UFC featherweight contender Diego Lopes believes that facing Aljamain Sterling next is not the right move for him.
Lopes improved to four wins in a row at UFC 303, where he earned a decision win against short-notice replacement Dan Ige, who filled in for Brian Ortega after the Mexican pulled out due to injury.
After his win, Lopes called for a rematch with Movsar Evloev, the only man to beat him in the UFC, but even if the Russian refuses to run it back, the featherweight prospect isn’t short of options.
For instance, Sterling wants to fight him. Unfortunately, Lopes thinks that a fight against the former bantamweight champion does not make sense.
“It doesn’t make sense now,” Lopes told Canal Encarada (as transcribed by MMAFighting). “We were going to fight the No. 3 in the world, then we fought the No. 13 and went up two positions. The UFC has basically guaranteed me a fight with a top-five [opponent] now so Aljamain Sterling makes no sense, and neither does a rematch with Movsar…
“They know I’m in a good spot right now. They know I was going to fight the No. 3 in the world and I’m kicking down the door for a title fight, so they want the buzz for themselves. It makes no sense for them to call me out since they’re ranked higher than me. It makes no sense, but they know I’m generating a lot [of buzz] with fans and the UFC. Since it appears that [Max] Holloway and [Ilia] Topuria will fight, I would like to fight Ortega because he has fought for the title twice and he has a ton of experience against the best of the division,” Lopes said. “A good fight and a good win over him would definitely put me next to a title fight.”
Do you agree with Diego Lopes?
