Diego Lopes thinks his fight with Steve Garcia is the perfect opener for UFC Freedom 250. The former two-time UFC title challenger meets streaking featherweight Garcia on June 14 in Washington, D.C.
Garcia has knocked out six of his past seven opponents. Lopes warns him that if they meet in the middle, it will be a short night.
"I think maybe he'll try and change a couple of things because he knows I'm so dangerous in the fight," Lopes told MMA Junkie. "When people come to the fight with me, I love this. He has this style. He has the perfect style for me.
"And if he comes, the same thing he's done in his last fights, I think he's a little bit in trouble. But it's good for me, it's good for him. I'm 100 percent sure he's going to try different things, but if he comes to fight and looks for the fight, it's great for me, great for him, and great for the fans. It's a good fight to open the card."
No Time to Waste
Lopes will aim to rebound from his second title loss to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. He has been booked for his next fight before the champion himself, but Lopes says he is not looking to waste any time.
"The people know me: I just like to fight," Lopes said. "I just like to do my job. UFC are looking for people like this, the people who like to fight. I don't care. I just lost for the title. I don't care to take the next shot.
"I know that Steve Garcia is a dangerous guy, No. 9 in the rankings, a lot of knockouts in a row, but this is my job. I just need to fight. I have fun with this. I enjoy this moment. I know I don't have a long time to keep fighting. I'm 31 years old. I came to the UFC three years ago. I need to put in the work."
UFC Freedom 250 Fight Card
Lightweight Title: Ilia Topuria (c) vs. Justin Gaethje
Heavyweight Interim Title: Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane
Bantamweight: Sean O'Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi
Heavyweight: Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis
Lightweight: Maurício Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler
Middleweight: Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus
Featherweight: Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia
