The UFC Adore Diego Lopes - Third Title Opportunity Lined Up

Diego Lopes and big fights. Two things that go hand in hand.

After having a shot on the Contender Series in 2021 and losing, Lopes would go 2-1 before signing for the UFC on just a week's notice. Although he would go on to lose that one to Movsar Evloev, he would understandably get another shot in the UFC.

Since losing his Contender Series opportunity, Lopes has had 10 UFC fights and has featured on some of the biggest cards in the company's history. 

We take a look at all of the opportunities that the Brazilian-born featherweight has had throughout his short UFC career.

Diego Lopes - The UFC's Sweetheart

In his first UFC fight, Lopes featured on a PPV main card. His second outing saw him again feature on a main card, this time on a Fight Night. His third UFC fight saw him open up the main card in Madison Square Garden at UFC 295, a position that many fighters would love to fight in.

MMA in New York was banned until 2016, and a spot on an MSG card is still very sought after.

UFC 300, UFC Noche and First Title Fight

Next came UFC 300, a fight card that was billed as the biggest fight card in the company's history. Guess who was on it? Diego Lopes. He fought Sodiq Yusuff and recorded an impressive first-round knockout. He ran out two months later and took on Dan Ige on a few hours' notice. The Mexican native was scheduled to face Brian Ortega in the co-main event; however, the American pulled out on the day of the event and was replaced with Ige. Lopes would go on to win by over 15 minutes.

He did eventually face Brian Ortega when the UFC made its debut at The Sphere in Las Vegas for UFC 306. Similar to UFC 300, UFC 306 was billed as a card like no other. Visually, it was amazing, and before fight night, every fighter wanted to be on the card in what could be a one-and-done. Of course, it was a Noche UFC event and the Mexican representative, Lopes, was a shoo-in for the card. He'd again win via decision.

His first title opportunity came in the main event of UFC 314 against Alexander Volkanovski. With the featherweight title on the line, Lopes would come up short in convincing fashion, with Volkanovski winning 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46.

UFC Noche Main Event, Second Title Shot and White House Slot

After losing in his first title opportunity, Lopes was again handed a big spot, headlining the UFC Noche Fight Night event against Jean Silva. In a fantastic fight, Lopes came away with a second-round finish, earning him not only a fight of the night bonus and a performance of the night bonus, but it also got him a second title shot.

The second title shot was a controversial choice. He'd done very little to earn the shot, and others in the division had done a lot more to earn a shot at gold. Nevertheless, Lopes headlined UFC 325 against Volkanovski and this time lost in even more convincing fashion with scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45. 

Would Lopes get another big fight? Of course. Lopes would feature on UFC Freedom 250, the biggest card in UFC history. The event itself looked amazing, and there's very little denying that having Lopes on that fight card didn't make a lot of sense. He'd win that fight via knockout, setting up his next fight.

Lopes will move up in weight to lightweight and immediately get a huge fight. Coming off a single win over a lower-ranked featherweight, Lopes will compete for the BMF title against Charles Oliveira. A win catapults him into the top three of the division, a crazy feat for someone with just one win at the weight.