If Ilia Topuria is going to take some time off, Diego Lopes wants Alexander Volkanovski next.

This past Saturday, Topuria authored one of the most impressive wins of the year, knocking out Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308. It was the first time the iron-chinned Holloway has ever been knocked out, which even impressed Lopes, who was sitting cageside for the event.

“It was a good knockout,” Lopes told Ariel Helwani. “It was really impressive, but it was even more shocking just to see Max on the floor. It had never happened. I was really shocked by that...

“Max did a good job keeping the distance in the [beginning] of the fight, but I told my brother during the fight, if Ilia got in there he could have the chance to knock him out...

“Going into the fight I thought that Max was going to win. I never thought that Ilia would knock him out.”

Lopes served as the backup fighter for UFC 308 but his services were not needed as both Topuria and Holloway made weight for their featherweight title fight. And while sometimes being a backup fighter means you’re next in line for the title shot, that doesn’t appear to be the case for Lopes.

Following his Topuria’s big win, the UFC brought former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski into the cage for a faceoff, seemingly setting up a rematch between the two. That could leave Lopes waiting in the wings again.

All hope isn’t lost for Lopes though. For one, Topuria seems interested in taking some time off instead of making a quick turnaround to defend his title again, and for another, UFC CEO Dana White has already suggested the promotion wants to bring him to Spain for a debut event. If that means a prolonged hiatus to figure out, Lopes has the perfect plan.

“We were never promised a title shot going into this,” Lopes said. “We just agreed to be the backup but we will for sure try to find our way to that title shot...

“Ilia mentioned on Saturday night that he wanted to take some time off. Also, UFC mentioned they’re working on a date for Spain. While this is all going on, it would make the most sense for me to just fight ‘Volk’ in Sydney for the interim title. ‘Volk’ has already suggested this. I’ve already agreed to it. Let’s just do it.”

The UFC heads back to Sydney on Feb. 9 for UFC 312, and it would make sense for Volkanovski to be on the card. Moreover, the former featherweight champion has already shown some willingness for this scenario, depending on how long Topuria will be out. However, Volkanovski may ultimately choose to wait for his title shot, and if he does, then Lopes may wait as well — unless the UFC comes to him with a particularly good offer.

“Obviously, we feel that the fight with Volkanovski makes the most sense for us,” Lopes said. “It gets us on the title shot track, but if UFC wants to give us another offer in Mexico City, we have to talk as a team with the management and see what the options are here.

“I’m not really interested in fighting anybody but Volkanovski. It makes the most sense. If the UFC says we have to wait around for a title shot, then we’ll wait. If we fight for the interim [title] or Volkanovski, that’s a conversation we’ll have to have with management.”

Ultimately, it may be quite a while before Lopes gets his crack at Topuria and the featherweight title, but when he does, he believes the fight will be worth the wait for fans.

“We know watching Ilia’s fights that he’s very forward [moving] and likes to create pressure,” Lopes said. “I also like to create pressure and we both have very heavy hands. It would be a really good fight and any one of us could drop at any moment because of that.”

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Retired. Carla Esparza didn’t like the decision, but insists she’s done with fighting.

Mailbag. Answering reader questions including how long can Ilia Topuria reign at featherweight?

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VIDEO STEW

Carla Esparza.

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Brandon Moreno and Amir Albizi got a feature from ESPN.

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And Carlos Condit highlights.

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FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR

Fighter vs. Writer

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Statement.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mauricio Ruffy (10-1) vs. James Llontop (14-4); UFC 309, Nov. 16.

Sergei Pavlovich (18-3) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (15-5); UFC Saudi Arabia, Feb. 1.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Some people won’t like it, but I think Volk vs. Lopes is the right idea. Let Topuria take some time off and get a venue in Spain for the summer where he fights the winner. Plus, Volk really should get a win before stepping back in there and getting clobbered again.

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EXIT POLL

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