Movsar Evloev claims next fight is booked — but it won’t be a UFC title shot
Movsar Evloev won’t be getting his UFC title shot just yet.
The Russian featherweight is one of the hottest contenders in any UFC weight class right now. He is 19-0 overall, and a strong 9-0 in the Octagon. Highlights of his run in the UFC include wins over top contenders like Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, Arnold Allen, and most recently, former bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling.
Ordinarily, his win streak and strength of schedule would just about guarantee him a featherweight title shot. However, it seems the UFC has other plans.
On Thursday, Evloev took to X, where he cleared the air on his immediate future. Interestingly, he thanked reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski for trying to set up a fight between them. However, he also revealed that he has accepted another opponent for this July, and implied Volkanovski also has a different opponent. He shared his hope that, if they both win their next fights, they can meet for the title later in the year.
“Thank you Champ for trying to fight me,” Evloev wrote, tagging Volkanovski. “I will fight in July and you fight in September. Hopefully we both win and we can meet in December.”
Why isn’t the UFC giving Evloev a crack at Volkanovski?
This is a pretty surprising revelation.
Evloev is clearly the most deserving contender in the UFC featherweight top-10. That’s due largely to his own accolades, but it’s also because Volkanovski has already beaten many of the division’s top fighters, such as including Diego Lopes, Yair Rodrigues, and Brian Ortega.
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see who the UFC will match both men up with. Evloev was previously mentioned as a potential opponent for Aaron Pico, one of several former Bellator stars to sign with the UFC recently. Perhaps the promotion’s matchmakers have decided to push ahead with that fight.
If that’s the case, it seems likely that Volkanovski will be booked for a rematch with Rodriguez. The champ beat the Mexican striker decisively just a few years ago, but Rodriguez is riding a nice win over Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Maybe that was enough to put him in position for a shot at redemption. It could be a good headliner for September’s Noche UFC card, which celebrates Mexican culture.
