Diego Lopes is stepping in on short notice to replace Bryce Mitchell at UFC 288 this Saturday. MMA Fighting has confirmed with sources that Mitchell had to withdraw from his scheduled main card featherweight bout against Movsar Evloev.
The reason for Mitchell’s withdrawal has not been disclosed, but Diego Lopes will take his place as a replacement at the event. ESPN Deportes was first to report the news.
Lopes, who competed on a Dana White Contender Series hopeful and holds an impressive record of 20-5, comes out of Lux Fight League where he defeated Angel Rodriguez via second round TKO back in November last year – it was his ninth win in 11 fights overall during that stretch. He did suffer one loss during this time on the Contender Series when he faced Joanderson Brito and lost by unanimous decision.
Evloev will now face off against a new opponent after replacing Jonathan Pearce for their match up at UFC Vegas 64 last November due to an injury suffered by Pearce prior to the fight. The undefeated former M1 Global bantamweight champion (16-0) is coming off six consecutive decisions wins over the likes of Ige and Dawodu respectively; two opponents he faced within the past year alone since being signed onto UFC in 2019.
Overall it looks like we have a great matchup between two experienced fighters with only one loss combined amongst them inside or outside of UFC – though there still remains some mystery surrounding why Mitchell was forced out so close before fight night begins come Saturday evening here at UFC 288!
Comments:
No way
He’s not ready for the big leagues yet
You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about
What a joke, Mitchell deserved it more
You must be blind to think that Lopes is even close to being on the same level as Mitchell
This was a terrible decision by the UFC
At least give someone else a chance before throwing in an unknown fighter like Lopes
No way he can win against these veterans.