Diego Lopes

Overview

All three of Diego Lopes's UFC losses went the distance, and none of them was a finish. Seven of his ten UFC fights ended in a win, and five of those wins came inside the distance, three of them in round one.

Lopes fights at featherweight and sits at 7-3 in the UFC (28-8-0 across all promotions). He is a finisher with durable results: he can be beaten on the scorecards, but nobody has stopped him in the Octagon.

The losses came against Movsar Evloev, then twice against Alexander Volkanovski. Two of his three UFC losses came in five-round fights, and one of those was a title fight.

UFC Career

His path to the UFC ran through Dana White's Contender Series 5.1, where he lost a unanimous decision to Joanderson Brito. That fight is a professional bout, not part of his UFC record. His UFC debut came at UFC 288 in May 2023, and it ended the same way: a unanimous decision loss to Movsar Evloev, rated a strong opponent by our model.

Then the run started. Gavin Tucker fell to a first-round submission at 1:38 in August 2023. Pat Sabatini followed with a first-round TKO at 1:30 at UFC 295, then Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 300 in 1:29 of round one. That's three straight first-round finishes, each in under two minutes.

Lopes then went to decisions. He beat Dan Ige by unanimous decision at UFC 303, the first time he had to go three full rounds to win, and Brian Ortega the same way at UFC 306. That made five straight wins, his longest streak.

Alexander Volkanovski stopped the streak at UFC 314, a five-round unanimous decision loss against an elite opponent. Lopes answered with his best win on paper, a second-round TKO of Jean Silva at 4:48 at Noche UFC, another elite opponent.

The rematch with Volkanovski came at UFC 325 as a title fight. Lopes lost another five-round unanimous decision. He has been in the cage with Volkanovski for ten rounds and has not been finished.

His most recent fight was at UFC Freedom 250, where he stopped Steve Garcia in round two at 2:42, another elite opponent. He carries a one-fight win streak into his next appearance.

Against elite opposition he is 2-2, and the two wins both ended in knockouts.

Fighting Style

Diego Lopes is a busy striker who is easy to hit. He lands more per minute than most UFC fighters and absorbs more too, and his defense is below average. His accuracy is about the UFC average, so the output comes from volume, not precision.

The grappling side is less typical for a fighter who trades. He hunts for submissions far more than most, and one of his UFC wins came that way. He rarely shoots for takedowns himself, but he is very hard to take down.

The finishing pattern fits. Four of his five UFC finishes came by KO/TKO and one by submission. Three ended in round one and two in round two. None of his UFC wins have gone past the second round.

Notable Wins

• Jean Silva — KO/TKO, round 2 (4:48), Noche UFC (2025)
• Steve Garcia — KO/TKO, round 2 (2:42), UFC Freedom 250 (2026)
• Sodiq Yusuff — KO/TKO, round 1 (1:29), UFC 300 (2024)
• Brian Ortega — unanimous decision, UFC 306 (2024)

Quick Facts

• Division: Featherweight
• UFC record: 7-3 (5 finishes)
• Professional record (all promotions): 28-8-0
• UFC debut: 2023
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height: 5'11", reach: 72.5"
• Team: Brazilian Warriors / Lobo Gym
• Born: Manaus, AM, Brazil