Diego Lopes says Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 opener against Steve Garcia at the White House could complicate his plans to move divisions.
Lopes, who owns a 27-8 professional MMA record and is 6-3 in the UFC, meets Garcia, 19-5 overall and 8-2 in the UFC. Garcia comes into the bout on a seven-fight winning streak.
"I've said this before, that there will be an intention to actually move up a weight division, but a win on Sunday puts me in a little complicated position," Lopes said ahead of the fight.
Lopes has lost twice to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in his past three fights after previously attempting to win the featherweight title twice without success. That history is shaping how he views his future.
"So, I've come off of two unsuccessful tries at a title, and then you win and you're up on top, so you need to face people who are up-and-coming, that are always going to be below you. And I have no problem fighting those people, but at one point you run out of people, and they're going to have to find just prospects to fight me. So, let's see what happens on Sunday, and we'll go from there."
Looking at Garcia as a matchup, Lopes sounded confident.
"I think he has a perfect style for me," Lopes said. "I like this. I like the car crash, you know? In the chaos is where I'm the best guy."
