Diego Lopes and Yair Rodriguez needed to get safety concerned to maintain them aside after the featherweights practically got here to blows through the UFC 314 pre-fight press convention on Thursday.
Whereas each fighters are going through totally different opponents on the pay-per-view card, essentially the most heated second occurred between them when Lopes was requested if he would possibly contemplate Rodriguez for his subsequent opponent at UFC 320 in Mexico if he will get by means of Alexander Volkanovski. The disagreement escalated shortly after Rodriguez made feedback throughout UFC 314 media day on Wednesday that he didn’t like Lopes representing Mexico regardless of being born in Brazil.
In response, Lopes fired again at Rodriguez with a reminder about his present document as he prepares for a battle in opposition to ex-Bellator champ Patricio Pitbull off two losses in a row.
“What number of losses does he have in a row?” Lopes shouted. “What number of losses in a row does he have?”
A break up second later, Rodriguez was on his ft with a microphone in his hand as he started shouting again at Lopes throughout the stage. Lopes then joined him because the fighters started yelling at one another, with safety shortly getting between them.
“Say it to my face!” Lopes shouted (through UFC translator Fabiano Buskei). “You wish to battle me? Don’t speak about my group!”
The heated altercation continued, with the fighters talking Spanish to one another whereas safety tried to maintain them aside to stop a possible brawl on stage.
After the press convention ended with the fighters separating to 2 totally different sides of the stage for the customary faceoffs, Lopes and Rodriguez got here collectively once more.
For a second it appeared like cooler heads prevailed because the fighters had been speaking however it didn’t seem like issues obtained settled because the shouting quickly resumed with safety pulling Lopes away from the interplay.
As a lot as he might have needed to throw down with Rodriguez within the second, Lopes now turns his full consideration in the direction of Volkanovski and the vacant title battle headlining UFC 314 on Saturday. Relying on the end result, Lopes might get the possibility to ultimately settle his grudge in opposition to Rodriguez with UFC 320 — the newest installment within the Noche UFC collection — headed to Guadalajara, Mexico in September.
