Diego Lopes declines Movsar Evloev's request to step in on short notice at UFC 307: 'You had your chance'

Diego Lopes quickly shut down Movsar Evloev’s call for a short-notice fight.

Evloev was scheduled to fight former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 307, which takes place on Oct. 5 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, but was left without an opponent Wednesday after Sterling revealed he was out of the fight due to injury. Hoping to stay on the card, Evloev called for Lopes to step in on short notice.

“Hey, if you wanna defend your honor, you have 2.5 weeks to try and get this loss off your record,” Evloev wrote to Lopes on X (formerly Twitter).

To which Lopes quickly replied,

“You had your chance a few months ago when I called you to fight,” Lopes wrote. “Now you sit back and watch as the bus leaves you waiting.”

You had your chance a few months ago when I called you to fight!! Now you sit back and watch as the bus leaves you waiting. https://t.co/JMnQfNOUp4

— Diego Lopes (@Diegolopesmma) September 18, 2024

Lopes fought this past weekend on the main card of UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas. He defeated former title challenger Brian Ortega in a dominant unanimous decision, which put him on a five-fight winning streak.

Lopes’ last defeat came against Evloev back in 2023, in a fight he took on short notice the week of the event. The decision loss to Evloev, which won Fight of the Night honors, marked Lopes’ UFC debut.

Evloev is undefeated in his MMA career. His last win came in January when he outpointed fellow top contender Arnold Allen.