Alexander Volkanovski is ready to smash his way through Diego Lopes to reclaim the featherweight crown.
On Wednesday, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Ilia Topuria had officially vacated the 145-pound title to move up and challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight championship later this year.
As a result, Volkvanovski will headline UFC 314 on April 12 when the promotion heads back to Miami, Florida. There, ‘The Great’ will square off with No. 3 ranked contender Diego Lopes for the vacate featherweight title.
It will be Volkanovski’s first time competing since suffering back-to-back knockout losses against Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev last year.
Alexander Volkanovski has a very clear message for diego lopes
But despite his recent struggles, the Aussie fan favorite still believes he’s one of the best fighters in the world and that he’ll run roughshod all over Lopes en route to reclaiming the featherweight throne.
“Lopes is obviously a dangerous dude,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. A bit of a different matchup to Ilia. Obviously, they are both dangerous fighters. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to this one and feeling excited. I’m feeling great and I’m only going to get better from here, so that’s a scary thing, especially for Lopes.
“I think Lopes is in for a very, very hard fight. He’s a gamer. He’s a great dude. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. A very nice fella. I’m sure he’s expecting to go out there and win the belt, but I’m sorry, mate, that ain’t happening. Good on you for being in this position. I’m happy you’re getting the opportunity to fight for the belt, but I’m still here and you ain’t having it. Sorry, mate.”
Lopes goes into his first title opportunity riding a five-fight win streak, including a dominant decision victory over Brian Ortega in his last outing at UFC 306. Lopes also holds wins over Dan Ige, Sodiq Yusuff, Pat Sabatini, and Gavin Tucker.
