Aljamain Sterling: Alexander Volkanovski ‘going to whoop that ass’ vs. Diego Lopes

Aljamain Sterling has a definitive prediction for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes at UFC 314.

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) takes on Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) for the vacant featherweight belt within the April 12 most important occasion at Kaseya Middle in Miami.

Sterling traded barbs with Lopes and his supervisor on X after saying that Movsar Evloev deserved to be within the title combat extra. However Sterling insists that his prediction of a dominant Volkanovski victory isn’t biased.

“I believe Volkanovski goes to place the beats on Lopes,” Sterling stated on his YouTube channel. “I might have stated that extra respectfully had him and his supervisor not tried to assault me as if I stated something disrespectful to them. I might have been extra politically right about it, however I really do suppose Volk goes to place the beats on him. I’m going to provide them the rationale why Volk goes to whoop that ass. Volkanovski is coming with a vengeance. He’s in phenomenal form. What he does nice vs. what Diego Lopes does nice isn’t the identical.

“Volk is tremendous nicely rounded. He’s robust in each single division. Perhaps not a submission specialist, however he’s very hip to the grappling sport the place Diego Lopes is an excellent grappler by way of submission threats, however in relation to hanging, he’s an all-or-nothing man within the first spherical. There isn’t any pacing about Diego Lopes. The perfect combat he’s had thus far so far the place he’s regarded technically composed and most technically sharp is the combat with Brian Ortega.”

Sterling went on to interrupt down Lopes’ different UFC wins and the way he wasn’t impressed with what he noticed. He solely provides Lopes an opportunity to beat Volkanovski early, in any other case he sees him getting drowned within the championship rounds.

“You watch lots of his different fights, quick discover with Dan Ige; Dan Ige is a canine, although,” Sterling stated. “His combat with Sodiq Yusuff, I don’t actually price that one an excessive amount of. No disrespect to Sodiq. He’s an all-or-nothing blitz sort of fighter. He runs at you, sprints at you within the first minute or two, and if he clips you, he smells blood within the water, and he’s very, excellent at ending fights from there.

“If that’s his sport plan in opposition to Volkanovski, and he has no Plan B, Diego Lopes goes to lose this combat. There’s no different approach to say it. He’s not going 5 rounds toe-to-toe with Alex Volkanovski. It’s simply not taking place. I by no means stated he can’t clip Volk. His sport plan is to get him out of there in Spherical 1 as a result of if he doesn’t, the longer that combat goes, I believe Volk does this (goes up), and Lopes does this (goes down) in a five-round combat.”

For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC 314.