Matchmaking Idea 💡 Diego Lopes has recently announced he’s moving up to 155 after his spectacular win over Steve Garcia at UFC Freedom 250. He stated that with Alexander Volkanovski still holding the top spot at featherweight, he is now searching for new challenge at lightweight. And also received approval from the UFC. Lopes has proven he can make 155 lbs, where he made history at UFC Freedom 250 by weighing in twice on the same day for two separate divisions. He first weighed in at 146 pounds for his featherweight bout and returned an hour later at 154 💪. Arman’s last fight was 8 months ago, and since then he has been radio silenced 🤫. Perhaps Dana White is still unhappy with him following his incidents—including UFC 300 involving punching a fan, his UFC 311 withdrawal due to a back injury, head-butting Dan Hooker, the American Airlines altercation, and his chaotic brawl with Giorgio Petrosyan at RAF 6 🤷‍♂️. If that’s the case, Dana, make Arman vs Diego Lopes for the number-one contender’s fight. 🤝 @danawhite . . . . . . . #ufc #mma #armantsarukyan #ufc331 #danawhite
Diego Lopes has announced he is moving up to the lightweight division following his performance at UFC Freedom 250, where the Brazilian finished Steve Garcia to extend his winning streak at featherweight.
Lopes, 31, enters the 155-pound division carrying a 28-8 record and the number-two ranking at featherweight. Fighting out of Lobo Gym MMA, the orthodox striker made a striking statement at the weigh-ins for UFC Freedom 250, checking in at 146 pounds for his featherweight bout and returning just an hour later to hit 154 pounds for a second divisional appearance — a reported first in UFC history. His move to lightweight comes with the UFC's approval, and Lopes cited Alexander Volkanovski's continued grip on the top spot at featherweight as a motivating factor behind the decision. Over his career, Lopes averages 3.83 significant strikes landed per minute at a 47 percent accuracy rate, and he is an active submission threat, averaging 1.4 submission attempts per 15 minutes.
Garcia, ranked tenth at featherweight entering the bout, fell to 19-6 on the night. The 34-year-old American, who trains at Jackson-Wink MMA, stands six feet tall with a 75-inch reach and brings genuine volume to his fights, averaging 5.39 significant strikes landed per minute at 49 percent accuracy. The loss drops him from a spot he had worked hard to hold in a deep division.
Why it matters
- Lopes arrives at lightweight as an established top-five featherweight talent, immediately raising his profile in a stacked 155-pound picture.
- His submission activity — combined with solid striking — gives him a multi-dimensional threat profile that few lightweight gatekeepers will want to face.
- Arman Tsarukyan, largely inactive over the past eight months, has been floated by fans and commentators as a logical number-one contender matchup for Lopes, though no bout has been targeted or agreed upon.
- The rankings implications at featherweight are equally significant, with the number-two spot now potentially vacated as Lopes shifts his focus upward.
