A top featherweight contender says he’s been picked by the promotion to serve as a backup fighter for an upcoming pay-per-view.
Diego Lopes announced Friday on Instagram that he’ll serve as the Oct. 26 backup fighter for the UFC 308 title fight between champion Ilia Topuria and challenger Max Holloway. The event takes place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
“Officially back up for the fight on October 26th,” Lopes wrote in a collaboration post with his management Iridium Sports Agency. “See you in Abu Dhabi ”
Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has emerged as a budding star for the UFC less than 17 months into his promotional tenure. A short-notice debut loss to Movsar Evloev immediately gained Lopes a ton of fans for putting forth a competitive outing against one of the division’s best fighters. Since then, he’s defeated Gavin Tucker, Pat Sabatini, Sodiq Yusuff, Dan Ige, and most recently Brian Ortega, in succession to clinch a backup fighter role.
Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) aims to defend the title for the first time since winning it vs. Alexander Volkanovski. Meanwhile, Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) bids to hold gold once again after a three-fight winning streak that includes Arnold Allen, Chan Sung Jung, and Justin Gaethje.
Full UFC 308 fight card lineup
- Champion Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
- Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker
- Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
- Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
- Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy
- Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
- Rafael dos Anjos vs. Geoff Neal
- Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira
- Brunno Ferreira vs. Abus Magomedov
- Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki
- Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
- Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Justin Tafa
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.