Diego Lopes

Garcia dominated the opening round, using his reach to land jabs and leg kicks while Lopes absorbed damage. Midway through Round 2 Lopes turned aggressive, dropping Garcia with a short left hook, following with a right hand and hook to the chin, then finishing with ground strikes that left Garcia out cold at 2:42.

Key moments

• Round 1: Garcia controlled with his reach — a straight left, jabs and leg kicks; Lopes ended the frame with a damaged leg and bloodied nose.
• Round 2: Lopes shifted aggressive and dropped Garcia with a short left hook.
• A hard right hand and another hook to the chin put Garcia on his back.

In a rematch for the featherweight title, champion Volkanovski again outclassed Lopes over five rounds, winning by unanimous decision (scores including 50-45) and by a wider margin than their first meeting. The bout earned Fight of the Night, but Volkanovski controlled distance and output throughout.

Key moments

• Second straight unanimous-decision loss to Volkanovski
• One judge scored it 50-45 for the champion
• Volkanovski neutralised Lopes' grappling entries and won the striking exchanges
• Fight of the Night honors

Lopes dominated the opening round from top position, out-landing Silva heavily, then turned a wild second round with a spinning back elbow that dropped Silva and opened a massive cut. He swarmed with ground strikes for the finish at 4:48 of round two.

Key moments

• Mauled Silva from mount in round one, out-striking him roughly 50-10
• Landed a spinning back elbow that crashed Silva to the canvas
• Opened a large gash and finished with ground-and-pound
• Earned Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses

Lopes challenged for the vacant featherweight title and lost a competitive but clear unanimous decision to the returning Volkanovski. The bout earned Fight of the Night, but Volkanovski's volume and ring craft carried all five rounds on the cards.

Key moments

• Fought for the vacant featherweight championship
• Lost a unanimous decision across five rounds
• Fight of the Night honors

In a 165-lb catchweight co-main arranged after the card had begun, Lopes beat short-notice replacement Dan Ige (in on roughly four hours' notice) by unanimous decision, 29-28 across the board. Lopes threatened a D'Arce and back control early but had to survive a late Ige rally.

Key moments

• Catchweight bout at 165 lb after opponent and weight changes
• Ige stepped in on about four hours' notice
• Lopes nearly finished with a D'Arce choke in round one
• All three judges scored it 29-28 for Lopes

Lopes kicked off the UFC 295 main card at Madison Square Garden with a thunderous first-round stoppage of the wrestling-heavy Sabatini. He stuffed a takedown attempt and cracked Sabatini with an uppercut, staggering him into the fence before a follow-up barrage forced the stoppage at 1:30.

Key moments

• Opened the UFC 295 main card at Madison Square Garden with a statement finish.
• Defended a takedown attempt, then dropped Sabatini with a fight-changing uppercut.
• Sabatini crashed into the cage and was finished on the ground with follow-up punches.
• Second UFC win and second consecutive first-round finish.

Lopes made a statement in his first UFC fight with full preparation, submitting the durable Gavin Tucker via armbar in just 98 seconds — only the 11th finish of its kind in UFC history. The quick submission erased the sting of his short-notice debut loss and announced his grappling credentials to the division.

Key moments

• Only the 11th armbar finish in UFC history at the time of the stoppage.
• First UFC win, following his short-notice debut loss to Evloev.
• Tucker, known for durability, had never been finished before this bout.
• Finish in under two minutes set up back-to-back first-round UFC stoppages.

He wobbled Evloev and locked in an armbar in round one, but Evloev escaped and used his wrestling to control the later rounds.

Key moments

• Wobbled Evloev with a combination in round one and locked in a tight armbar, which Evloev escaped.
• Evloev secured takedowns in rounds two and three to grind out the decision.
• Despite the loss, Lopes showed enough that the UFC signed him to a full contract.

Lopes bounced back from his Fury FC title loss and Contender Series setback with a third-round KO of Kenn Glenn in Humble, Texas. The late finish came at 4:39 of round three, showcasing his persistence and finishing power deep in fights.

Key moments

• First win after back-to-back losses on the Contender Series and in the Fury FC title fight.
• Went the distance before landing the finish at 4:39 of round three — one of his rare non-first-round finishes.
• Fought under Fury FC, the Texas-based promotion that served as his US proving ground before the UFC.

In a five-round featherweight title fight headlining Fury FC 52, Lopes fell short in a close split decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48) as Richardson was crowned the new Fury FC featherweight champion. Lopes controlled grappling and attempted submissions including an armbar in round one, but Richardson's volume striking on the feet tilted the judges' cards.

Key moments

• Fury FC featherweight title fight that went the full five rounds.
• Lopes controlled the grappling, taking Richardson down and attempting an armbar in round one.
• Richardson's output on the feet and ability to escape grounded positions swung the decision.
• Split decision loss — two judges scored it for Richardson, one for Lopes.

Lopes made his first defense of the LUX Featherweight Championship in a five-round main event in Monterrey, submitting Masio Fullen with an armbar at 3:06 of round three. The finish secured his position as the dominant featherweight on the Mexican circuit.

Key moments

• First LUX Featherweight Championship defense in the main event at the Showcenter Complex, Monterrey.
• The armbar finish came in round three of a five-round contest, showing his patience in title-fight settings.
• Fullen (nicknamed 'El Lobo') was a legitimate regional contender, making the defense credible.

Lopes outpointed former UFC featherweight Rony Jason — a TUF Brazil winner with nine UFC appearances — over three rounds at the Pepsi Center in Mexico City, earning a unanimous decision in a significant regional scalp. The win validated his place among the top featherweights on the Mexican circuit.

Key moments

• Opponent Rony Jason won The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil and fought nine times in the UFC.
• Won by unanimous decision over three rounds at the Pepsi Center, Mexico City.
• Beating a former UFC fighter on the regional scene was the clearest proof of Lopes' rising ceiling.
• Marked his LUX Fight League debut after moving from the Brazilian circuit.

Lopes was the co-main event at Roca Fighting League 2 in Epazoyucan, Hidalgo, stopping Rogelio Meneses by TKO in the first round.

Key moments

• Co-main event at a regional Mexican show in Hidalgo, Mexico.
• TKO stoppage at 3:31 of round one by ground and pound.
• One of three wins across different Mexican promotions he collected in 2018.

As the defending JFL Featherweight Champion, Lopes made a title defense against Isaac 'El Guapo' Ruelas in the main event at the Santa Fe Rodeo venue in Tlalnepantla, finishing him with a rear-naked choke in round one. The swift defense reaffirmed his grip on the regional Mexican featherweight throne.

Key moments

• JFL Featherweight Championship defense as the reigning champion.
• Rear-naked choke at 2:23 of round one — his preferred submission finish at this stage.
• Held at Santa Fe Rodeo in Tlalnepantla de Baz, State of Mexico.

Lopes fought on the co-main event of XFL 34 in Mexico City, stopping Raúl 'The Cobra' Najera Ocampo with ground-and-pound punches at 3:37 of round one.

Key moments

• Co-main event at Carpa Astros in Mexico City under the XFL banner.
• TKO via ground and pound at 3:37 of round one.
• Bout refereed by Miguel Jiménez, one of the key officials on the Mexican regional circuit.

At the JFL 15: Master vs. Doberman event in Tlalnepantla, Lopes submitted local Mexican fighter Carlos Enrique 'Messi' Cañada with a rear-naked choke to close out the first round.

Key moments

• Fight held at Rodeo Santa Fe in Tlalnepantla de Baz, a regular Jasaji Fighting League venue.
• Rear-naked choke at 3:37 of round one — identical timing to his XFL 34 TKO win the same month.
• Back-to-back finishes in 2017 ahead of his JFL title defense later that year.

Lopes submitted Paul 'El Tierno' Márquez Moreno with an armbar deep in the first round at JFL 14 in Tlalnepantla. Coming in at 8-2, Lopes was the more experienced fighter and put away a 4-3 opponent with his signature BJJ finish.

Key moments

• Armbar at 4:46 of round one — his latest first-round finish timing, showing patience on the ground.
• Held at Rodeo Santa Fe in Tlalnepantla de Baz under the JFL promotion.
• Entered the fight 8-2; Márquez Moreno was 4-3, giving Lopes a meaningful experience edge.

Lopes co-headlined Coatza Fight Night 5 in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz and flattened Luis 'Gallito' Torres with a first-round TKO via ground and pound in just 75 seconds. The quick finish continued his pattern of violent early stoppages as he settled into the Mexican regional scene.

Key moments

• Co-main event in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz — one of his early appearances in southern Mexico.
• TKO via ground and pound at 1:15 of round one, his quickest finish in Mexico at that point.
• First fight back in Mexico after a one-year absence from competition.

Lopes returned to Brazil for Elite Fight Night 1 in São Paulo and submitted Gilberto 'Gilbertinho' Pantoja with a triangle choke at 2:19 of round two. The finish marked his last recorded fight on Brazilian soil before he relocated to Mexico.

Key moments

• Held at Elite Fight Night 1 in São Paulo, his last recorded fight in Brazil.
• Triangle choke finish at 2:19 of round two — a less common finish method that demonstrated his submission range.
• The fight was contested at bantamweight (135 lbs), referee Genival Ivo officiating.

The leg-lock finish showed early the kind of lower-body BJJ that would later produce his kneebar title win in Mexico.

Key moments

• Heel hook at 3:42 of round one at Thunder Fight 3, Universidade São Judas, São Paulo.
• A leg-lock finish foreshadowing the kneebar that would win him the LUX title years later.
• Contested at bantamweight (134 lbs); one of two wins recorded in Brazil in 2015.

Lopes defeated José Roberto dos Santos by TKO at MMA Super Heroes 7 in São Paulo when his opponent retired in the first round after dislocating his shoulder on a takedown attempt.

Key moments

• Victory came via retirement (TKO) at 2:28 after dos Santos dislocated his shoulder on a takedown attempt.
• Held at Ginásio da Faculdade UniÍtalo in São Paulo at a catchweight of 132 lbs.
• Second win of his 2014 season after the TKO loss to Rodrigo Praia in April.

Lopes suffered his second consecutive loss when Rodrigo Praia stopped him by TKO in round two at It's Time Combat 4 in Brazil.

Key moments

• Second straight loss following his split-decision defeat to Thiago Silva in November 2013.
• Stopped by punches in round two — only the second time he was finished by strikes as a professional.
• The defeat was a turning point; Lopes would win his next two fights before moving to Mexico.

Lopes won his second professional fight at It's Time Combat 2 in Manaus, stopping Raniel da Costa by TKO in the second round with punches. The back-to-back wins on the local circuit built his early confidence.

Key moments

• Second professional win at just his second event, the home Manaus circuit.
• Second-round TKO — one of his rare non-first-round finishes in the early years.
• Part of the local It's Time Combat series in Amazonas, Brazil.

Lopes made his professional MMA debut at It's Time Combat 1 in Manaus at age 17, stopping Francivaldo Araujo by TKO in the second round.

Key moments

• Professional MMA debut at 17 years old in his home city of Manaus, Brazil.
• Second-round TKO finish in his very first professional fight.
• Debut on the It's Time Combat regional series, a small Amazonas-based promotion.