After his success in the featherweight division of the UFC 295 main card, Lopes hopes to have a main event bout featuring him and Bryce Mitchell.
Lopes made a successful fight against Pat Sabatini on Saturday by raining the opponent punches that led to a KO win. The bout ended at just 1:30 of Round 1. With his latest win, Lopes’ record is now 23-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC, while Sabatini gets an 18-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC record.
Now, the featherweight victor hopes to be featured in a main event. During the UFC 295 post-fight news conference, Lopes shared that he deserves such an opportunity. When asked about who he would like to face in case that is pushed by UFC, Lopes has an instant answer: Bryce Mitchell.
“Let’s see what the rankings are on Tuesday,” Lopes said at a UFC 295 post-fight news conference. “But I think if I’m ranked, I feel that fighting Bryce Mitchell would be a good fight. I think he’s somebody who’s been looking for a five-round fight, so why not have a main event? If the UFC wants it, I’ll be right there to fight him.”
Having a 16-2-0 in the field, Mitchell has an impressive record. Despite losing to Ilia Topuria in December last year, he won against Dan Ige in September during UFC Fight Night. For the rest of his UFC record, Mitchell is undeniably flawless. With this, while Mitchell still doesn’t have a fight booked, the pick might be a little ambitious for Lopes.
Yet, facing him is not far from possible, as Lopes made a remarkable comeback after a loss to Movsar Evloev in May. In August, he defeated Gavin Tucker via submission at 1:38 of Round 1, and it was followed by another fast victory over Sabatini on Saturday.
