Drawing comparisons to Ilia Topuria, Diego Lopes breaks down how he would matchup against Alexander Volkanovski

Ilia Topuria last competed last October when he defeated Max Holloway via third-round knockout at UFC 308 to defend his featherweight title for the first time. While he was widely expected to face Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch of their UFC 298 clash, 'El Matador' shocked fans as he vacated the title to make the jump to the lightweight division.

Instead, 'The Great' will face Diego Lopes for the vacant belt. The No.3-ranked featherweight appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show on Monday, where he shared what he learned from UFC 298, stating:

"I learned so much because this is the interesting fight, right? Ilia has a similar style as me. I'm so aggressive [going forward] and Ilia is the same, but the difference for this fight is I'm long and I'm a tall guy. Alex is, I think, how long in the UFC and only fighting for the guy's tall. I think it's a different fight than Alex and Ilia, but I like to fight in the close distance. I think it's a good fight, you know?"

Check out Diego Lopes' comments on what he learned from Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria below:

Lopes will have the opportunity to make a statement by capturing the belt less than two years after his UFC debut. He enters the bout on a five-fight winning streak that includes two finishes, while Volkanovski has dropped three of his past four bouts, including suffering his first career loss at featherweight in his most recent appearance in the octagon.

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Ilia Topuria is not interested in fighting a contender fight at lightweight

Ilia Topuria has long expressed interest in challenging Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. After vacating his featherweight belt and announcing his decision to move up a weight class, it appeared to be a formality that the two would clash. Recent reports, however, suggest that 'El Matador' could need a win against one of the division's top-ranked contenders before receiving a title opportunity.

His team recently revealed that he has no plans on fighting a No.1 contender fight in comments shared by Championship Rounds on X.

"🚨 Ilia Topuria isn't interested in a #1 contender fight against Arman Tsarukyan at lightweight, according to his team: "Ilia wants a championship fight. He will not fight for the status of a contender with Tsarukyan or anyone else." (via. TASS, h/t @RedCorner_MMA ) #UFC #MMA"

Check out the post by Championship Rounds below:

While the lightweight division remains crowded at the top, Topuria's dominant performances against Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway could allow him to skip the line. UFC CEO Dana White has not shared the promotion's plans for Makhachev's next title defense.