Image: John Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration
Diego Lopes turned the tables on Jean Silva when it mattered most.
After a dominant first round, Lopes appeared to be losing momentum against The Fighting Nerds standout — this is, until he used Silva’s own move, a spinning back elbow, to set the stage for the finishing sequence in a raucous second stanza. Not only did Lopes avoid suffering a championship fight hangover, he demonstrated that he’s still one of the top featherweight talents in the division. As for Silva, he weathered adversity in Round 1 and looked as dangerous as ever in Round 2; it’s just a credit to Lopes’ toughness that he was able to absorb some of the offense his fellow Brazilian was able to land. While the Fighting Nerds’ momentum has come to a screeching halt, Silva will maintain his spot in the Top 10 after taking part in a “Fight of the Year” candidate.
Elsewhere, David Martinez pulled off an upset in the Noche UFC co-main event, taking a hard-fought unanimous verdict over bantamweight veteran Rob Font. The 27-year-old Mexican extended his professional winning streak to nine — including two UFC victories — and joins the 135-pound bubble after taking a short-notice win over the previously 14th-ranked Font.
Finally, Tatiana Suarez returned to action for the first time since falling to Weili Zhang in February, as she wrestled her way to a unanimous decision over Amanda Lemos in a preliminary strawweight affair. It wasn’t a performance to remember, but Suarez does get to keep her Top 5 ranking after besting another former title challenger.
Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.
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