Potential featherweight matchups for Diego Lopes, Jean Silva after bout

Diego Lopes gets a title eliminator

Lopes came into the fight as the No. 2-ranked featherweight contender. The TKO of Silva at the end of round two solidified his place in the rankings. 

Lopes had a dominant first round against Silva. He was able to take down Silva and keep him there for the majority of the round. While in the mount, Lopes rained down vicious elbows and punches that were clearly damaging Silva.

With Lerone Murphy likely getting the title shot against champion Alexander Volkanovski, Lopes will have to wait. Murphy stepped up to take a fight with Aaron Pico on short notice at UFC 319 after No. 1-ranked featherweight contender, Movsar Evloev, had to pull out. 

Regardless of the outcome of Volkanovski vs. Murphy, there will most likely still need to be a title eliminator to figure out who will challenge for the belt next. It should be Lopes vs Evloev for the title shot. 

In Lopes’ debut in the UFC, he fought Evloev, losing by unanimous decision. Since then, his only loss has been to Volkanovski in their title fight. Lopes lost to Volkanovski via unanimous decision, but he had some great moments and has only gotten better since then. 

The undefeated Eveloev is notorious for having fights cancelled in his time with the UFC. If he were to pull out, Lopes could still have a title eliminator with former Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who is also looking for his shot at the featherweight belt.

Jean Silva gets a chance to move up the rankings

Silva was dominated by Lopes for a majority of the first round, but was able to show some great striking in the second round. If things had gone the other way, Lopes very well could’ve been seriously damaged by the strikes Silva was throwing. 

Silva, the No. 12-ranked contender, had a major step up in competition facing Lopes. It looks to have been too high a jump for him. 

Silva’s next fight should be against Brian Ortega. Ortega is the No. 7 contender and would be a great challenge for Silva. Ortega is a great Jiu-Jitsu specialist, but is also very good on his feet with striking. He may be the challenge Silva needs to prove he belongs in the top 10. 

Ortega makes sense because he just lost his last fight against Sterling at UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang. Ortega suffered a brutal weight cut that resulted in him passing out before weigh-ins, according to ESPN. This resulted in the fight becoming a catchweight bout at 153 pounds. The matchmakers most likely will not want to give Ortega a shot at rising up the rankings; he will need to prove himself again. Silva could be a great opportunity for Ortega.

If the matchmakers don’t want Ortega, a matchup with the No. 6 featherweight contender, Arnold Allen, could make sense. Allen hasn’t fought since July of 2024 and needs a fight. Allen would be a great matchup for Silva. Allen is a more patient fighter, always on the hunt for his opportunity. With Silva having an aggressive style, it could be a great test for him. 

With either of these matchups, Silva would be able to still have a chance at jumping up the rankings and have a lot more confidence going into the fight.