Just months before Diego Lopes’ rematch against Alexander Volkanovski was made official, the Brazilian was honest about who the champion must have fought next.
This past April, Diego Lopes had his first likelihood at undisputed gold when he took on Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title at UFC 314.
The Brazilian was dominated for five rounds by the Australian who went on to reclaim his title with a unanimous decision win.
But just just a few months later, Lopes returned to motion against the soaring featherweight Jean Silva, in what was thought to be a giant fight within the division.
Lopes admitted fellow contender should fight Volkanovski for the title
Not long before his fight against ‘Lord’ Silva, Lopes spoke in regards to the top of the division, and he admitted that undefeated contender Lerone Murphy was in the perfect position for a title shot.
“I feel Lerone Murphy (should fight Volkanovski next for the belt), Lerone Murphy did a superb job in his last fight, I feel he deserves to fight for the title, but I feel bad for Movsar (Evloev),” Lopes told The Ariel Helwani Show.
Just just a few weeks before Lopes’ clash against Silva, Murphy welcomed Aaron Pico to the UFC with an astonishing knockout, which can go down as potentially the Knockout of the 12 months.
Following the win, Volkanovski revealed that he desired to fight ‘The Miracle’ next, with him being a contender that the Australian hasn’t fought yet.
Despite that, just just a few weeks later, Lopes put an end to Silva’s win streak, almost taking the shine away from Murphy’s win, however it still seemed as if Murphy was in poll position for the title shot considering Volkanovski’s preference.
Nevertheless, this past Thursday, it was announced by the UFC boss Dana White that Volkanovski’s next title defense will are available in a rematch against Lopes within the UFC 325 important event in Sydney, Australia.
See how Alexander Volkanovski reacted to his UFC 325 rematch! Would you’ve somewhat seen his opponent wish granted? 🤔
Lerone Murphy unhappy with the UFC
After being snubbed for the subsequent title shot, the Brit has let it known that he is amazingly unhappy with the promotion’s decision.
The undefeated contender went on to say that the UFC is not any longer about the perfect fighting the perfect, it is solely a ‘popularity contest’.