Brazilian standout Diego Lopes stepped inside the Octagon on Saturday night, kicking off the UFC 295 main card against Pat Sabatini.
Lopes entered the contest 1-1 under the UFC banner, splitting his first two appearances which included a unanimous decision loss to Mosvar Evloev in his promotional debut. He bounced back in August with a first-round submission of Gavin Tucker. He’ll look to make it back-to-back wins while simultaneously handing Pat Sabatini his second career loss inside the Octagon.
Round 1
Sabatini comes out in the southpaw stance and immediately absorbs a kick from Lopes. Sabatini fires back with a body kick and then tags Lopes with a stiff right hand. Lopes moves in and Sabatini immediately goes for a takedown. Sabatini fails to get the takedown and Lopes takes advantage, landing a right hand that rocks Sabatini, dropping him against the fence.
Lopes swarms in and delivers a series of strikes that put Sabatini out cold in the opening round.
Official Result: Diego Lopes def. Pat Sabatini via KO (strikes) at 1:30 of Round 1.
Check Out Highlights From Diego Lopes vs. Pat Sabatini at UFC 295 Below:
Another impressive performance for @DiegoLopesMMA 🤯
He gets the KO finish to kick off this main card! #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/yZfe5NNoIQ
— UFC (@ufc) November 12, 2023
DIEGO LOPES WAS ON GO MODE 💥 #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/C3chv5Cdgt
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 12, 2023
DIEGO LOPES DOES IT AGAIN! 🤯
🇧🇷 @DiegoLopesMMA blowing the roof off of MSG by putting Sabatini OUT! #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/WfMeK5olKA
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 12, 2023
Hell of a performance by @DiegoLopesMMA 👏 #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/kihlPRvyJG
— UFC (@ufc) November 12, 2023
