UFC CEO Dana White likes fighters who take fights on short notice. One such fighter who garnered White’s admiration is Diego Lopes, who stepped in on short notice to fight Movsar Evloev at UFC 288 and won the Fight of the Night honors.
Lopes, the BJJ coach of flyweight champion Alexa Grasso, has been on a role since he debuted against Evloev. Though he lost to Evloev, Lopes has a three-fight finishing streak and is eager to avenge the loss to the undefeated Dagestani fighter.
Diego Lopes Exposes Movsar Evloev for Ducking the Rematch
Movsar Evloev is undefeated in professional MMA but has never finished a fight inside the Octagon. Even Dana White criticized his latest battle against Arnold Allen at UFC 297. Evloev recently had a social media beef with Aljamain Sterling, the former bantamweight champion who moved up to featherweight. However, the fight didn’t materialize.
“After all that big talk, Sterling says he won’t be ready until October. I can’t just sit and wait for him. I’m ready to go as early as July. I’ll accept a fight with anyone who thinks they have a chance against me. Is there really no one available who’s up for the challenge?” tweeted Evloev, expressing his disappointment towards Sterling.
Diego Lopes has been clamoring for a fight since he knocked out Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 300. He had urged Dana White to make two fights for him, at UFC 303 and UFC 309. With Evloev bashing Sterling for not accepting the fight, Evloev got a taste of his own medicine from his former foe, Diego Lopes.
“Come on bro, I called you out after my fight at UFC 300, to fight at International Fight Week. You didn’t respond or show your face. Now you’re here saying “Anyone you think can beat me” 🤔,” Lopes tweeted in response to Evloev’s claim.
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Ilia Topuria is the featherweight champion, and BMF champion Max Holloway is likely the next challenger in the division. It now seems like Lopes and Evloev are on course to have a storied rivalry in the division and challenge for the title or even become featherweight champions one day.
