Diego Lopez wants to rebook his fight with Brian Ortega.
Following his loss to Conor McGregor versus Michael Chandler, the rising featherweight star quickly agreed to face the two-time title challenger at UFC 303 in late June, but the matchup was moved up a weight class and then completely changed just hours before when Dan Ige was revealed as a new opponent.
Lopez won a decision that night and is adamant that Ortega should be his next opponent at UFC, which is why he has chosen to turn down calls from former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and former opponent Movsar Evloev.
“It doesn’t make sense now,” Lopez told Canal Encalada when asked about the possibility of facing Sterling next. “We were scheduled to fight the No. 3 in the world, then I fought the No. 13 and moved up two spots, and UFC basically guaranteed me a fight against a top-five guy. [opponent] So Aljamain Sterling doesn't make sense, and the rematch with Mobzar doesn't make sense either.”
Lopez went on a fast and dirty UFC debut with Evloev and has since racked up four UFC wins and three post-fight bonuses. Evloev has only fought one bout since beating Lopez, a decision win over Arnold Allen. Meanwhile, Sterling is 1-0 since his return to 145 pounds, having defeated Calvin Kattar in three rounds earlier this year.
“They know I'm in a good spot right now,” Lopez said. “They know I'm going to fight the No. 3 in the world and I'm kicking down the door for a title fight, so they want to create buzz for themselves. They're ranked higher than me, so there's no point in them bashing me. There's no point, but they know I'm getting a lot of attention.” [of buzz] With the fans and with UFC.”
Lopez said he had been informed by UFC that he would be taking part in the UFC 306 pay-per-view at the Sphere on September 14, but that he had not yet decided on a dance partner. However, Lopez added that facing Ortega was more important than appearing on the Sphere card. Ortega has said he wants to compete full time in the lightweight division going forward, and Lopez said, “If he does that, I'll be happy.” [featherweight ranking position] It's taking time.”
“Apparently [Max] Holloway and [Ilia] “Topuria will fight. I want to fight Ortega because he's fought for the title twice and has a lot of experience fighting the best in the division,” Lopez said. “If I put up a good fight and beat him, I'll definitely be in for a title shot.”
