Lopes Trains Wrestling at Oklahoma State
Diego Lopes visited Oklahoma State University in Stillwater in January 2025 and worked with the Cowboys wrestling program, then led by head coach David Taylor. The visit drew attention because Lopes was a UFC featherweight contender sharpening his wrestling. Pokes Report covered the visit, and MMA Fighting later reported on Lopes’s work with the program.
Later title challenges
Lopes went on to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant featherweight championship at UFC 314 in April 2025, losing by unanimous decision. The pair met again at UFC 325 in January 2026, where Volkanovski retained the title by unanimous decision. The UFC 314 scorecards and UFC 325 scorecards record both results.
What Lopes sought in the wrestling room
The visit focused on Lopes developing his own wrestling alongside a specialist college program. Taylor and heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson later described a fighter who joined the team’s training and welcomed the challenge rather than seeking special treatment. Their account places Lopes in the role of an athlete learning from the Cowboys, as well as bringing a different combat-sports perspective into the room.
Taylor explained that the relationship continued beyond the initial visit, with members of the program helping Lopes prepare for the Volkanovski title fight. The work aimed to add control and recovery skills to a game already built around striking and submission threats. Wrestling practice offered opportunities to develop how he secured positions, handled takedowns and returned to his feet.
That context matters because wrestling success and MMA success require different combinations of skills. College training can strengthen particular parts of a fighter’s preparation, but an MMA bout also includes punches, kicks and submissions. Lopes’s time in Stillwater is best understood as part of that broader preparation, while the later championship results stand separately as the outcomes of his fights.
