Diego Lopes and Yair Rodriguez aren’t scheduled to fight each other at UFC 314 this weekend but you wouldn’t have guessed that while watching the featherweights get into a heated verbal exchange during a lively press conference Thursday evening in Miami.
Security had to step in between the two before the situation escalated, while other fighters on stage sat there amused.
Lopes is set to face former longtime 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski in Saturday’s main event with a vacant title on the line, while Rodriguez is set to welcome former longtime Bellator MMA champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire to the UFC in a feature main card contest.
It all began when Lopes was asked about sharing a card with Rodriguez, who had expressed some uncomplimentary opinions about Lopes on Wednesday during UFC 314 media day.
A reporter asked Lopes if he’d be open to facing Rodriguez at UFC 320 in Mexico later this year if both emerge victorious this weekend. Lopes is Brazilian but lives in and fights out of Mexico, while Rodriguez has been one of the UFC’s top Mexican fighters for more than a decade.
Lopes answered the question by rhetorically asking how many fights Rodriguez has lost in a row, knowing Rodriguez is 0-2 since 2023.
The one-time interim featherweight titleholder responded by calling Lopes a coward and proceeded to bring up some personal beef involving fighters from both respective gyms Rodriguez and Lopes train out of.
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Watch UFC 314 on Sportsnet+
Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes compete for the vacant featherweight title and Michael Chandler faces Paddy Pimblett in a five-round co-main event. Watch UFC 314 on Saturday, April 12 with prelim coverage beginning 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and pay-per-view main card starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
The initial confrontation lasted roughly two minutes before briefly settling down, however, the pair resumed jawing at one another once the Q&A portion of the press conference concluded and before the fighters faced off with their UFC 314 opponents.
It was a drastically different tone than the friendly meeting they had in March at the first UFC 314 pre-fight press conference, where they could be seen dapping each other up backstage.
UFC 314 takes place Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
The main card also features a co-main event between lightweight stars Michael Chandler and Paddy Pimblett, a grudge match between Bryce Mitchell and Jean Silva, plus a fan-friendly light heavyweight bout between Dominick Reyes and Nikita Krylov.
