Diego Lopes hasn’t won the BMF belt yet, and he’s already picked out his first defense. Speaking with MMA Fighting ahead of his UFC 335 headliner against Charles Oliveira, Lopes said he’d love to put the strap on the line against lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, and he made the pitch in a way that sounds a lot like a dare. Heavy.com also picked up the Gaethje angle.
Lopes said the UFC always seems to find Gaethje fights that suit him, where he doesn’t have to worry about jiu-jitsu or getting taken down. He ran through the alternatives. Oliveira has the grappling and has already submitted Gaethje. Arman Tsarukyan brings the wrestling. Ilia Topuria has “very sharp boxing.” Lopes then offered himself as the friendlier stylistic option. “I think that stylistically, a fight between him and me could be a convenient matchup for him,” he said. “I don’t know if I’d get a title shot, but if I win this fight, I’d like to defend the BMF title.”
That’s either honest self-scouting or the sneakiest callout of the year. I lean toward the second.
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First, the actual fight. Lopes meets Oliveira on Dec. 12 in Las Vegas, headlining the UFC’s last numbered card of 2026. Oliveira took the BMF belt from Max Holloway in March with a dominant grappling performance. It drew criticism from fighters, fans and even UFC CEO Dana White for being a little too sensible for a belt with that name. Lopes thinks that could push Oliveira to come out swinging. “I hope so,” he said, laughing. “I want to get in there and throw down. Let’s see who goes down first.”
The bonus math backs up the trash talk. Lopes has seven bonuses in 10 UFC appearances. That’s a 70% hit rate, and it’s about as close to a sure thing as this sport offers. Oliveira holds the UFC record for most bonuses. Lopes called him the toughest matchup of his career, ahead of a resume that includes Alexander Volkanovski, Movsar Evloev, Jean Silva and Brian Ortega, because he can finish you standing or from either position on the mat.
The road to this booking took some detours. After Lopes knocked out Steve Garcia at UFC White House in June, the first lightweight plan was a UFC Paris headliner against Dan Hooker. Salahdine Parnasse got that fight instead. Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 344 in Madison Square Garden was floated next. Then Mauricio Ruffy stepped in against Tsarukyan in September, and the UFC called with Oliveira. Lopes now walks around 180 pounds, 15 more than his usual weight two months out from a featherweight cut. He hasn’t ruled out going back to 145 eventually.
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Gaethje is the complication. He won’t defend the lightweight title in 2026, and there’s a chance he retires without defending it at all. The UFC also just released cage audio from his win over Topuria, so he’s hardly hurting for highlight material.
My take: I love a live underdog, and I love a fighter whose bonus rate is basically a business model. But booking your second fight before you’ve survived Oliveira’s guard is how bettors end up writing sad columns in January. Lopes first has to stay upright and unsubmitted against the most dangerous finisher in the division on Dec. 12. Gaethje can wait until after that, and given his schedule, he probably will.
