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UFC 308 Main Event Backup Diego Lopes Prefers Ilia Topuria Matchup
If all goes as planned, Diego Lopes won’t be needed on Oct. 26.
However, it’s always good to have a contingency in place, which is why Lopes will serve as the backup fighter for the UFC 308 featherweight title clash between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway. Lopes announced the role late last month, which means he will weigh in ahead of the event along with Topuria and Holloway.
Lopes does have an opponent preference if he were called upon to step in for the UFC 308 main event.
“I definitely would rather fight with Ilia for the undisputed title. That would be amazing. We’ve also really analyzed everything. We’ve sat down to analyze both fighters. People might take this the wrong way and say, ‘No, I don’t believe him,’ but I think for me, a fight against Topuria would be a better matchup for my style,” Lopes recently told MMAjunkie.com.
UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway Saturday at 2 PM ET on ESPN+. Order Now!
“It’s a fight that suits me. Against Max, it’s a fight where we have to mount a more complex strategy with no errors. With Topuria, as well, I’m not saying no, but I think against him things would be more favorable because I like to exchange and clash, and I hit hard. I’m capable of knocking out people. And since Ilia throws with everything and I throw with everything, we can say it’s a shootout and let’s see who falls first. So the fight against Ilia definitely suits more my style.”
Lopes has won five straight UFC bouts since falling to Movsar Evloev in his short-notice Octagon debut in May 2023. The Lobo Gym MMA product earned his most significant victory to date at UFC 306, when he took a clear-cut unanimous decision over two-time featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega at The Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.
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