Diego Lopes is being given a second chance to beat Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title at UFC 325, and while many people are wondering why given Volk beat him pretty handily just nine months
ago. In a new interview with FOX Sports Australia, Lopes laid out his case for a different outcome on January 31st.
“I learned a lot,” Lopes said. “When I fought with Volk in April, I had this a little bit of ego. I have a great [streak], straight wins. I think I don’t need to fix anything in my training camp. I think everything is good. But after the fight, I saw many things that were not good in my training camp. So after that fight, I fixed many things.”
“Now I feel much better. I put in a private gym only for me and my team. No distraction. No people coming to the gym asking things, photos, videos. I had a lesson for for this fight.”
Lopes’ fight against Volk was also the Brazilian’s first five round fight in the UFC, and knowing he can keep pace with a cardio beast like “The Great” for 25 minutes was a huge confidence boost.
“I don’t have the pressure,” Lopes said. “I think the first time I fought Volk, I only tried finishing with one big punch. I forgot many things in this fight. And I forgot the best thing in my life: enjoy the moment. When I enjoy the moments, I’m the best guy in the division.”
Lopes also said this was the third camp in a row that he prepared for Volkanovski because he trained for his fight against Jean Silva in September with an eye on beating Volk down the road.
“The fight with Jean Silva gave me a lot of experience too,” he said. “Because Volk was only waiting for me. He don’t need to fight. He only fight with me … I have a training camp to fix many things. My focus in the training camp was never the game plan against Jean Silva. It was focused on Volkanovski.”
“In the training camp for Jean Silva, I worked at the same time on Jean and Volkanovski, I fixed money things. So I’m prepared for this fight. I’ve prepared for this fight for a long time.”
Lopes knows he’s got a challenge ahead of him at UFC 325, especially given he’s having to fight Alexander Volkanovski in his backyard of Sydney, Australia.
“Bro, I’m fighting in enemy territory. I need to finish this fight,” he said. “Submission, knockout, a complete domination five rounds. This is my goal. My goal is finishing.”
