Diego Lopes expects Brian Ortega to make it to the octagon with no hiccups on Sept. 14 at UFC 306 despite all the drama that unfolded hours prior to their scheduled June bout.
Lopes and Ortega agreed to face each other in a featherweight showdown on short notice at UFC 303 after the card suffered major hits, most notably the cancellation of Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler, but the bout was then moved to 155 pounds hours before official weigh-ins after Ortega had issues cutting weight.
In an unprecedented move, Dan Ige ultimately replaced Ortega just hours before the fight, facing Lopes in a 165-pound catchweight after Ortega fell ill. Lopes defeated Ige via decision for his fourth straight UFC win, and asked the promotion to retry the Ortega fight.
Both fighters have now agreed to meet in a featherweight contest next month at the Sphere, and the Brazilian is confident that Ortega will make weight and stay healthy.
“I have no fear,” Lopes told MMA Fighting. “He’s always had a hard time to make 145, but he always makes weight. It didn’t work out last time, unfortunately, but I understand it. We had two weeks [notice], he weighed over 176 pounds. We knew something like that could happen so we even offered to fight at 155, but the UFC said no. But I have no fear [about Ortega missing weight now]. I’m cool, I’m focused on my work and focused on evolving every single day, to go there and do a good job.”
Lopes said he was “caught by surprise” with the offer to fight Ige on just hours’ notice and that it felt like “going to the gym on sparring day and randomly sparring someone.”
It was an experience that taught him important lessons.
“I proved something to myself, that I’m ready for any situation in a fight,” Lopes said. “They changed the weight, changed the opponent on late notice, and that showed I have a strong mind to be prepared for any adversity.”
Lopes and Ortega will have full camps to prepare for each other this time around, and the Mexico-based athlete sees similarities between them in the boxing and grappling departments.
“The idea is always the same — walk forward and go for the finish as fast as possible,” Lopes said. “I know that doing a good work in the Ortega fight and beating him emphatically could elevate me in the rankings and my name will be strong to fight for the belt in the future.
“I don’t know if I’ll go straight for the belt [with a win at UFC 306], but my name will definitely be on the table if something happens. If the UFC has any last-minute changes, my name will be on the table, just like it was when they had to replace the co-main event at UFC 303. We can say a chance [for the belt] won’t be that far.”
