Diego Lopes denies Yair Rodriguez fight, wants Alexander Volkanovski showdown

UFC featherweight contender Diego Lopes has said that instead of fighting Yair Rodriguez, he wants to fight Alexander Volkanovski in his next outing.

As we know, Diego Lopes is one of the most exciting fighters in all of mixed martial arts. He’s also on the verge of challenging for the world title at 145 pounds. Recent reports suggested that he could be preparing to battle it out with Yair Rodriguez, but as it turns out, that may not be the case.

As per Diego Lopes, he’s got his eyes on something else – against a former undisputed world champion.

Diego Lopes wants Alexander Volkanovski

“The fight with Yair never happened,” Lopes told Submission Radio. “UFC talked to me, ‘OK now you sit down, you stay here, relax. Maybe we do a big fight for you.’ I’m training, I’m staying ready for for one big fight. I need one big fight now. I’m No. 3 in the rankings. I think Max (Holloway) is out of the rankings, but moved to lightweight. I don’t know what’s happening in the division now.”

“If (Topuria) moves, I think I’m next for the title to face Volk,” Lopes said. “I think they vacate the belt, no? I don’t know if Ilia would be ready for 145, maybe October, September? I don’t know. Ilia, I think he’ll move to lightweight.”

“I think this makes sense, right? Because I’m No. 3, Alex is No. 1,” Lopes said. “Ilia has moved for lightweight. Who’s the next fight for the title? I don’t have one fight for the title. I think me, Alex is make sense for the fight. April for me is really good timing.”

“This is a great fight, I need it so much,” Lopes said. “Alex has a lot of experience in UFC. This guy, I think his last 10 fights were five rounds. The guy has a lot of experience, but it’s a good fight for me. I proved myself. I’m ready for the champ.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie