Remember the fiery exchange between Diego Lopes and Yair Rodriguez at the UFC 314 press conference? Tensions erupted when Rodriguez hurled a slang in Spanish at Lopes, sparking a near-physical altercation. Lopes didn’t back down, standing his ground as both men nearly came to blows before security stepped in. While the scuffle was defused, one thing was clear to the fans—a new rivalry had just ignited, and it’s only a matter of time before it explodes inside the Octagon. But the recent updates tell a different story.

Taking to his X handle, Diego Lopes uploaded a photo of their altercation, calling out Rodriguez for refusing to fight him, “Hey, Yair Rodríguez, I just found out you got a call from Hunter and turned down a fight with me at UFC Noche. Where’s the man who stood in front of me at the press conference?”  How much truth is there in this statement? While it’s possible that the promotion is trying to make the fight happen at UFC Noche in September, has Hunter Campbell actually reached out to Rodríguez? As of now, we have yet to receive any confirmation regarding that.

‘El Pantera’ has yet to respond to these accusations, but ongoing rumors suggest that he might face Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch next. While having a conversation with SkySports, the Australian 2-time featherweight champion doubled down on the rumor and said, “Yair’s name has popped up. No dates are set right now. So, again, I think it’s just a lot of moving parts all through the whole division. I think there’s a lot happening right now.” 

The promotion has yet to officially announce the fight, but it looks like the UFC wants to see the Australian vs Mexican showdown once again, effectively dismissing a potential clash between Diego Lopes and Rodríguez. Well, this fight holds immense value for both of them as their feud dates back six years. Back in 2019, Lopes defeated Marco Beltrán via kneebar in a bout that seemed settled inside the cage.

Rumors suggest that Beltrán’s team allegedly ambushed Diego’s camp, including his teammate Francesco Patron, at a taco shop following the Lux event. Rodriguez, who is a close friend of Beltrán, appeared to carry that tension into the present as he accused Lopes of ambushing and severely beating his friend.“Don’t twist my words … you also shouldn’t beat up one person with 10 men like you and your team did to Marco,” said Rodriguez at the uFC 314 press conference.

This is especially relevant considering that, for the first time in 25 years, the promotion will not have any pay-per-view events in September. UFC Noche will serve as a Fight Night card this year, instead of a massive pay-per-view like it was for UFC 306 last year. But if that is the case, it wouldn’t make sense for the UFC to put one of their biggest stars, Alexander Volkanovski, on a non-PPV card. Meanwhile, amidst all the confusion, Aljamain Sterling has come forward to give his thoughts on Rodríguez vs Volkanovski II.

Aljamain Sterling is in no mood to entertain Yair Rodríguez vs. Alexander Volkanovski II

Alexander Volkanovski recently revealed his next opponent as the UFC distances itself from Movsar Evloev. As per Volkanovski, he was expecting Movsar Evloev as his next challenger, but it appears he won’t be. The rumor spread across the MMA community like wildfire.

Reacting to the news, former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling expressed his concern about the matchup, “If they give it to Yair, all respect to Yair, but that’s crazy work,” Sterling told Home of Fight. “But he’s popular. …I’m not the UFC, I don’t run the company. These guys have all these metrics and things like that that they follow to try to promote fights. I’m always the guy based on merit. I had to work my a– off. I’ve seen a lot of guys work their ass off and not get their fair shake. I almost didn’t get a fair shake, and I had to claw tooth and nail just to get to a title shot.”

He further added, “For ’45, I thought it should have been Movsar.” Sterling was defeated by Evloev at UFC 310, and he believes that the person who beat him deserves the next title shot. However, the promotion operates on its own terms. With uncertainty looming around the featherweight division, Dana White might announce some bangers in the coming months, considering the fact that UFC Noche is coming up.