“Made you look like Penguin” – Polarizing UFC 314 poster leaves Diego Lopes and MMA fans in splits

UFC 314 poster out for stacked PPV card, April 12, featuring Alexander Volkanovski; Diego Lopes takes short straw with comic reference.

“Made you look like Penguin” – Polarizing UFC 314 poster leaves Diego Lopes and MMA fans in splits

UFC 314 PPV poster feat. Diego Lopes, Alexander Volkanovski, and others unveiled (Source: X/IMAGO)

Three counts of Fight Night extravaganza and UFC returns April 12 at Kaseya Center in Miami, with a numbered PPV offering. The UFC 314 PPV event headliner will have Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes battling for the 145-pound vacant crown. Meanwhile, rising star Paddy Pimblett will take on the exciting Michael Chandler in a five-round pay-per-view co-main.

As such, the stacked PPV lineup and UFC 314 top order are as bloated as they come. The UFC media crew recently released the poster on their socials, which is one of the better ones since last year. However, every good thing must have one kink in it. Red-hot Diego Lopes is uncannily profiled like Colin Farrell from DC Studio’s ‘The Penguin‘. Even Lopes had quite a take on it.

It looks like they used the old man filter on my photo 🤣🤡

Diego Lopes via X (@Diegolopesmma)

Team Lobo Gym MMA’s Diego Lopes is on a hot streak with victories over standouts like Gavin Tucker, Pat Sabatini, Sodiq Yusuff, Dan Ige, and an all-out war in September against Brian Ortega. The challenge against former champ Volk, who went on a 5-0 defense streak in his first reign, is quite something. However, these are the tidbits that make the matter more likable.

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Former 145-pound champ Alexander Volkanovski, though, is confident he’s getting his strap back. So much so that he told TNT Sports he’s planning three more fights, including a defense against the undefeated prospect Movsar Evloev. If luck and UFC brass grant it, ‘Great’ is willing to face new signee Patricio Pitbull as well. However, like his dark-edged comical reference ‘The Penguin‘, if Lopes has his say, he’ll be bagging that belt against all odds.

Fight fans get slight relief; react to new UFC 314 poster

The UFC 314 PPV main event is a race to the undisputed gold like none other. Alexander Volkanovski is eagle-eyed for what was once his. He was subject to consecutive KO title slumps to the dominant Islam Makhachev (UFC 155-pound long-reigning champ) and Ilia Topuria (now also 155).

Fans react to Diego Lopes' new look in UFC 314 poster
Fans react to Diego Lopes’ new look in UFC 314 poster (Source: X)

CityKickboxing NZ’s Aussie legend was so confident about it that he already knew his next fight was for the title. Consequently, tracking with the hold that Volk once had as the #1 pound-for-pound and featherweight kingpin, he got it. Meanwhile, Diego Lopes has had his promise for a crack at gold and even weighed in as championship PPV backup.

Per DraftKings Sportbooks, the former five-time defending UFC featherweight champ is a slight -142 odds-on favorite to prop. However, Diego Lopes is a proper breakout story and might snag the belt too. Tensions are sure to go high in the upcoming days with all the pre-fight banters and prep. But for now, Lopes’ old man filter in the poster is hysterical. Fans have reacted as such.

Whether or not a +120 underdog and streaking, Lopes gets the belt is another day’s question. For now, though, fans are here for this funny transition to ‘Old Man’ Lopes. A prominent fan reaction even straight-up quipped, “Bro they made you look like the Penguin.” All in all, it’s quite a funny thing to get fight fans going.

Related: Alexander Volkanovski is in trouble if he faces rising star Diego Lopes, claims UFC double champ