UFC featherweight Diego Lopes will get a second crack at Alexander Volkanovski’s title this Saturday night at UFC 325 in Sydney, stepping into a rematch that offers both championship stakes and a shot at redemption.
Already one of the promotion’s most popular fighters, Lopes enters the bout with momentum and the opportunity to turn a hard-fought first meeting into a career-defining victory on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
“I know I make a lot of mistakes in the first fight with Volk. I tried to only finish him (with) one big hit, you know, one big punch. After the second round I dropped him I feel like okay I have the power for finishing him,” Lopes told reporters on Wednesday.
“I only looked for this. I forget many things in my game plan. I fixed this in training camp so now it’s completely different.”
Lopes (27-7) dropped the first meeting by decision in a bout many observers felt Volkanovski controlled, but he isn’t entering the rematch driven purely by revenge. His focus this time is squarely on one thing, capturing UFC gold.
“I only want to take the belt. This is my goal,” he said.
Rarely a fighter who draws boos, Lopes could find himself on the receiving end Saturday night with Australia’s favorite son standing across from him as champion at UFC 325. Still, he laughed off the idea that a hostile crowd would have any impact on his performance.
“I’m not worried with this. I left my (home) 11 years ago. My whole (career) is in enemy territory so for me it’s not new,” he said.
“Every place that Volk fights the people supporting him. He’s not only for Australia. I know people in the crowds (are) supporting him, but I (don’t) care about this.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Diego Lopes above. He challenges Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 325 on Saturday night.
