San Antonio, TX — After fighting for a UFC title, Diego Lopes called his Noche UFC main event fight against Jean Silva “one more day at the office” during Wednesday’s media day promoting the event.
That’s in stark contrast to Silva himself, who during his own media day appearance was focused on the occasion and called himself one of the faces of the UFC.
“I understand him, because this happened with me before too. This is normal, no? One guy worked so long for this time, for main event in the UFC. I think it’s normal, but I don’t know, maybe it’s a mixed feeling for him and the fight,” Lopes (26-7) said in response.
Lopes is in been there, done that territory here. His own impressive rise up the 145lb division took him to a title fight with Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year. Now, he looks to bounce back from a loss there, an adopted Mexican of sorts originally from Brazil, headlining a card celebrating Mexican independence and the nation’s fighting spirit.
While Diego Lopes might relate to Jean Silva on one front, he doesn’t fully understand his latest opponent. “I don’t know. This guy is a little bit strange. At the same time, he talks sh*t on the internet, but outside tries like he’ll be nice. I don’t understand this.”
When it comes to going five rounds with Silva (who has never gone past three), Lopes predicted an early night instead. “I’m finishing this fight. This is not going the distance.”
Lopes also touched on his fight with Volkanovski at UFC 314 in Miami. “I have a lot of confidence in myself now, because I learned so much in this fight. I think Volk taught me a lot of things in this fight. I fixed many things after this fight too; now I have more confidence in myself.”
He’d expand by saying that “after this, nothing is new for me in the octagon. I faced the best guy in the world. After the Volk fight, I think nothing is new for me.”
Watch the full Noche UFC media day appearance by Diego Lopes above.
