After a stellar promotional debut in Saudi Arabia, the UFC will shift its focus to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the venue of UFC 303. The International Fight Week PPV recently added an exciting featherweight matchup between Brian Ortega and Diego Lopes.
Ortega, a two-time title challenger, is coming off a submission over Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Mexico City. Lopes is coming off a first-round knockout of Sodiq Yusuff in the prelims of UFC 300. The matchup has all the makings of a firefight.
Ortega vs. Lopes: Can Lopes Capitalize on Ortega’s Vulnerabilities?
Very few fighters can hang on the ground with Brian Ortega, evidenced by his submission finishes in MMA. However, one featherweight who can hang with Ortega is Diego Lopes, the Brazilian who has found a home in Mexico. Half of his professional MMA victories are via submission.
Ortega has only suffered three defeats in his MMA career, all in the UFC. Two defeats came in title fights against Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. The other defeat was to Yair Rodriguez due to a shoulder injury. Ortega is a problem for any featherweight with a granite chin and slick BJJ.
Ortega’s granite chin was tested as Yair Rodriguez hurt him in his recent fight. If Rodriguez can drop Ortega with a punch, Diego Lopes certainly can. In addition to having a slick BJJ game, Lopes is a massive featherweight with one-punch knockout power. The Brazilian’s last three fights ended in the first round, and his only loss was to Movsar Evloev on short notice.
Lopes has challenged Ortega on the ground and seems confident of his success. Oddsmakers also have him as a slight favorite over the American. Ortega has accumulated a lot of damage in his fights, and his last battle against Rodriguez showed its effects even though he won. Against Lopes, his chin will likely betray him. Moreover, there is a chance Lopes will submit a badly hurt Ortega.
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Official Prediction: Diego Lopes via first-round knockout or second-round submission.
