Lopes Reveals UFC Offered Him a Bizarre Paris Fight Before the BMF Title Booking

Diego Lopes's road to the BMF title fight took an unexpected detour. The Brazilian contender revealed this week that before the UFC locked in his year-end headliner against Charles Oliveira at UFC 335, the promotion had actually offered him a bizarre fight in Paris — only to change direction and hand him the lightweight showcase on December 12 instead. Lopes did not hide his surprise at the original pitch, which never materialized. The revelation came just days after the UFC officially announced that Oliveira will defend his honorific BMF belt against Lopes in the final main event of 2026, a fight that pairs two of the sport's most explosive finishers. Oliveira, the UFC's all-time submission leader with 17 taps in the Octagon, returns after winning the BMF crown with a decision victory over Max Holloway. Lopes arrives riding the momentum of his viral June knockout of Steve Garcia in the second round at UFC Freedom 250, a finish that became one of the year's most-shared moments in the sport. The matchup carries a fascinating stylistic wrinkle: Oliveira has built a career on forcing opponents to tap, while Lopes has never been submitted in his professional career. Whether that streak survives December 12 is now one of the most debated questions in the division — but it might have played out very differently had the UFC stayed with its Paris plan.