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Diego Lopes announces lightweight move, 'advanced talks' for UFC return

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Diego Lopes announces lightweight move, 'advanced talks' for UFC return

UFC fan favorite Diego Lopes will make the full-time move to the lightweight division after his latest win at UFC Freedom 250.

Former UFC featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes is in a bizarre spot in the 145-pound title picture after suffering two losses to current titleholder Alexander Volkanovski. Despite making a strong case for a title shot with an impressive come-from-behind knockout against Steve Garcia at the White House, Lopes would likely have to win a few fights before making the case for another shot at the belt.

Lopes, who lost back-to-back title fights to Volkanovski, has also earned recent featherweight wins over Jean Silva and Brian Ortega. But Lopes is big for the featherweight division and has teased a potential move to lightweight for months.

Amidst his peculiar spot in the featherweight division, Lopes is taking matters into his own hands and making the move to lightweight.

Diego Lopes announces full-time move to lightweight, hoping for MSG return

In a recent interview with Ag.Fight, Lopes shared an update on his return to the Octagon.

“We're taking the leap in our career now; we're going up a division, in advanced talks,†Lopes said.

“We're hoping to fight at MSG in November.â€

One potential lightweight opponent is BMF titleholder Charles Oliveira, who was rumored to fight Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 331 before pulling out of recent fight talks. Oliveira's teammate Allan Nascimento's tragic death leaves a timeline for the BMF champion's return to the Octagon unclear.

Lopes hasn't fought at lightweight in his UFC tenure, although he fought in a 165-pound catchweight bout against Dan Ige at UFC 303. He's fought as low as bantamweight during his combat sports career.

As the lightweight division continues to blossom with intriguing matchups for the rest of the year, Lopes' addition opens the door to plenty of possible bookings. We could be weeks away from getting news on Lopes' return to the cage.

Who should Diego Lopes fight next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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MMA

Eddie Hearn draws Dana White line in Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua talks

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Eddie Hearn draws Dana White line in Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua talks
Eddie Hearn is standing firm amid the ongoing Tyson
Fury-Anthony
Joshua saga.

Hearn has pushed back after Dana
White recently addressed the ongoing discourse surrounding the
heavyweight matchup. The head of Matchroom Boxing discussed the
involvement of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO and Zuffa Boxing in putting
together the fight and clarified Joshua's stance on the same.

Anthony Joshua’s stance on Dana White and Zuffa Boxing
complicates Tyson Fury fight talks

Hearn was asked about the highly anticipated Fury-Joshua bout after
the Katie Taylor vs. Flora Pili press conference in Dublin,
Ireland, and reiterated that, as per Joshua's contract, there's no
need for Zuffa to get involved.

“No, or else there will be no fight and we'll just keep going,â€
Hearn said at a media scrum captured by Bloody Elbow. “You have to
understand, right? AJ is one of my closest friends; AJ is a
shareholder of Matchroom. So, I know the narrative run by Tyson
Fury is, ‘Oh, Eddie's ego…' No, no, no. We are a team, and AJ will
say to me, ‘Why are they involved?' I said, ‘Exactly, so are you OK
with them not being involved?' He says, ‘Yeah.'â€

Hearn also insists that the exclusion of White and TKO is not
simply his personal preference.

“So, the responses in the addendum are not ‘Eddie Hearn's wishes';
they're Anthony Joshua's wishes,†Hearn added. “The addendum
doesn't have to include ‘still no Dana' because that is in the
original contract. The addendum is just changes.â€

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Salahdine Parnasse sees ‘perfect fight’ in UFC debut against Dan Hooker

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Salahdine Parnasse sees ‘perfect fight’ in UFC debut against Dan Hooker
Salahdine
Parnasse believes Dan Hooker is
the “perfect†matchup for his
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

Parnasse will make his Octagon debut against Hooker in the
UFC Paris main event on Sept. 5. The former two-division

KSW champion claims the UFC veteran is the ideal opponent to
showcase his skills against.

Salahdine Parnasse expects his aggressive style to mesh with
Dan Hooker at UFC Paris

Parnasse (23-2) enters the UFC with a ton of hype. While he sees
his upcoming opponent as a “big challenge,†given Hooker's 12-year
run in the UFC, the French fighter likes the stylistic matchup,
especially considering his Kiwi counterpart's aggressive fighting
style.

“Dan Hooker is very strong, very experienced,†Parnasse said at UFC
Paris media day. “That’s why he is at the top of the UFC and I
think he is a big challenge and I love this challenge. I think he
is a very explosive guy who likes to do a lot in his fights. And I
think that with me, it’s a perfect fight because we are both two
guys who like to go out there and put on a great show in the
cage.â€

Parnasse enters the bout riding a five-fight winning streak, with
his last win coming on
Most Valuable Promotions' inaugural mixed martial arts event.
Meanwhile, Hooker is looking to rebound from consecutive losses to
top-ranked lightweights Benoit St.
Denis and Arman
Tsarukyan.

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Alex Pereira’s sister reportedly set for DWCS fight against former One champ

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Alex Pereira’s sister reportedly set for DWCS fight against former One champ
Aline
Pereira could join her brother, Alex
Pereira, in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Pereira is reportedly set to face Smilla
Sundell in a bantamweight matchup on the final episode of

Dana White's Contender Series Season 10 on Oct. 13 at Meta Apex
in Las Vegas.

Aline Pereira reportedly draws Smilla Sundell for DWCS Week
10

Aline, 35, is the younger sister of Alex, a former two-division UFC
champion. In her last outing, she defeated Jade
Masson-Wong at
Most Valuable Promotions' inaugural mixed martial arts event.
Although Aline (3-2) has limited professional MMA experience, she
has established herself in kickboxing (6-2) and Karate Combat
(3-0).

Meanwhile, Sundell (2-0) has recorded both her pro MMA victories
via technical knockout under the Tuff-N-Uff
banner. The 21-year-old Swede was previously a standout in One
Championship, where she won and defended the muay thai
strawweight title.

The matchup, slated for
Week 10 of DWCS 2026, was first reported by Leo Guimaraes.

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