Diego Lopes Will Show an Evolution Against Alexander Volkanovski: “Raise his game and change something” says UFC Veteran

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes Rematch: Dan Hardy Weighs In

A former UFC welterweight title challenger, Dan Hardy, has shared his thoughts on the upcoming title rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes. The two fighters will face off on January 31 at UFC 325, live from Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. This will mark Volkanovski’s first title defense of his second reign at featherweight, having recaptured the 145-pound championship at UFC 314 with a unanimous decision win against Lopes.

Volkanovski had expressed his desire to defend his strap against undefeated top contenders, Movsar Evloev or Lerone Murphy. However, the UFC granted Lopes a title rematch after he secured a TKO victory last year at Noche UFC against Jean Silva. According to Dan Hardy, this title rematch is an “unnecessary risk” for Volkanovski, considering the Australian’s performance in their first fight.

Diego Lopes’ Opportunity to Level Up

Hardy believes that Lopes has a good opportunity to change some things and develop his overall arsenal. He stated, “I think Lopes has got a good opportunity to change some things. There’s nothing like being in there with someone for a bunch of time to get a feel of how they move and what’s different to what you expected, what they did that was a surprise or even maybe, and this is a weird thing as well.” Hardy added that Lopes needs to level up and that this is his perfect opportunity to show quick evolution in his game.

Hardy’s comments were made during an interview with Submission Radio, where he opined that fans have already seen the best version of Volkanovski, and now the latter is at the tail end of his career. In contrast, Lopes is still young and has all the time to develop his skills. The UFC veteran said, “Remember, Lopes knows that he’s the one who really needs to raise his game to change something. It’s a really good opportunity. It’s not the kind of thing if I were Volk I’d be wanting to do, to have such a good performance and then to go, ‘Oh yeah, no, let’s just run it back.’ It seems like an unnecessary risk, really.”

Diego Lopes’ Preparation for the Rematch

Ahead of the rematch, Lopes has set up a private gym for himself and his team to eliminate distractions and fully lock in. He admitted being overconfident in their first fight, hunting for a fight-ending blow rather than maintaining consistent output. Lopes has stated that he had ego issues when he fought Volkanovski in April and thought he didn’t need to fix anything in his training. However, after the fight, he realized that many things weren’t good in his training camp. This time, he’s determined to get it right.

As the rematch approaches, fans are eager to see if Lopes can level up and dethrone Volkanovski. With his new training setup and a renewed focus, Lopes is determined to prove himself as a worthy challenger. Will he be able to raise his game and change the outcome of the fight? Only time will tell.