Diego Lopes takes on the role of backup for the UFC 308 title fight

Things can only get better for UFC featherweight contender Diego Lopes from now on.

Three consecutive wins at three monumental events have put Lopes' name in the discussion for Fighter of the Year, especially after his masterful performance against former title challenger Brian Ortega at UFC 306.

The win pushed Lopes to the top of the rankings at number 3, behind only former champions Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and current king Ilia Topuria.

UFC 307: Top challenger officially withdraws from Salt Lake City card

Lopes no longer has any interest in a rematch with lower-ranked challenger Movsar Evloev (who picked up a win over him last year), especially not on such short notice. Instead, he has set his sights on the featherweight elite, whether that's replacing Topuria or Holloway in their undisputed title fight at UFC 308 (should either withdraw) or perhaps the next best alternative in the 145-pound weight class.

“If that doesn’t happen, we would like to have the opportunity to fight Volkanovski in December,” Lopes said MMA fights.

Volkanovski is one of the more active champions in recent UFC history and has not fought since his title loss to Topuria at UFC 298 in February. The KO loss was his second in four months. He also lost to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 last October.

Volkanovski has said in the past that he will likely wait for the winner of the Topuria vs. Holloway fight, as there are no other middleweight fights that interest him at the moment.

This is where a new name like Lopes comes into play…

“He doesn't like to wait and neither do I, so this could be a good fight,” Lopes said of a potential fight with Volkanovski. “A lot can still happen, but I think the two most viable options for us right now are to be the replacement fighter in Abu Dhabi or to fight Volkanovski in December. The UFC is aware that I am for [UFC 308]So it depends on what you want to do.”

Diego Lopes is looking to close 2024 with a fourth win and says he would be ready to fight Alexander Volkanovski at either UFC 310 on December 7 in Las Vegas or UFC Tampa on December 14.

Is this the next featherweight fight or has Alexander Volkanovski earned the right to sit out an imminent title fight?

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