Diego Lopes’ Fighting Style: IS the UFC Featherweight a BJJ Black Belt?

On a three-fight winning streak, Brazilian rising contender Diego Lopes is back in action this weekend at UFC 303. He will take on featherweight stalwart Brian Ortega in the co-main event, which is arguably the biggest fight of his career. But before we get to that fight, we’ll explore a bit on the details of Lopes’s fighting style.

Alex Pereira recently stepped in for Conor McGregor to headline the main event on June 29 against Jiri Prochazka. Meanwhile, another bout, which many fans might be interested in is UFC featherweight Diego Lopes returning to the octagon after making waves with his previous UFC fight. And ahead of his sixth UFC fight [including 1 DWCS fight] bout, let us look at his martial arts background.

What type of fighter is Diego Lopes?

If we look at Diego Lopes’s UFC page, it will say that his fighting style is Brazilian Jiu-Jistu, and that is exactly what his MMA record says. Lopes has 22 finishes to his name with 10 coming via knockouts and 12 coming by way of submission. Yes, he’s established himself as a lethal finisher. Despite having his origin in jiu-jitsu, the 29-year-old has shown in the UFC that he has pretty good striking skills as well.

According to his statistics, Diego Lopes has landed more than half of the strikes on his opponents as his striking accuracy stands at 58 percent. Although his takedown accuracy isn’t on the mark, the 29-year-old’s takedown defense stands at a respectable 42 percent. Clearly, Lopes makes use of his BJJ skills every chance he gets, but is he a black belt? Let’s have a look at that front.

Is Diego Lopes a black belt?

Diego Lopes has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which he has used well to dominate his opponents on the ground during his career. The 29- year-old has gotten 55% of his 22 wins via submission. The Brazilian is coming off an impressive first-round submission victory over Gavin Tucker in a fight he took on short notice at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Font.

Lopes made a great impact with his win over Pat Sabatini, in his third UFC bout. After his disappointing UFC debut, which he lost via a unanimous decision to Movsar Evloev at UFC 288, he came back strong in his second bout against Gavin Tucker, which he followed up by beating Sabbatini and Sodiq Yusuff.

A win against a name like Brian Ortega could help him get closer to breaking into the top 10. This fight may prove imperative on his journey to break into the top tier of the featherweight division and challenge legends like Max Holloway and champion Alexander Volkanovski. And unlike the featherweight bout, which is expected to be mostly a grappling contest, the main event promises to be a striking masterclass at UFC 303.