Top Contender Diego Lopes Calls For Interim Featherweight Fight With Alex Volkanovski For UFC 312

Could an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim Featherweight title be in play?

Ilia Topuria notched his first-ever Featherweight title defense at UFC 308 this past weekend (Sat., Oct. 26, 2024), becoming the first-ever fighter to knockout Max Holloway in the process (watch highlights).

After his win inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Topuria granted his former foe, Alexander Volkanovski, a much-deserved rematch. And UFC CEO, Dana White, also agreed that the fight would happen next for “El Matador.”

However, Topuria wants some time to rest and enjoy the upcoming holiday season — he likely won’t return until mid-2025, which is when he hopes to defend his 145-pound strap in Spain.

And that’s problematic.

Volkanovski does not want to stay out of action for that long. He last competed inside the Octagon at UFC 298, dropping his title to Topuria via knockout (watch highlights). If Topuria plans to fight six or seven months from now, “The Great” wants a home game at UFC 312, which takes place in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 9, 2025.

Someone else who was in attendance on “Fight Island” — and was the official “Plan B” for Topuria versus Holloway — was top-ranked contender (No. 3), Diego Lopes. Today (Tues., Oct. 29, 2024), Lopes told Ariel Helwani he’s agreed to fight Volkanovski … and even suggested it be for an interim title?

“Ilia mentioned on Saturday night that he wanted to take some time off,” Lopes said in Spanish via a translator. “Also, UFC mentioned that they’re not really working on a date for Spain. He feels that while this is all going on, it would make the most sense for him to just fight Volk in Sydney for the interim title.

“Volk has already suggested this,” the translator continued. “I’ve already agreed to it — let’s just do it.”

An interim title fight in February would make zero sense in this situation, especially since the undisputed crown would have been defended literally three months prior.

Having said that, there is precedent …

For complete UFC 308 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.