Forward of his return at UFC 314, incoming title challenger, Diego Lopes has claimed the promotion have knowledgeable present champions that they’ll now not have the ability to try to grow to be two-weight titleholders, with out beforehand vacating their gold of their present weight class.
Lopes, the present quantity three ranked featherweight champion, is about to headline UFC 314 in April, competing for vacant title spoils in a high-stakes primary occasion battle with ex-gold holder, Alexander Volkanovski in simply his seventh Octagon begin.
Awarded the chance to tackle the New South Wales favourite for the featherweight title, Lopes and the previous will compete for spoils now vacated by the unbeaten, Ilia Topuria — who’s hellbent on a transfer to the light-weight restrict to tackle the incumbent, Islam Makhachev — probably as quickly as UFC 317 in June.
Diego Lopes claims UFC will forestall two-weight champions going ahead
Nevertheless, in accordance with Brazilian-born favourite, Lopes, the UFC has now knowledgeable present reigning champions that the times of two-weight titleholders held concurrently are over — with hopefuls instructed they have to first vacate their very own championships earlier than a divisional leap.
It was very clear to us that they wouldn’t be giving individuals an opportunity to play in numerous classes,” Diego Lopes instructed ESPN throughout a latest interview. “If you wish to go up within the class, you must lose your title slowly. That’s what the UFC has mentioned to all of the champions who’re fascinated by going up within the class.
They received’t give us the standing of double champion concurrently,” Diego Lopes continued. “If it’s going to be double champion, it’s only going to be a two-category champion. It’s up to everyone’s decision. If they feel like they have nothing to do in the division, they can go ahead with their career. I know that in the division we have very good fighters who could give very good fights against him. We could even put him in serious trouble and even win.”
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Himself most lately touchdown his sixth straight victory within the promotion, Lopes landed himself within the top-3 of the division with a one-sided unanimous resolution win over former title challenger, Brian Ortega on the primary card of Noche UFC again in September of final 12 months.
