WASHINGTON – Diego Lopes isn’t sure where he would go after a UFC Freedom 250 win.
Lopes (27-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) meets streaking featherweight Steve Garcia (19-5 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 (Paramount+) opener at the White House. Lopes lost to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski twice in his past three fights, so he knows a third title shot won’t come easy.
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“I’ve said this before, that there will be an intention to actually move up a weight division, but a win on Sunday puts me in a little complicated position,” Lopes said during Wednesday’s UFC Freedom 250 media day. “So, I’ve come off of two unsuccessful tries at a title, and then you win and you’re up on top, so you need to face people who are up-and-coming, that are always going to be below you. And I have no problem fighting those people, but at one point you run out of people, and they’re going to have to find just prospects to fight me. So, let’s see what happens on Sunday, and we’ll go from there.”
Lopes will be facing a knockout artist in Garcia, who’s on a seven-fight winning streak.
“I think he has a perfect style for me,” Lopes said. “I like this. I like the car crash, you know? In the chaos is where I’m the best guy.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC White House fighter admits win would put him in quandary
