Diego Lopes discusses Ilia Topuria lightweight move, future in other divisions

Diego Lopes immediately benefited from Ilia Topuria’s decision to move up to lightweight as he faces Alexander Volkanovski for the now-vacant featherweight title on April 12 in Miami, and the UFC 314 headliner believes Topuria can shine at 155 pounds.

Topuria once fought as a lightweight in the UFC, when he slept Jai Herbert with a right hook back in March 2022. The Georgian-Spanish star was 3-0 in the company prior to that bout, and has since won four in a row with a trio of finishes, including historic stoppages of Max Holloway and Volkanovski.

“He’s a guy that can achieve great things in that division,” Lopes told MMA Fighting of Topuria’s move to lightweight. “He’s very athletic and quite young, too. I think he’s 27, 28, so I think he has time do do a great run up a division.”

If Topuria one day returns to featherweight in case things go wrong for him against heavier competition, Lopes welcomes the challenge.

“If he comes back, I hope to be the champion so I can fight him,” Lopes laughed.

Lopes is now focused on beating Volkanovski to claim 145-pound gold after winning his past five in the UFC, with three finishes and a pair of decisions over Brian Ortega and Dan Ige. The 30-year-old Brazilian fought as a bantamweight in the past, and wouldn’t rule out competing in other weight classes again down the line.

“I’ve talked to my nutritionist and he’s said to me, ‘You can fight in any weight class you want,’” Lopes said. “[He said] ‘You have the weight to fight at 135, you have the weight to fight at 145, and you can go up a little bit, have the body structure and height to fight at 155 as well.’ But for now my focus is this division, and then we’ll see what the future holds for us. I’m focused on the division now. Maybe in the future I can go up, no problem, and put on good fights at 155.”