Diego Lopes reveals timeline for next UFC fight following loss to Alexander Volkanovski

Diego Lopes has revealed when he’d like to make the trip back inside the Octagon.

Lopes took on Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship back in April. While Lopes had some moments, Volkanovski proved that he’s still an elite 145-pounder. Volkanovski defeated Lopes via unanimous decision to become a two-time UFC Featherweight Champion.

Lopes wants to get back on the horse and he knows the exact card he hopes to be a part of.

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Lopes Wants in on Noche UFC Card

In an interview with Danny Segura for MMAJunkie.com‘s “Hablemos MMA” podcast Diego Lopes put his name in the hat for a fight at UFC 320 in Guadalajara.

“My focus is to fight at Noche UFC in September,” Lopes told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. “Two names I can mention that I’d like would be the rematch against Movsar (Evloev) or a fight against Yair (Rodriguez). Either of those guys gets me close to the title.”

At this point, Lopes has one goal in mind, and that is to find himself in another UFC title fight.

“The fights that I have to take are the ones that guarantee me to fight for the belt next,” Lopes said. “I have yet to really think about it too much on what we want to do, but obviously we have Noche UFC in Guadalajara, that’s my objective, to fight there. The fight that I want is the one that gets me closest to the title. Regardless of who it is, I want the fight the UFC goes, ‘Ok, win this one, and you’re fighting for the title.’ That’s the one I’m taking, no problem.”

Lopes and Evloev fought back in 2023. The bout earned “Fight of the Night” honors, and the decision was given to Evloev. Lopes also has some bad blood with Rodriguez, and many believe that’s the direction the UFC should go in if Evloev ends up being Volkanovski’s challenger.