Diego Lopes Discusses UFC 335 BMF Title Fight Gameplan

Diego Lopes Breaks Down why Charles Oliveira Fight Won’t be Boring

Diego Lopes is moving up to the lightweight division and will challenge BMF champion Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 335 in December. 

In an interview with Guilherme Cruz, Lopes discussed his approach to his lightweight debut. He said that while he has won some fights and lost others throughout his career, he has never delivered a boring bout. The former featherweight title challenger plans to maintain that same approach against Oliveira and hopes his opponent comes in with the mindset to stand and trade. 

Lopes added that both fighters need to be willing to engage for any fight to be entertaining. He said:

"I want to get in there and throw down. Let’s see who goes down first. That’s exactly what I’m looking for.''

Oliveira won the BMF title at UFC 326 by dethroning Max "Blessed" Holloway. However, he faced backlash for relying heavily on grappling and wrestling for most of the fight instead of engaging in the stand-up battle many fans expected from a BMF title bout.

This time, however, Lopes plans to change that and has promised fans that it’ll be "war." 

 "You can be sure it’s going to be a war."

Is Diego Lopes’ Lightweight Move Permanent? 

Diego Lopes has fought for the UFC Featherweight Championship twice and failed to capture it both times. Although the 31-year-old won his last bout at 145 pounds, he still decided to move up. According to Lopes, staying at featherweight right now doesn’t make sense for him, as he won’t get a title fight anytime soon.

However, moving up, he’ll get some "fun fights" and perhaps even a chance to fight for the undisputed gold after 1-2 big wins.

That said, Lopes told Ariel Helwani that this move-up may not be permanent, and he wants to feel his 'power and strength at 155 pounds' before deciding. 

“I lost twice to Volk, I won my last fight at 145, and we don’t have a lot of options there right now. So we made the decision to move to 155 and take some fun fights."

“Now I can do more things. I can take supplements, I can take creatine, I can lift more. I want to feel my power and my strength at 155, and after this fight we’ll see if I stay or go back to 145.”