Diego Lopes has confirmed that he will be moving up to the Lightweight division. The Brazillian fighter made his name in the Featherweight division with his exciting and dynamic fighting style which allowed him to fight twice for the title against Alexander Volkanovski however, after failing to capture the Featherweight title, he has decided to move up to the Lightweight division.
Speaking to AG Fight, he said “(Lightweight) is the way to go. We’re already in pretty advanced talks for the next opponent and we hope that this week can define it . I want to fight this year. I want to fight in Novembe, at Madison Square Garden. It’s a good date for me as it’s the time I need to adjust my weight a bit more to 70 kg”.
With Alexander Volkanovski still sitting at the top of the Featherweight division, it does seem unlikely that Lopes will receive a title shot in the near future so perhaps a move up is the best thing for his career. Lopes is coming off a KO win against Steve Garcia at the White House card which will have done no harm for his star power, and Lightweight will provide plenty of fun potential matchups that will be fan-friendly and entertaining.
With Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy booked to fight each other, those names are off the table. A potential matchup against Charles Oliveira would be very exciting however, the Brazillian Vs Brazillian fight is potentially off the table with Oliveira rumoured to be Justin Gaethje’s next opponent for the title. Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett seem destined to face eachother next in a bad-blood matchup.
Two names that would provide really exciting tests for Quillan Salkilld and Max Holloway. Salkilld is in hot form right now and a fight against Lopes would propel either fighter into the title picture. Holloway is rumoured to face Conor McGregor for a third time next year following their anticlimactic fight in July however, it would be foolish to have him sit out for a year waiting for the Irishman. Lopes and Holloway never faced at Featherweight however, there is no doubt that if they were to face eachother, it would be a barn-burner.
Lopes has seemingly made the right decision to move up to Lightweight and there is no doubt that plenty of potential matchups exist for him which would help him to further propel his star power.
