Diego Lopes speaks out after being snubbed from UFC's promo for Ilia Topuria's next fight: "What's going on?"

Diego Lopes was upset after being left out of the UFC's promo for Ilia Topuria's next fight. He expressed surprise at the featherweight title scene and asked where he stands among the contenders.

Topuria displayed an impressive performance against Max Holloway at UFC 308, successfully defending his title by securing a third-round knockout. Before his title fight, the Spaniard hinted at moving up to the lightweight division and even claimed to submit Islam Makhachev in a potential fight.

The reigning featherweight champion also shared hostility for former champion Conor McGregor, as the two have traded social media barbs over the past few months. However, according to UFC CEO Dana White, Topuria is expected to make his second title defense in a rematch against Alexander Volkanovski.

All of this has left Lopes wondering about his position among the top contenders for the featherweight belt. The rising prospect aimed at UFC after the promotion shared a picture of Topuria's next possible opponents on social media that did not include him:

''And I'm a soccer player? Or what's going on?''

Lopes made a compelling case for himself after defeating Brian Ortega at Noche UFC 306 via unanimous decision. The Brazilian is currently on a five-fight win streak and is ranked No. 3 in the featherweight rankings.

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Diego Lopes wants to face Alexander Volkanovski for an interim title fight

During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Diego Lopes expressed interest in an interim title fight with Alexander Volkanovski after Ilia Topuria refused to face the Australian at UFC 312 in Sydney, citing a desire to defend his title in front of his home fans.

Lopes claimed that since Topuria wishes to take a break from fighting and Volkanovski has indicated that he would return to the octagon early next year, an interim title bout between him and the former champion made sense:

''Ilia [Topuria] mentioned on Saturday night that he wanted to take some time off, also the UFC mentioned that they’re working on a date for Spain, while this is all going on, it makes the most sense for me to fight [Alexander] Volkanovski in Sydney for the interim title, Volk has already suggested this, I’ve already agreed to it, let’s just do it. It all just makes sense. Ilia wants to take some time off and wants to fight in Spain. Volk wants to fight and doesn’t want to wait, I don’t mind flying to Sydney to fight him.''

Check out Diego Lopes' comments below (11:08):