Diego Lopes wants to make sure to leave one thing clear: He’s good to go whenever needed.
Despite getting into a war with famed brawler Jean Silva a little less than two weeks ago, Lopes (27-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has already returned to training and has cleared his schedule should the UFC need his services anytime soon. With UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski itching to make a return to the cage relatively soon, Lopes wants the UFC and MMA fans to know that he’s available, pushing aside any doubts on whether he’d be ready and healed up to fight as soon as December.
“Yeah, of course, definitely,” Lopes told Hablemos MMA in Spanish when asked if he’d be ready to fight in December. “I had a seven-day suspension, and Monday I returned to the gym to train. People know I like to fight. I’m never too heavy. I’m never the person that goes, ‘Oh, I need three our four months to prepare for a fight.’ No, I’m not that type of person. The type of person that I am is someone that the UFC can call and ask to fight next week. I’ll catch a flight, and I’m there to fight. So yeah, if the UFC wants me to fight in December, I’m there.
Lopes, who became the first man to stop Silva by stopping him in a second-round TKO in the main event of Noche UFC, was coming off a unanimous decision loss to Volkanovski for the vacant featherweight title in April. Despite just logging one win since the championship defeat, Lopes believes he re-inserted his name into the title picture at 145 pounds with his spinning-elbow stoppage.
Lopes understands there are other deserving contenders, but none match him in the excitement factor.
“We haven’t had any talks, but I did what I said I would and there’s my work,” Lopes explained. “The job was well done, 10 out of 10. Like I had told you before the fight, winning the fight in spectacular fashion would put my name on the table. I think now the UFC definitely has my name on the table, and they’re now going to have to figure out who’s next. Also, if we’re talking about fights that people want to see, I think my name is sounds good to a lot of people. People want exciting fights, fights that get them glued to the T.V. People don’t want fights where they feel they can go to the bathroom or go get. a glass of water and comeback, and it’s the same fight.”
