Hangs tough in championship loss Lopes came up short in his quest for the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision (47-49, 46-49, 46-49) at UFC 314... Impact Lopes earned this opportunity on the strength of five straight wins, and although he came up short, he proved he's most definitely a championship-caliber fighter in arguably the deepest weight class in the sport. Diego remained competitive in this fight on the strength of his granite chin and ridiculous power. Volkanovski landed far more strikes, but Lopes' blows were the hardest, highlighted by a Round 2 knockdown. When all was said and done, however, he just got outworked by a future Hall of Famer. There's no shame in that. Diego is going to have to keep winning in order to remain in the title picture in a loaded featherweight division, but he has the skill set to do so. He's absolutely legit despite this result.
APRIL 13 • ROTOWIRE