Tag: Joe Lopez

Joe Lopez: Movsar Evloev won’t be able to handle UFC champ Alexander Volkanovski’s strength

Both UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski and his coach are on board with Movsar Evloev getting the next title shot.

Both UFC champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] and his coach are on board with [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] getting the next title shot.

Volkanovski (27-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) reclaimed the featherweight title when he defeated Diego Lopes (27-6 MMA, 6-1 UFC) by unanimous decision in Saturday’s UFC 314 main event at Kaseya Center from Miami.

Volkanovski’s head coach [autotag]Joe Lopez[/autotag] is aware of Evloev’s (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) strong grappling skills, but thinks his star student will be too strong for him.

“I think he is a good wrestler, but he’s not a – what would you call him? He’s good at getting people down, but he doesn’t really do much with it once he gets them down,” Lopez told Submission Radio. “And that’s what I guess makes him boring … So he just hangs on to them, and I don’t think he’s going to be able to hang onto Volk. Volk is just so strong, and his scrambling skills, and his jiu-jitsu and wrestling are another level. Volk just picks things up, if you look at the the beginning of the camp, when we break things down, and we see what each person’s really good at.

“So we’ve got Diego. Diego’s got a pretty good guard. The way he switches from armbars to triangles to sweeps, he’s very good at. He’s got a really good repertoire there, and at the beginning with the guys that we had, Volk was getting stuck in there. (But) by the end of the camp, Volk was not having any problems at all in those positions, and I think that’s what Diego felt when Alex took him down – that it’s not a place he wants to be with Alex on top of him because like I said, Alex’s pressure when he’s on top, he feels like a heavyweight on top of you, and then he just doesn’t hang onto you. He’s just looking to land some bombs or an elbow or something on you. So, you don’t want to be on the bottom when Alex is on top.”

With Volkanovski promising to make a quick turnaround to face Evloev with a win over Lopes, the undefeated contender expects the new champion to live up to his promise.

“Congratulations on an excellent performance, you’re a true champion! Now let’s see what your word is worth! @alexvolkanovski #UFC314.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.

Joe Lopez not at all surprised to see Alexander Volkanovski counted out at UFC 314

Joe Lopez understands the doubt surrounding Alexander Volkanovski heading into UFC 314.

Joe Lopez understands the doubt surrounding [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] at UFC 314.

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) takes on Diego Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) for the vacant featherweight title in Saturday’s headliner at Kaseya Center from Miami (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN/Disney+, ESPN+).

Although betting odds have Volkanovski as a slight favorite, many pundits are questioning the former UFC champion’s form after suffering back-to-back knockout losses to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria.

“Nah, not at all (surprised),” Lopez told Submission Radio of Volkanovski being counted out. “You’re always as good as your last fight, you know? And he didn’t do too good in his last fight. So obviously he’s going to be the underdog.

“People write him off, but look, we’ve always liked being the underdog and people doubting us right from the beginning, you know. If anything, that just spurs Alex on more and makes him more determined to win.”

Lopes has finished 22 of his 26 professional wins. The Freestyle MMA head coach pointed out the most dangerous aspect of Lopes’ game that they have to watch out for.

“He’s unconventional,” Lopez said of Lopes. “He just throws, and he’s not calculated. But, he’s powerful, and if he gets you on that back foot, he’s going to come forward hard and fast. If you get caught, you get caught, you know. He’s caught a lot of good guys with it. So, you can’t take that away from him.”

Despite Lopes’ momentum and finishing instincts, Lopez sees Volkanovski overwhelming his opponent, the same way he did when he finished Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290.

“I’d say probably by the third round,” Lopez said. “I think he should start breaking Diego and either get him – he’ll take him down, and ground and pound him, or he’ll get a submission. But, more than likely it’ll be third or fourth round ground and pound or a tap out from the punishment.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.

Alexander Volkanovski’s coach against Ilia Topuria’s pursuit for two UFC titles: ‘You’re just holding up divisions’

Alexander Volkanovski’s coach, Joe Lopez, doesn’t think UFC featherweight champ Ilia Topuria has earned the right to fight for a second belt just yet.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]’s coach, [autotag]Joe Lopez[/autotag], doesn’t think UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] has earned the right to fight for a second belt just yet.

Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who’s coming off back-to-back knockouts of Volkanovski and Max Holloway, expressed interest in moving up to lightweight to challenge champ Islam Makhachev.

Volkanovski is currently campaigning for a title-fight rematch with Topuria and is even willing to face Diego Lopes for an interim title if he doesn’t get his wish immediately. Volkanovski failed in his bid to become dual champion when he challenged Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 284 but not before defending his featherweight title four times.

“That’s great (Topuria eyeing Makhachev), but you’ve got to have – like with anybody, you’ve got to have at least five or six title defenses before you start looking at doubling up,” Lopez told Submission Radio. “You’re just holding up divisions. When you’ve cleared out a division, then you’ve got the right to jump up a division.

“Until then, you’ve just got to fight the cause in your division, you know? I guess it’s like jumping the queue, and you want to have the title shot before somebody else that’s above you, you know? But it’s just human nature, I guess. Everybody wants that double-champ status because it’s very rare to get.”

Volkanovski pushed Makhachev to the brink in their first lightweight title fight at UFC 284 but fell short. He then defended his featherweight title a fifth time by finishing Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290, which earned him a short-notice opportunity against Makhachev a second time at UFC 294. However, Volkanovski was knocked out in the first round.

Topuria went as far as saying he’d be the first to submit Makhachev. While Lopez thinks it’s a bold claim, he doesn’t fault Topuria for his confidence.

“Islam, he’s very good striking, and he’s got good wrestling, too,” Lopez said. “And he’s the bigger man, so who knows? Look, you can’t take that way from Ilia because what he’s said, he’s been doing. So, he might just be the first guy to do it (submit Makhachev). So, you can’t take that away from him.”

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