Behind the scenes footage perfectly captured the highs and lows that athletes go through when they step inside the Octagon.
The build up to UFC 314 was already emotional for Diego Lopes as the Brazilian looked to bring the UFC featherweight title back to his family.
Instead, the night belonged to Alexander Volkanovski who triumphantly returned to the top of the division by beating Lopes over five rounds in a great contest.
Whilst fans celebrated and praised ‘The Great’ for his remarkable comeback that saw him respond to back-to-back knockout losses with an impressive display, it takes two to tango.
A legendary night for his opponent meant a tough outing for Lopes who already shared his thoughts on what went down in Miami.
Diego Lopes gets emotional after UFC 314 defeat in Miami
A video posted on YouTube by Diego Lopes’ management team, Iridium Sports Agency, captured behind the scenes footage of fight night.
Lopes has had a remarkable journey in the UFC thus far having suffered two losses on his late notice UFC debut and in his appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series.
However, with a five-fight winning streak under his belt, he had an unstoppable confidence ahead of the biggest fight of his career to date against a legend of the division in Alexander Volkanovski.
The rising star was surrounded by positivity as he made his way to the arena and got warmed up backstage with some dancing before getting ready to walk out at the Kaseya Center with a smile on his face.
Cameras immediately cut from Lopes walking out to his return to the backstage area having lost a unanimous decision following a fight of the night bout.
A disappointed Lopes was consoled by his team as he sits in the locker room with emotion pouring out of him after this huge opportunity slipped through his hands.
The video is a great document of the rollercoaster of emotions that fighters go through when they put it all on the line to compete at the highest level.
With his team behind him, Lopes dusts himself off after looking at his reflection in the mirror before getting ready to leave the arena and move on to the next phase of his career.
Diego Lopes will only get better after this experience
Diego Lopes may have come up short in the main event but he was able to answer some questions that fans had ahead of his first title fight.
He proved that he can fight at a more measured pace for five rounds without ever slowing down in a significant way, he was simply beaten by the better man on April 12.
In just his seventh appearance inside the Octagon, the 30-year-old went five rounds with one of the all-time greats and this experience is only going to benefit him in the long run.
Lopes is still one of the top contenders in the featherweight division and he will certainly be back in the mix in the near future once he has had some time to heal.
