In the aftermath of UFC 314, one of the hottest topics to discuss is the heated potential matchup of Diego Lopes vs.Yair Rodriguez. These two fighters seem to have real beef.
Rodriguez first voiced his disappointment with Lopes representing Brazilian and Mexican flags on his media day.
“I have a problem with (Lopes representing Mexico). Not with Diego, he is just doing his job,” Rodriguez began. “I just don’t agree with it. I will never be that way. And I don’t want to be that way.”
What started as a seemingly light jab escalated at Thursday’s press conference after Lopes pointed out Rodriguez’s two-fight losing skid. Rodriguez quickly called Lopes ‘Culón’, which apparently is a serious insult in Spanish-speaking countries.
The two stood up and began shouting at each other in Spanish, not noticing Alexander Volkanovski and Michael Chandler, who sat between the two fires.
The translator did as much as possible, trying to catch everything the two said. Finally, Rodriguez put the mic down and pointed at the ground Max Holloway-style, but with the UFC’s level of security, the fight right there and then was never destined to happen.
But, of course, Rodriguez’s words at the media day weren’t the reason for all of this, nor was Lopes’ reminder of the Mexican’s losing streak.
There is a beef between their camps, a deep one, for that matter. Rodriguez accused Lopes and his teammates at Lobo Gym of jumping Marco Beltrán, his teammate. Lopes replied that Beltrán had threatened a female fighter at their gym. It’s also worth mentioning that Lopes had beaten Beltrán at Lux FL 7 for the featherweight strap before the alleged accident.
It seems as though the rivalry had been sitting there, waiting for the right moment to spark up.
The number-two-ranked Lopes is coming off a five-round defeat to the current champ Volkanovski, while Rodriguez is ranked 4, coming off a victory over the older Patricio Pitbull. Such a matchup would have made sense regardless of the personal drama, but with that, it just becomes a no-brainer.
Rodriguez asked for a title shot right after his UFC 314 performance and doubled down in his interview with Ariel Helwani.
“I was coming from two losses. Now I’m coming from a win, and I’m ready to fight for a title,” the Mexican declared.
Having lost to Volkanovski three fights ago, Rodriguez is certainly not the UFC’s first option to be the title contender unless they are ready for anything to stack up the September’s UFC 320 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Even so, the top five clash with history behind it would serve the event way better than a shamelessly undeserved title fight.
For the first time in a long time, a rivalry in the MMA world looks completely real and unfabricated. Rodriguez and Lopes dislike each other with passion.
The Mexican is acting uninterested, desperately trying to get the title fight against the Australian champion. Even with that, there are signs that he is still interested in finishing the rivalry for himself and Beltrán.
“Whenever the time comes to fight Diego, I’ll take care of that inside of the Octagon, as I’m supposed to for my friend [former UFC fighter] Marco Beltrán,” Rodriguez said. “I told Marco, ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll f***ing take care of that. I promise you, I’ll f***ing beat him for you, man. I f***ing promise you,'” Rodriguez stated on Ariel Helwani’s show.
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