Diego Lopes is ready to fight Charles Oliveira in the UFC 335 main event for the BMF title. But before the Brazilian-Mexican fighter was cleared to headline the UFC’s last marquee card of 2026, the promotion had a completely different plan for him.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, the former two-time featherweight title challenger revealed that the UFC wanted him to fight Dan Hooker at UFC Paris for his lightweight debut. However, they drastically changed course after signing breakout French fighter Salahdine Parnasse.

“When I decided to try to move to 155, I was talking to UFC,” Lopes said. “I was having, like, a couple of options… You know which one? When I talked with UFC, I suppose I take the main event with Dan Hooker in Paris. But the UFC signed the French guy, and they were like, ‘Don’t take this fight.’”   

Lopes’ words suggest that despite the UFC considering pitting him against Dan Hooker, the plan remained a verbal agreement rather than a properly signed deal.

As the Brazilian-Mexican suggested, the UFC was also in talks with Salahdine Parnasse, who, by Lopes’ own implication, was always their preferred choice to headline the Paris event. But the uncertainty around Parnasse’s arrival in the UFC kept Lopes in the loop.

By July 2026, rumors swirled of the UFC closing in on signing Parnasse, but nothing was finalized by then. If the deal somehow collapsed, Lopes was ready to step in. But since ‘The Lion of Atlas’ ended up signing with the UFC, they proceeded to book him against Hooker for the Paris Fight Night event in September.

Though Lopes ended up landing a much bigger fight, it shows that the UFC juggles multiple negotiations simultaneously. But after the UFC finally made Parnasse vs. Hooker for Paris, they had two more options for Lopes to choose from.

“I was talking with UFC, and UFC said I was going to fight, like, Charles Oliveira,” he added. “If he’s not possible, maybe BSD in New York. So, the UFC did the fight with Oliveira, so I’m happy now with this fight.” 

This is the first time Lopes has revealed the UFC handing someone a very different plan from the original. But he is definitely not alone in this regard.

Previously, Michael Chandler revealed that the UFC offered him a top-five opponent for the White House card before settling on Mauricio Ruffy. Chandler didn’t disclose who the fighter was.

But those instances reveal that the UFC won’t shy away from changing direction to stitch together fight cards. Still, for Lopes, the promotion’s decision came as a blessing in disguise, as he will be facing Oliveira for the BMF belt.

Diego Lopes feels Charles Oliveira would be a perfect fight for him  

Despite Lopes falling short against Alexander Volkanovski twice, the 31-year-old believes his move to lightweight will be a fruitful one. He also insisted that Charles Oliveira is stylistically a perfect and fun matchup for him.

“I want fun fights,” Lopes told MMA Junkie. “I want fights that can take me to the next level, and Charles is the perfect fight for me. This is the perfect fight for me. You’ll never see me calling out or chasing fighters like, ‘I want this guy, I want this other fight.’ No. If they give me options, I want to fight the toughest, the most difficult guy to fight. That’s what I want.” 

Lopes isn’t too far off in considering a matchup against Charles Oliveira a perfect stylistic fight. Both can inflict serious damage with their punches and boast elite jiu-jitsu. The fight should be highly entertaining on the feet. But if it ever hits the mat, we can hopefully see excellent scrambling and a fluid exchange of positions in pursuit of a submission.

Despite Lopes sharing a ton of respect for the Brazilian legend, that admiration will be left outside the cage when they finally meet at UFC 335 on December 12 in Las Vegas.

“I’ve always had a lot of respect for Charles,” Lopes added. “We’ve shared moments and taken pictures, and we’ve been together at several events. We have mutual respect, but work is work. When the cage closes, I’m sure he’s going to try to rip my head off, and I will be looking to do the same. Friendship stays outside of the cage.”   

With Diego Lopes making it clear that he is ready and raring to go before facing Oliveira, we can only remain hopeful that nothing unforeseen happens that forces the UFC to make changes before UFC 335 in December.