Diego Lopes hopes for future clash vs. Yair Rodriguez: 'I will ask for that fight again'
After their viral heated confrontation at the UFC 314 pre-fight press conference in April, the UFC tried to book the two for the headliner of this year's Noche UFC – the promotion's annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day. Lopes (27-6 MMA, 6-1 UFC) was coming off a decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski in a championship bout for the vacant UFC featherweight belt, and Rodriguez (20-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) off a decision win over former Bellator champion Patricio Freire at UFC 314.
Advertisement
Unfortunately, the fight wasn't able to materialize. Rodriguez said he couldn't accept the fight due to nagging injuries from the fight against "Pitbull," which didn't surprise Lopes.
"I knew that the fight with Yair was going to be hard to get done, I don't need to say anything, we know his past record," Lopes told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. "We know how he sometimes sits out and wants things to fall on his lap like a gift. His past record speaks for itself. I don't need to name names, but he hasn't accepted many fights. I'm the opposite, I don't sit and wait for anything. If you want to fight, accept the fight, and let's go. So Jean Silva wants to fight, let's fight then."
Lopes ended up getting booked against Silva, a fellow Brazilian, to headline Noche UFC – which goes down on Sept. 13 in San Antonio. It was quite the odyssey to get to this booking, as UFC offered him a plethora of names, including newcomer Aaron Pico.
"I knew I was going to fight at Noche UFC no matter what happened in my last fight, I was going to fight there," Lopes explained. "After I lost the title fight and everything that happened with UFC changing the event to a Fight Night, they offered me, well before that, they had offered me a fight against Aaron Pico. I said no problem. Two days later, I get offered Jean Silva and I said no problem, we accepted. Two more weeks passed after they change the event to a Fight Night ad they said you vs. Yair in the main event of Noche UFC. Again, I accepted, no problem. Then UFC goes to work on the fight, and they come around again offering me Jean Silva. Jean Silva for Noche UFC? No problem.
Advertisement
"In the position that I'm in, I don't have options. My option is to fight against the guys below me, and what a better way to show I'm deserving of my position and I deserve being considered to fight again for the title by beating the guy who has the most hype right now. Exactly what I went through is what he's going through right now. I went up a lot in level, I exceeded expectations, beat a guy in the top 5 and went on to fight for the title. I think it's the same trajectory the UFC is doing for him. Unfortunately, he has to fight me and I want to prove my arrival was no strike of luck."
Although the Rodriguez fight couldn't come together, Lopes does hope to get paired against him in the future. As seen in the UFC 314 pre-fight press conference, there's plenty of bad blood between the two and unsettled business that stems from an alleged altercation between Lopes and Rodriguez's friend, former UFC fighter Marco Beltran, at a regional Mexican event years ago.
"I hope so, I hope that in the future the fight happens," Lopes said. "If I win on September 13 and the UFC does the winner of Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico against Volkanovski, and he's there, then I will ask for that fight again."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Diego Lopes hopes for future UFC clash vs. Yair Rodriguez
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
34 minutes ago
- USA Today
Roman Dolidze vows to impress UFC brass, 'make them give me title fight'
Whatever the UFC throws his way, Roman Dolidze is convinced he will convince Dana White and Co. that he's championship material. "No matter how many fights they will give me, I will make them give me title fight," Dolidze told MMA Junkie on Monday. "I will just go through this." Dolidze, No. 9 in the official middleweight rankings, will ride a three-fight winning streak into Saturday's UFC on ESPN 72 main event against No. 10 Anthony Hernandez at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN, ESPN+). The fight marks Dolidze's second Fight Night headliner of the year after he most recently beat Marvin Vettori in their rematch in March and his third overall main event since last year. Not that it makes much of a difference to Dolidze. "Main event or not main event, it didn't change nothing for me," Dolidze said. "A little bit more preparation because of five rounds, but it's same fight." And it comes at a time when the UFC middleweight division is being showcased in prime slots. On July 19, Paulo Costa looked impressive in his UFC 318 co-main event win over Roman Kopylov. One week later, Reinier de Ridder claimed a split decision win over former champion Robert Whittaker to vault up to No. 5 in the official rankings. Now it's Dolidze (15-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and Hernandez (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who's on a seven-fight winning streak, taking center stage before the huge title fight between champion Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev next Saturday, Aug. 16 at UFC 319 in Chicago. Dolidze recognizes the moment is a golden opportunity to assert himself into the title picture. "Of course. 'Fluffy' is on a seven-fight win streak, and when we win we will take this part of him," Dolidze said. "I think after this fight I will be one fight, one step to a title fight. And I deserve it." While Dolidze believes both he and Hernandez deserve higher-ranked opponents than each other, he's ultimately at peace with the challenge in front of him. "I'm the type of person if I don't like something, I will say I don't agree," Dolidze said. "And if I don't agree and don't like what they're doing with me, I'll say OK, I'm leaving then. But if I am fighting, that's me saying I'm very thankful to the organization, and I'm just moving forward. That's all, nothing more."
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
HyunSung Park reacts to submission loss to Tatsuro Taira: 'No more 7 day rush offer'
HyunSung Park is staying positive after his first professional defeat. HyunSung Park is keeping his head up high after suffering his first professional defeat. The South Korean fighter was dominated and quickly submitted with a face crank by Japan's Tatsuro Taira in the main event of UFC on ESPN 71 – which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It was a tough pill to swallow for Park (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), but there are many lessons he's taking from the experience, including the nature in which he took the fight against Taira (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC). "Absolutely lost. It's hard indeed," Park wrote on Instagram in Korean (English translation through Instagram). "I had a lot of problems, but I think I learned a lot from them. I will grow from what I learned this time. I will not give up. I will go up. It was a learning experience. I'll show you the best again in the next match soon. I'm not frustrated. Thank you all for your support. And no more 7 day rush offer! Lmfao." Park took the fight on a week of notice. He replaced top contender Amir Albazi, who wasn't cleared to fight the by the Nevada Athletic Commission. The loss to Taira was his first professional defeat. Prior to that, he had won all 10 of his MMA fights, which included winning season 1 of Road to UFC flyweight tournament. Park has picked up nine finishes in his 10 career wins.
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
UFC 320: Another Major Fight Added To Stacked Vegas Card
UFC 320 is looking stronger every day. On Monday, a top-notch middleweight fight was added to the card making the already stacked Las Vegas card look even better–at least on paper. Joe Pyfer will take on Abus Magomedov in a battle that could prove which veteran 185er has what it takes to take a step up in the rankings. Pyfer could be seen as the Jacob Fatu of the UFC's middleweight division. He's all gas and no brakes, but that approach has gotten him into trouble against Jack Hermansson where he appeared to gas out as he was forced to grapple for extended periods. That aspect of Pyfer's game will almost certainly be put to the test against Magomedov. The Dagestani Russian brings a heavy grappling style as evidenced by his gutsy submission victory over Brunno Ferreira in October 2024. Magomedov had some tense moments, but he wound up winning by third-round submission using an arm-triangle as he overtook the gassed-out Ferreira. Is the same thing going to happen to Pyfer? A win would solidify Magomedov's status at No. 14 in the division. A loss would probably see him swap spots with Pyfer who comes into the fight unranked. Because of the stylistic battle between Pyfer and Magomedov, it should fit nicely on the UFC 320 card that already has its share of potential bangers. The main event will see Alex Pereira looking to avenge his loss to Magomed Ankalaev in hopes of regaining his UFC light heavyweight title. No matter what happens, this could be Pereira's last fight at light heavyweight. In the co-main event, my favorite for UFC Fighter of the Year, Merab Dvalishvili will look to defend his title for the third time in 2025 when he faces long-time contender Cory Sandhagen. I know Ilia Topuria is on a crazy run, but if Dvalishvili beats Sandhagen, he's the fighter of the year. Also, former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka will battle Khalil Rountree Jr. in a fight that could steal the show. While the card isn't complete, here are the fights we know about: Last Saturday's UFC Fight Night: Taira vs. Park and the next one featuring Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Hernandez on August 9 aren't going to get fans out of their chairs–at least not on name recognition. However, business picks up with UFC 319 on August 16. The August 23 card in China has a nice feel to it because of location and local star power while Noche UFC should highlight September's slate. October is where the real fire will be on the upcoming UFC calendar and UFC 320 is a big reason for the buzz.
