Jean Silva blasts Movsar Evloev as a ‘dangerous’ future UFC champion for the promotion

UFC featherweight contender Jean Silva believes a Movsar Evloev featherweight title reign would be devastating for the sport’s future.

Top UFC featherweight contender Movsar Evloev retained his spot atop the rankings with a majority decision win over Lerone Murphy at UFC London last Saturday. Evloev, unbeaten in his professional career, earned the biggest win of his UFC career to earn a likely title shot against featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski.

While Evloev’s potential title shot isn’t set in stone, it’s been posited in recent weeks that knockout artist Jean Silva could skip Evloev in the featherweight division’s pecking order. Silva met with UFC officials at UFC London and hinted at signing a contract to fight Volkanovski later this year.

If Evloev gets the next title shot and wins the belt, Silva believes it would be a devastating outcome.

Jean Silva: Movsar Evloev isn’t a marketable potential UFC champ

In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Silva didn’t hold back on what he believes an Evloev title reign could mean for the future of the featherweight division.

“It’s really a dangerous game to let some guy like Movsar to be a champion. Because the whole thing revolves around the champion. Who is going to have the next chance to be the champion? And out of all the fights he’s had, he’s had 10-11 cancellations at this point,” Silva said of Evloev.

“I have the formula for what a UFC champion should be. This is more than just a fighting championship; it’s a sports league, so whoever is at the front, that person has to be able to bring the viewership, promote, and bring audience interest. You have to make sure that you’re bringing it in, and I personally wouldn’t sign up for Paramount to watch Movsar’s fight for the belt. No one should do that because you just don’t know what’s going to happen…

“I’m the name out there, there’s no other name that could do it as well as I could,” Silva continued. “I give merit to all of the guys who have been there and who are there now, but when push comes to shove, that’s what it’s going to be. Bring the viewership…that money needs to be well spent.”

UFC CEO Dana White hinted that Evloev was in a ‘great spot’ for a title shot following UFC London. Meanwhile, Silva bounced back from a loss to Diego Lopes with a victory over Arnold Allen earlier this year.

What’s your early prediction for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev? Let us know in the comments!