This past Saturday night on the main card of Noche UFC, we saw a big time featherweight matchup. Former two-time title challenger Brian Ortega (16-4) was looking to halt the momentum of rising superstar Diego Lopes (26-6).
Diego Lopes has made a massive splash since entering the UFC. He took a fight with top contender Movsar Evloev on just a few days’ notice and nearly defeated the undefeated top contender. Since then, he had won four fights in a row in incredibly impressive fashion. He was looking for his biggest win of his career on Saturday night.
It didn’t take Lopes long to prove just how elite he was. Within the first 30 seconds, he rocked Ortega badly with a huge combination that nearly had Ortega out. T-City survived, but the combination really set the tone of the fight. Ortega had moments here and there, but this was all about Diego Lopes who largely cruised to a lopsided decision win at UFC 306.
What’s next after Noche UFC?
While the rankings don’t come out until tomorrow, Diego Lopes is likely going to be third in the featherweight division only behind the champ Ilia Topuria and former champions Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. Lopes shouted at Dana White that he wanted a title shot next, but I don’t see that happening after Noche UFC.
Lopes is right in the mix, but I think he needs one more win before that title fight happens. Max Holloway is getting a crack at Ilia Topuria next month and it’s not clear who would be next. I still maintain that Alexander Volkanovski deserves another shot at the title given his championship reign at 145.
That said, I love the idea of Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes fighting in a title eliminator. If the UFC is thinking something different, I like the idea of Lopes facing the winner of Movsar Evloev and Aljamain Sterling. Evloev and Lopes have both expressed interest in running it back with both having full training camps. Meanwhile if Sterling wins, it would be a great opportunity for Lopes to fight a former champion.