Diego Lopes reacts to Ilia Topuria vacating title, says UFC changed rules on double-champ status

Diego Lopes was hoping to get his crack at Ilia Topuria at some point, but understands if the soon-to-be former featherweight champion wants a new challenge.

With Dana White announcing that Topuria is vacating his 145-pound title for a move to lightweight, Lopes now faces Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant belt in the main event of UFC 314 on April 12. While reacting to Topuria giving back the championship in an interview with broadcast partner ESPN, Lopes says the roster has been told by UFC brass that if a titleholder wants to pursue a second title, they have to lose their championship in order to take the risk.

“They were very clear to us that they said that they are no longer giving [the] chance to jump from one weight class to another,” Lopes said. “If you want to move up, you have to vacate your title. That’s what UFC has said to all champions who are planning to move up a weight class. They will no longer have the status of double champion simultaneously.

“If he is going to be a double champion, [he] will be nothing more than a champion of two categories.”

Topuria captured MMA Fighting’s 2024 Fighter of the Year award with a pair of Knockout of the Year contenders against Volkanovski a year ago at UFC 298 to win the 145-pound belt, and Max Holloway eight months later at UFC 308 in his first title defense—becoming the first fighter in history to ever stop Holloway with strikes. Topuria is hopeful he’ll get an immediate lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev, but the UFC hasn’t announced an official matchup.

Lopes is riding a five-fight win streak into his first title fight as he battles the former longtime champ in Volkanovski. In White’s announcement, the UFC CEO said Topuria feels like he’s accomplished everything he can in the division, and while Lopes isn’t knocking Topuria for taking a massive risk, he believes that there were still many challenges at 145 for “El Matador.”

“But I think, in the end, it’s up to each individual to decide,” Lopes said. “If [Topuria] feels he has nothing else to do in the division, well he should move forward with his career.

“I know that in the division we have very good fighters that could give [Topuria tough fights]. We can even put him in serious trouble, or even defeat him, but if he feels that because he defeated Max and Volk, who are legends in the division, his work here is already done, well, it’s fine. He has the right to believe so, and go ahead.”