Ahead of UFC 314 main event against Alexander Volkanovski, Diego Lopes receives 2-word message from David Taylor

David Taylor has sent his wishes for Brazilian MMA artist Diego Lopes da Silva. The featherweight fighter will compete at the UFC 314 main event against the top-ranked fighter, Alexander Volkanovski from Australia.

Lopes is ranked third in the UFC featherweight rankings, while Volkanovski, who has previously won the UFC featherweight title, is currently the top-ranked fighter in this category. Taylor recently cheered for Diego Lopes when he weighed in for the bout.

Taylor dropped a two-word reaction hours before the bout between Diego Lopes and Alexander Volkanovski, writing:

"Let's go @diegolopesmma"

Screengrab of David Taylor's reaction to Diego Lopes [Image Source: David Taylor's Instagram]

Lopes had previously visited the Oklahoma State Cowboys training center to boost the morale of the budding wrestlers. An excited Taylor mentioned this visit in a conversation with MMA Fighting, saying:

“He came down and I’ve known Diego just from the beginning of his journey actually. I’ve always been a big fan and followed him to get to his superstardom. He wanted to come down and do some different training and help him out.”

David Taylor joined the Oklahoma State Cowboys as the head coach in May 2024, replacing former Olympic champion John Smith.

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David Taylor talks about Philadelphia being the seat of his first NCAA tournament as head coach

David Taylor at the NCAA Wrestling Championships 2025 [Image Source: Getty]

When David Taylor accompanied the Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling team to Philadelphia for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, his life had come full circle. This was the same place where he began his career as a collegiate wrestler in 2011.

In a conversation with USA Wrestling, the former Olympic champion opened up about the coincidence, saying [5:48 onwards]:

"I think timing in life, there's no coincidence you know but at the same time like it rotates, it's just where it's hosted this year. Pennsylvania Wrestling, it's rich in tradition, I mean it's going to be exciting tournament, it's going to be great environment and just getting ready to go."

"I just rememeber being excited to compete. I just think what was unique aboyt my freshman year is I was just wrestling with my hair on fire. I was trying to score the entire time," Taylor added.

David Taylor represented the Penn State Nittany Lions as a collegiate wrestler. He won two silver and two gold medals at the NCAA Championships between 2011 and 2014. At the same time, Taylor never lost in a single edition of the Big Ten Championships as a collegiate wrestler.