Diego Lopes Replaces Bryce Mitchell, Meets Movsar Evloev at UFC 288

An undisclosed injury has forced Bryce Mitchell to withdraw from a featherweight bout against Movsar Evloev at UFC 288.

As a result, promotional newcomer Diego Lopes will step in on five days’ notice to face Evloev on the UFC 288 pay-per-view draw. ESPN Deportes was first to report the new pairing. Evloev previously agreed to replace Jonathan Pearce and face Mitchell a few weeks prior.

Lopes enters his UFC debut with a 20-5 career mark. He appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021 but failed to earn a contract, dropping a technical decision to Joanderson Brito. Lopes is the founder of the Brazilian Warriors team and has held titles in organizations such as Lux Fight League, Xtreme Fighters Latino and Jasaji Fighting League. The 28-year-old Brazilian owns notable triumphs over UFC veterans Masio Fullen, Marco Beltran and Rony Mariano Bezerra.

Evloev is 16-0 as a professional, with six of those victories coming under the UFC banner. The former M-1 Global champion is coming off a unanimous decision triumph against Dan Ige at UFC Fight Night 207 last June.

UFC 288 takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Saturday and is headlined by a bantamweight championship clash between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo. The main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.