Diego Lopes Admits Alexander Volkanovski Will ‘Be Better’ in Their Fight at UFC 314 Because of His Mindset

Will Alexander Volkanovksi be the same fighter he once was, when he takes on Diego Lopes for the featherweight title at UFC 314? The former champion is sitting on a 2-fight skid, courtesy of brutal knockouts from Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria and is widely touted as not being the same fighter anymore.

Ahead of the fight, Lopes has claimed that it would be a fool’s errand to believe the hullabaloo about Volk’s readiness. It is true that Volk’s last fight was on 17 Feb 2024, at UFC 298. So, it will have been more than a year when he returns to the octagon on 12 April this year. At 36 years of age, a gap that long can result in major ring rust, which on top of 2 vicious KOs can do a lot of harm.

However, Lopes believes this gap year will have only helped Volk become a better fighter. Speaking to Ariel Helwani, he said, “I think Alex is going to be better. The guy has rested for one year and he’s healthy for the next fight. Alex knew he was 100% next to fight for the title. So I think the guy stayed in the preparation for a long time.”

 

However, Lopes himself has been on an impressive rise in the division, and he sees this as the perfect opportunity to make his mark at the top. He has long been around sniffing for the title shot that had eluded him but his time is finally here.

At UFC 314, he will hope to push his 5-fight win streak to six in the biggest fight of his career. However, not everyone believes he belongs there with Volkanovski, at least not with the title on the line.

Chief among them is former champion Aljamain Sterling asserts his last opponent Movsar Evloev deserves it far more than the Brazilian contender.

Sterling presents Evloev’s case

Evloev, who last defeated Sterling, also has a strong case to be the rightful choice for the vacant belt. He is 19-0 in all pro MMA with 9 of those fights having come in a UFC setting. This is why Sterling believes the UFC should have asked Evloev before going to Lopes.

However, he does claim to understand Lopes’ situation and asserts that no fighter in their right mind would turn down the opportunity.

Lopes, noticing Sterling’s post, responded with laughter, which led to further back-and-forth exchanges. He defended his position, arguing that he earned his title shot through his activity in the division. Accusing both Sterling and Evloev of avoiding matchups, he claimed his career wasn’t riddled with as many bad choices.

Lopes and Evloev previously fought at UFC 288, where the latter had secured a unanimous decision victory.

However, since that loss, Lopes has been on a dominant streak, including an impressive victory over Brian Ortega at UFC 306, making a strong case for his championship opportunity.