Welcome to the UFC, Lopez & Rinaldi

Something about matching new talent with strangely difficult tests early in their career; it’s not always the UFC’s way, but when they decide to do it, they really seem to go all in on the idea. The latest fighter to find himself in that position is Matthew Lopez, who’s signing was announced via press release. Lopez is set to face longtime bantamweight veteran Rani Yahya at UFC Sioux Falls on July 13th. Alongside Lopez’s signing the UFC has apparently brought in lightweight Jordan Rinaldo, who Mike Chiappetta reports will face Abel Truillo at UFC Las Vegas on  May 29th. Rinaldi replaces Carlos Diego Ferreira who was removed from the card after being flagged by USADA for a failed drug test. Rinaldi’s signing was announced when he was added to the UFC.com roster. So…

Who is Matthew Lopez?

The 29-year old Reign MMA fighter will make his way to the UFC with an unbeaten 8-0 record, having competed largely for top flight regional promotion Resurrection Fighting Alliance. His time in RFA has been spent fighting fellow rising prospects, and he’s grabbed first round wins over Kevin Clark, Justin Linn, and Eli Finn. Lopez actually serves as the wrestling coach at Reign MMA which has played host to Jake Ellenberger, Brendan Schaub, Jessica Penne and many many other rising fighters. Outside of MMA, Lopez was a 4x state champion wrestler in high school, but injuries seem to have derailed his college wrestling career.

What you should expect:

Lopez is a respectably powerful southpaw, who tends to press forward behind big, torquing hooks. He does a nice job not overextending himself and getting off balance, but can put himself in danger of catching shots on the return just with his pressure and aggression and offensively minded game. So far, he’s been tough enough that that hasn’t cost him, but he’s been wobbled a few …

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