Diego Lopes got the win, and that’s ultimately all that matters to him, but he wasn’t too happy after Jean Silva hit him with a cheap shot in the back of the head just moments after the Noche UFC main event ended.
The fight played out in dramatic fashion with Lopes dominating early and then Silva storming back in the second round. Just when it appeared Silva was gaining momentum, Lopes uncorked a hellacious spinning back elbow that flattened the Brazilian with the finish coming just a few seconds
later.
Silva protested the stoppage despite blood pouring down his face and replays showing the damage he was absorbing from the blows on the ground. Lopes’ celebration was cut short after Silva got back to his feet and actually threw a punch at him as he was walking away.
“After the [finish], Jean hit me in the back of my head. I said what happened?” Lopes recounted on the Noche UFC post-fight show. “I said I don’t know. After this, this guy tried to be nice with me. I cannot understand. Are you trying to be my friend? Go to your side. This guy hit me in my head, the back of my head. I think this is not nice.”
Silva appeared to calm down after the initial altercation and it looked like he made amends after Lopes was announced as the winner with a second-round TKO.
The punch to the back of the head was bothersome but Lopes admits he was mostly ready to unleash his own emotions after hearing Silva’s team talk trash to him all week long. That’s what led to him jumping on top of the cage and throwing up double middle fingers as Lopes got the last laugh in the fight.
“This guy talked a lot in the fight,” Lopes said. “I’m so calm. I’m not talking. I told everyone, I’ll talk in the octagon.
“After the fight, I go to your corner, I told your coaches [put] more respect on my name because [leading up to the fight], this guy commented, he talked shit in the post [on social media].”
Regardless of the bad blood between teams, Lopes got the job done in the moment that mattered most and he revealed afterwards that he was actually prepared to throw that spinning back elbow when the perfect opening happened in the fight.
“I prepared a lot for this fight,” Lopes said. “I told all week, I’m coming guys but [I do my talking] in the octagon. I tell you this game has levels. Tomorrow, today, I showed everyone this game has levels.
“After he started connecting with a couple of punches that he would have more confidence to try for the knockout. But I know, after this, every time this guy is a little bit exposed. He attacks so long, he’s a little bit exposed this time for the spinning back elbow. I trained this backstage with my coach and my training partners, too. I’m so grateful to my team for this perfect game plan.”
The strategy paid off with Lopes scoring the highlight reel finish and now he’s back on track following a loss to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in his previous outing.
