Diego Lopes didn’t know his next fight would be at the White House.
The two-time UFC featherweight title challenger revealed Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show” that he discovered right along with the rest of the world that his clash against Steve Garcia was taking place in the nation’s capital Sunday. Lopes said he agreed to his next matchup without knowing a date or location — until this past March, when the promotion announced the full card lineup for UFC Freedom 250 on UFC 326’s broadcast.
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“I don’t have a choice,” Lopes told Uncrowned. “UFC called me two days before announcing the card and say, ‘Hey, maybe you fight with Steve Garcia,’ but UFC never said it would be at the White House. I just said, ‘Yeah, don’t worry.’ The people know me — I accept all fights. Two days later, at the Max [Holloway] vs. [Charles] Oliveira card, they start showing the fights and I saw my name.
“I said, ‘OK, cool, one more fight.'”
Lopes, 31, has been as game as they come thus far in his nine-fight UFC career, so it should come as no surprise that he acknowledged afterward that he would’ve said yes to the unique spectacle had he known it was even an option.
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Ultimately, a third straight appearance at UFC’s annual Mexican Independence Day event — Noche UFC — was what Lopes thought he was in store for opposite Garcia.
“I thought maybe September at Noche UFC,” Lopes said. “This was in my mind at this time. Now I make history because I have fights on important cards.
“I just lost my second chance at the title, so I don’t have a lot of choices. I like to say yes for every fight the UFC offers me.”
Garcia will now act as the rebound opportunity Lopes is looking for after his latest defeat at the hands of current UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. February’s decision loss at UFC 325 marked only the third setback of Lopes’ UFC career, putting him in somewhat of a limbo for as long as Volkanovski reigns over the 145-pound division.
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In Volkanovski’s next title defense, the champ is expected to face undefeated top contender Movsar Evloev — the same Evloev who handed Lopes his first UFC loss in Lopes’ promotional debut. While Lopes doesn’t expect the challenger to dethrone Volkanovski, he acknowledges that would be the best-case scenario for him personally.
“This guy is the best guy in the world, in the division, for a long, long time,” Lopes said of Volkanovski, who is 2-0 over Lopes. “I don’t have a lot of things to talk about that. The people can ask, ‘Why you don’t fight the same against Volk?’ Because Volk is Volk. Volk is different. Not all fighters are the same thing. He’s different.
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“I think Volk still has the advantage [against Evloev]. I think maybe he’ll take the win, then the title — he wins the fight, then he retires. Maybe if he retires, then I have a chance [to challenge] again for the belt.
“Volk is still here, so it’s hard for me. I never want bad things for a person, but now I wait for Volk to retire soon.”
Obviously, none of Lopes’ hopes matter if he doesn’t get through Garcia on the White House lawn. Lopes can be the one to halt Garcia’s solid stretch of momentum by snapping a seven-fight win streak.
Lopes knows the danger presented by Garcia, who’s finished six of his past seven wins by knockout. But Lopes isn’t concerned by a style he feels all too familiar with.
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“This is not the first time I’ve fought a dangerous guy,” he said. “Before my second fight with Volk, I fight Jean Silva. He had a good [five] straight win [streak] in UFC, like long, maybe [five] straight fights of knockout or submission in UFC. This is not new for me.”
