Henry Cejudo doubts Diego Lopes is ready to face Brian Ortega after UFC 303

Henry Cejudo has doubts about Diego Lopes after UFC 303.

Lopes (25-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC) was scheduled to face Brian Ortega in a lightweight bout last Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but Ortega fell ill on fight night. Dan Ige stepped in four hours in a hurry to face Lopes, who won the fight by unanimous decision.

Lopes won the first two rounds, but Ige (18-8 MMA, 10-7 UFC) was able to rally in Round 3. Lopes requested that his fight against Ortega be rescheduled for UFC 306, but after watching his performance against Ige, Cejudo would prefer to see Lopes slowly climb the ladder.

“I’m not sure Diego Lopes would really be ready for a guy like Brian Ortega,” Cejudo said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “Was I impressed? A little bit, but the more film they have now and the more you can see him fight other top contenders, guys that have been ranked in the top 15, top 10…

“I think Diego Lopes has to slow down and keep fighting a lot of other fighters to be able to catch a guy in the top 10, or even a top 5. Also, don’t forget that Brian Ortega is No. 3. I think he’s still improving in that sense. You have to keep fighting guys that are at his level so you can then take on a guy like Brian Ortega.”

Lopes faced a number of challenges during his fight week. First, he agreed to move up from featherweight to lightweight for his fight against Ortega (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), then accepted an opponent with a completely different style in just a few hours at 165 pounds.

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s UFC 303 Event Hub.