Too small for lightweight? Diego Lopes reveals stark weight gain at UFC White House

There are many questions that arise when a fighter moves up a division, and they may vary depending on each fighter’s situation. However, there’s one that is always present: Will the fighter be too small in the heavier weight class?

Well, this question has been popping up in early breakdowns and analysis ahead of Diego Lopes‘ BMF title bout against Charles Oliveira, which serves as the headliner for UFC 335 on Dec. 12. It’s fair to question Lopes’ ability to deal with Oliveira, who’s long been considered one of the bigger lightweights, but Lopes (28-8 MMA, 7-3 UFC) feels confident he’ll be just fine.

“Height-wise, I don’t feel bad,” Lopes told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. “I think I’m one of the tallest fighters in the division. I think out of all the top-five fighters, I’m the same height or taller. I think Pimblett is the only one bigger than me height-wise and weight-wise, but I still need to adapt, and I don’t think it will be a problem.”

Lopes’ decision to move up to lightweight was not made on a whim. He did his research before moving from featherweight to lightweight and, with his nutritionist, carefully tracked how much lightweights cut and how much they bounced back after official weigh-ins.

Lopes feels he’s in a good spot, given how things went for him weight-wise in his KO win over Steve Garcia at UFC Freedom 250 in June.

“I’ll give you an interesting stat: my nutritionist and I did an evaluation of how much the top lightweights were bouncing back in weight the day of the fight,” Lopes said. “My decision to move up to 155 was not just, ‘I’m moving up. That’s it.’ No. So from the champion to the top five, they bounce up around 180 to 172 pounds. That’s normally what they’re bouncing to. I’ve been adapting my weight for 155 for some time now. In my last fight, and this you’ll find interesting: for my last fight, on fight day, I weighed in at 175. So if you think about it, I’m already about average. Obviously, that was in the morning, and I was swollen, and after going to the bathroom and training, I was at 170, 171. So it wasn’t too bad, and keep in mind I made a camp for 145 pounds. Now, imagine at 155, I think I’ll be good.”

At the end of the day, there’s still a degree of unknown – even with the precautions Lopes has taken.

“We’ll see what happens,” Lopes said. “I want to see how my body responds at 155. I want to see how I adapt at 155. This is the first time I’m doing a camp for 155. I’m heavier, and I’m just doing more. I’ve never lifted weights in my life, and now I’m lifting weights twice a week. I’m also taking supplements; I’m taking creatine, and I’m heavier. So let’s see how my body responds. I think Charles is the perfect test to see if I belong at 155.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Too small for lightweight? Diego Lopes reveals stark weight gain at UFC White House