Diego Lopes believes there would’ve been complaints about the UFC 325 main event even if he wasn’t a part of it.
UFC’s choice for the headliner of its next major event has left some scratching their heads. Lopes will be getting a rematch with Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC Featherweight Championship. The two fought less than a year ago for the vacant 145-pound title, and Volkanovski won the bout via unanimous decision.
While the likes of Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev were preferred challengers among fans and pundits, Lopes ended up getting the call once again. In an interview with MMAFighting.com, Lopes said he feels there would’ve been critics no matter what direction UFC went in.
“No one is going to say ‘no’ to a title fight, right?” Lopes said. “People are going to criticize any decision the UFC makes. If the UFC gave the fight to Movsar Evloev, some people would criticize it saying, ‘Oh, but the guy hasn’t fought in a year.’ If they gave it to Lerone Murphy, another group would criticize it too saying, ‘How are you going to give a title shot to a guy who just beat someone who wasn’t even in the UFC?’ They gave me the fight and people are criticizing it. People are never going to be happy with anything, you know? There’s always going to be someone trying to criticize.”
Lopes’ rematch with Volkanovski will be taking place on Saturday in Sydney. It’ll be Volkanovski’s first title defense in his second reign as the featherweight king. As for Lopes, he’s hoping to build off the momentum of his second-round TKO finish over Jean Silva back in Sept. 2025.
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Do you like Diego Lopes’ chances against Alexander Volkanovski better this time? Let us know in the comment section below.