Diego Lopes feels he has a chance to hijack the conversation of who’s getting the next title shot in the UFC’s featherweight division.
Despite coming off a championship loss to Alexander Volkanovski, and having other contenders thriving, Lopes (26-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is not ruling out the idea of getting another crack at the belt. Lopes returns to the cage this Saturday in the main event of this year’s Noche UFC – which takes place at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. He takes on rising contender Jean Silva.
Lopes believes a statement win over Silva (16-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) can get him back in the title picture, and even set him up for a rematch against the champion.
“I think doing something spectacular,” Lopes told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. “If I do something spectacular, plus what I was able to do in my last fight against Volkanovski, and I know I lost it, but it wasn’t a fight where I was in a completely different level, I just needed details I think winning the fight in spectacular fashion it could get me back in the conversation. It can get me back in the conversation. I think a rematch could sell well, and if it’s on the December pay-per-view in Las Vegas, I’d draw a crowd. I have a lot of people who support me in Las Vegas.”
Right now, it seems like the front runner for the next title opportunity might be unbeaten contender Lerone Murphy. The Englishman viciously knocked out a debuting Aaron Pico with a spinning elbow last month, scoring one of the best knockouts of 2025. It even caught the attention of Volkanovski, who posted on X, “See you in December.” Yet, the next title challenger has not been made official, and Lopes hols out hope for a big win.
Should Murphy get the next shot, Lopes would be ok with it, as he sees it moving the division forward.
“That would be fine, it is a fight that could get the division to enter 2026 with a new face in the sense that it gives new opportunities to new challenger,” Lopes said. “If Volk wins, we have several fighters that can compete against him. If I win my fight, I can challenge for the belt again. If Lerone Murphy wins, same thing. If the fight does go down, that would be very important for the division, and it could leave it open, as opposed to Evloev, who hasn’t fought. I don’t think Evloev should fight, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, even though he should’ve fought for the belt a while ago. The guy just doesn’t have any luck. So yeah, Lerone Murphy vs. Alexander Volkanovski could be next, no problem.”
