Diego Lopes truly has proved himself as one of the best fighters in the UFC in 2024. The 26-6-0 record holder has been really active for the past two years, as he managed to get himself in three bouts within 2023-24. One of those fights was his very first match in the UFC, where he lost to Movsar Evloev after taking the fight on short notice.

The unanimous decision stuck with him as he kept requesting a rematch against the Russian. However, Evloev kept shutting down the offer. Now in 2024, Lopes is on a five-match win streak, while the Russian has only fought once since his last fight against the Mexican-Brazilian. This is a statistic that now allowed Evloev to finally ask Lopes for a match in UFC 307, but this time the tables have turned.

Dana White’s UFC 307 is in danger. The big-money fight Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev was supposed to be a major attraction for the show. However, Sterling has now pulled out of the fight due to an injury. Now that Evloev is left without an opponent, he decided to call out Lopes by reminding him of his loss against him.

This then led to a back-and-forth between the two fighters, where Lopes finally shut down the offer by alluding Evloev of being an opportunist. He said, “Brother, since my first victory in the UFC, I called you to fight. You could make excuses that you were above me in the rankings. Since our fight, I have 5 victories. While you have only fought once. You were lower in the rankings. Not to mention that you have not finished anyone.”

After his latest 306 win against two-time featherweight title challenger, Brian Ortega, it is hard to imagine that Lopes would mind having that single loss on his record. After all, he suffered the consequence of taking a short-notice bout against Evloev back in 2023. However, this smells trouble for Dana White who would now be looking to save his highly publicised event. So it would be interesting to see who finally ends up taking Sterling’s place. But what exactly happened to Aljo?

Aljamain Sterling’s sparring injury

The much-awaited featherweight fight is no longer on the upcoming UFC schedule. Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling announced Wednesday that he is withdrawing from his fight against Movsar Evloev due to injury. UFC 307 scheduled the three-round bout for Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Taking to his YouTube channel, AlJo explained, “In sparring, I had an injury,” Sterling said in the video that also showed footage of the shoulder injury. “I did stem cells. I took time off. I tried to rehab it as much as I could and as best I could with the [UFC Performance Institute]. Unfortunately, it’s out of my hands now.”

While he didn’t specify the injury, he shared a clip of himself training where his training partner, Jeremy Kennedy, appeared to twist his arm with a kimura attempt from below. With Sterling (24-4 MMA, 16-4 UFC) out, it’s unclear if Evloev will remain on the card now that even Lopes has refused the fight. What do you think will happen next for the PPV? Will Dana White be able to save the card? Let us know in the comments.