On April 16, 2011, Salido fought undefeated WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel López in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. López was a two-weight world champion, and had amassed seven consecutive defenses and a flawless 30-0 record. In a huge upset, Salido scored an eighth-round TKO over López to win the WBO featherweight title. After four competitive rounds, Salido floored López hard at the end of the fifth round and was again on the attack in the sixth round, but López survived. Salido launched an attack in round eight which made referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. wave the fight off, even though López was still fighting back, albeit with weak punches. The time of stoppage was 1:30. All three judges had the fight 66-66 even at the end of round seven.