Diego Lopes impressed many in his return to the octagon, but not enough to enter the UFC’s official featherweight rankings.
Lopes (23-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC) knocked out fellow prospect Pat Sabatini in just 90 seconds this past Saturday on the main card of UFC 295 in New York City. He’s now on a two-fight winning streak, with both being first-round finishes. Prior to that, he had a close loss to unbeaten title contender Movsar Evloev in his short-notice UFC debut.
The Brazilian fighter told MMA Junkie prior to the contest that he was hoping to get ranked with an impressive win. Well, the first-round KO win was impressive enough to get him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, but not a spot on the promotion’s featherweight rankings – which is managed by a panel of media members.
