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Diego Lopes wants his rematch.

Lopes scored the biggest win of his career when he finished Sodiq Yusuff in just 89 seconds at UFC 300. Lopes is the first man to finish Yusuff in the UFC, and did so on the biggest stage, and according to the Brazilian prospect, that was the plan.

“I think we all believed this was going to be the result,” Lopes said through a translator on The MMA Hour.

“Looking at the fight, we knew you could touch Sodiq, but not very many people have finished him. That was the goal, and obviously the results went they way that they did, and that’s a testament to our hard work.”

Lopes’ win earned him his first spot in the UFC featherweight rankings, debuting at No. 14. He says that’s only the beginning. Immediately after finishing Yusuff, Lopes hopped the fence to speak to UFC CEO Dana White, who was cageside. Lopes laid out his exact plan for becoming the best in the world, and it starts with a rematch.

“I jumped over the cage and talked to Dana,” Lopes said. “I said, ‘Dana, I’m going to be champion one day. Give me my rematch with Movsar Evloev on International Fight Week. After this, I’ll beat Movsar Evloev and go to Spain.’”

Lopes faced Evloev at UFC 288, stepping in on less than a week’s notice to make his promotional debut. Despite being a newcomer and facing one of the top fighters in the division, Lopes impressed, losing a decision in a competitive bout that won Fight of the Night honors. Since then, Lopes has been near perfect in the UFC, with three wins all by first-round finish. Meanwhile, Evloev has only competed once, winning a unanimous decision over Arnold Allen in January to put himself on the cusp of a title shot.

But with Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski seemingly ahead of Evloev in the title shot line, Lopes hopes this means he can get the rematch next and put himself in that title conversation as well.

“I talked to [my manager] this morning and put out there that I would love the rematch,” Lopes said. “That’s the fight that I want. I also put out there that I’m ready to fight. I want that fight. That’s the fight to make. He can say all he wants about, ‘Oh, hey, guys don’t want to fight me!’ But I’ll fight him. I’m here. I’ll scrap.

“Definitely,” Lopes continued. “That’s definitely the fight that we want. He’s right there, No. 5, so beating him puts me right there in title contention and that’s what we want.”

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UFC 300 is in the books, but the shockwaves from its results will be felt for years to come. Alex Pereira, Max Holloway, and Kayla Harrison were three of the biggest winners of the night. What lies ahead for these stars?

Host Alexander K. Lee is joined by rankings wizards Jed Meshew and Damon Martin to discuss who made the biggest jumps up the charts this week, whether we overvalued or undervalued some of Saturday’s notable victories, which fighters are serious contenders and which are just pretenders in new divisions, where Holloway’s unreal knockout of Justin Gaethje ranks among the coolest moments in MMA history, plus much more.

Listen to the latest episode of the MMA Fighting Rankings Show below and don’t forget to subscribe to the MMA Fighting feed on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and all your other favorite podcast platforms for the latest episodes from the team.

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McGregor is back in training but still drinking. That could all change in five days as ‘The Notorious’ prepares for his UFC 303 fight on June 28th.

Conor McGregor is back to training in preparation for his UFC 303 fight against Michael Chandler. But he’s not quite done drinking just yet.

Over the past several years, McGregor went from full-time fighter to alcohol empire mogul with a combat sports side hustle. He’s sold stakes in his Proper 12 whiskey business for hundreds of millions of dollars, and he’s currently trying to recreate that magic with Forged Irish Stout. His socials are awash in photos and videos of “The Notorious” enjoying his own wares.

All of that could stop soon, according to the Mac. In a recent Instagram post where McGregor praised his buddy Justin Bieber, he included an interesting suggestion that he’s putting down the bottle.

“Five more nights on the delicious and then that be that,” he wrote.

That would put McGregor’s dry-out date around April 25th, which is nine weeks before he’s set to weigh in on June 27th for UFC 303.

McGregor’s non-stop boozing has been noted by Michael Chandler, who still expects a formidable opponent to step into the cage across from him in Las Vegas.

“Nothing more powerful than hearing a sense of commitment & passion from what the masses consider an uncommitted person,” Chandler said back in August. “Never underestimate the human spirit.”

“I’m on the gargle every night and still gonna smack the s— out of you,” McGregor replied.

Will nine weeks be enough for Conor to shake off the effects of being a booze mascot for the past few years? Will it matter? Ryan Garcia just admitted he was drinking every night en route to his dominating win over Devin Haney. Jon Jones defeated the very best the UFC had to offer while going on fight week benders.

But can McGregor come back from a badly broken leg against a tough opponent while also staying on the sauce? It’s just another troubling factor for fans to worry about as McGregor’s long-awaited comeback approaches.

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Bo Nickal has future champion written all over him. But how long will it take for the blue-chip prospect to complete his story?

The three-time collegiate wrestling champion burst onto the MMA scene in 2022 and has since gone 6-0, with all of his fights ending via knockout or submission. Nickal was pushed past the opening round this past Saturday at UFC 300, where he put Cody Brundage away with a rear-naked choke in Round 2.

Nickal was visibly disappointed in his performance afterward and debate continues to rage as to how the UFC should book him going forward. Former UFC champions Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman discussed Nickal’s potential on a recent episode of their Pound 4 Pound podcast, with both giving their projection for how many fights Nickal will have to take before competing for a UFC title.

“He says, ‘If you’re lucky enough to get the call to fight me, just be grateful and sign that contract,’” Cejudo said. “I’ll tell you what, Bo, don’t put that pressure on you if you’re disappointed in your performance because, quite honestly, I do believe you could be a future champ at 185 pounds, but you are not ready for the top 10. If they put you up against big bodies like Marvin Vettori, who has good jiu-jitsu, big dudes, and can also wrestle, even a guy like Paolo ‘Borrachinha’ [Costa] — he’s not quite ready for that top 10. So I think at 185 pounds, he needs to go three rounds.

“He needs to understand that threshold, because still, him winning and beating these guys super early, if you want to be champion, how is it that you’re going to feel when you actually go five rounds against a guy like Sean Strickland? Paolo ‘Borrachinha?’ Robert Whittaker? Jared Cannonier? That weight class is absolutely stacked. I think he needs to hold his horses. I think he’s still maybe 10 fights away from becoming UFC champion.”

Usman balked at the suggestion that the number of fights in Nickal’s contender path is in the double digits.

“Definitely not 10 fights away,” Usman said. “I think if he continues to grow in the pace that he’s growing, I think in two years he’s going to be in that contender range for sure. I would say next four fights, he’s there.”

“We know it’s moments,” Usman continued. “We know it’s about those moments. He goes out there like his last fight — not this last weekend, but the fight previously — he goes out there and gives you two more of those moments, oh yeah, he’s contender status for sure. Two or three of those moments, one of those ranked opponents and he disposes of them first round, huge knockout? He’s definitely fast-tracked to the title, for sure.”

Cejudo slightly adjusted his prediction to six fights, but still projected that Nickal could be at least three years away.

What Cejudo and Usman strongly agree on is that Nickal needs to block out the noise and focus on building up his skill set.

“He’s had a level head to him, but I think he just needs to focus on improving,” Usman said. “Just stay improving and you’ll get there. Stop worrying about what this guy does or this guy doesn’t, or what this guy says, or whether I please the fans with a crazy knockout, first round. Who gives a s***? Just go out there and improve each and every day.”

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Jake Paul continues to make waves in boxing, but he still has his sights set on his long rumored appearance in the PFL SmartCage. Although there isn’t a timeline set in stone for his MMA debut, Jake already has two names in mind who he’d like to fight.

‘The Problem Child’ has proven to be a power puncher who possesses true knockout power thus far into his combat sports career. Six of the 27-year-old’s nine wins have come by way of knockout–with his most notable arguably being the vicious win over former UFC champion Tyron Woodley.

In response to Jorge Masvidal’s comments, Jake Paul doubled down on his $ 10 million offer. The social media star insisted he wants either Masvidal or Nate Diaz for his first venture into mixed martial arts.

“What the f*** you gonna do coming over to MMA, bro?” Jake said while mocking Masvidal. “I’m f***ing from Miami, Florida, bro.”

“All of these guys hide behind these crazy things but still, none of them have shown up to the table to talk [about] any business, about anything to make anything actually happen in a real fight. A real spar.”

“So the offer still stands there. Either Masvidal or Diaz in the PFL. [A] $ 10 million offer for either one of those guys.”

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Related: Jake Paul shares DMs from Sean Strickland

Even if a deal is agreed, Jake Paul will have to wait to fight either Jorge Masvidal or Nate Diaz under the PFL banner.

He is currently preparing to face his toughest challenge in the ring to date when he collides with the legendary Mike Tyson on July 7. The bout is set to get underway at the AT&T Stadium in Texas and will be live to viewers on Netflix.

The pair have signed to compete in an exhibition match, though Tyson has insisted that he refuses to fight under watered-down rules.

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