect record in his UFC career, with all three wins coming by the end of his first round. Evloev, on the other hand, has only fought once, reaching the peak of his title bid with a unanimous decision win over Arnold Allen in January.
However, with Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski seemingly ahead of Evloev on the title front, Lopez believes this could mean he could qualify for the next rematch and be in the title fight as well. Are expected.
“I spoke with [my manager] I told him this morning that I want a rematch,” Lopez said. “That’s the fight I want. I’ve expressed that I’m ready to fight, too. I want that fight. That’s what’s to be fought. He said, ‘Hey, hey guys, don’t you guys want to fight me? You can say as much as you want. But I’m going to fight him. I am here. Scrap.
“Absolutely,” Lopez continued. “That’s definitely the fight we want. He’s right there in fifth place, so if we beat him we’ll be right into title contention and that’s what we want.”
