No. 1 UFC featherweight contender Movsar Evloev recently discussed the important points to keep in mind to dethrone champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Volkanovski, who reclaimed the featherweight title last year at UFC 314, successfully made the first defense of his second reign just a few weeks ago at UFC 325 against Diego Lopes in a rematch. Once more, ‘The Great’ with a calculated approach, cruised to another unanimous decision victory.
Following the win, Volkanovski has made it clear that he will defend his championship against the most deserving contenders, and others should not be fast-tracked to a title shot.
Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy, who are both undefeated, were rumored to fight Volkanovski after he became a two-time UFC featherweight champion last year. However, the matchmakers gave Lopes the opportunity after the latter stopped Jean Silva at Noche UFC.
However, the UFC 325 title rematch between Volkanovski and Lopes went no differently than their UFC 314 outing.
Movsar Evloev, on the other hand, will fight Lerone Murphy in the main event of UFC London on March 21, and the winner is expected to challenge ‘The Great’ later this year.
The Russian fighter recently appeared in an interview with Submission Radio. When asked to weigh in on what he believes would be the key to beating Volkanovski should he share the octagon with the 37-year-old, Movsar Evloev said:
Pressure, wrestling, because, you know, I think if I catch him I can knock him out. It was looks like when Diego touched him it was pretty easy touch and he dropped him, and if he have more chance to beat him after that he can knock him out, like he can finish him, but he didn’t for some reason. It looks like Alex is getting older, but he’s still tough.”
The 31-year-old added:
I don’t want to think about our fight until they book it. Definitely, I think he is the greatest featherweight of all time in the UFC, and I’m so happy he’s not retired, because you know it’s so good to have that kind of name in resume.”
Check out Movsar Evloev’s comments below (6:53):
As Movsar Evloev noted, Diego Lopes, at UFC 314 and most recently at UFC 325, did land some power-heavy shots and dropped ‘The Great’ but did not go for the final kill. Volkanovski, on the other hand, had more consistent output, waited for Lopes to hunt for fight-ending blows, and every time the latter stepped in the pocket, the champion picked his moments to land, then stepped back, circled away, and maintained a safe distance.
Movsar Evloev discusses why he wasn’t able to compete in 2025
Movsar Evloev, who is 9-0 in the UFC, last entered the octagon in 2024 at UFC 310 against former champion Aljamain Sterling and won by unanimous decision.
In July 2025, he was going to face Aaron Pico. However, the Russian fighter had to withdraw because of an injury. Pico then made his UFC debut in the co-main event of UFC 319 against Lerone Murphy and was knocked out cold in Round 1.
Had Evloev not been forced to withdraw from his bout with Aaron Pico, he might have already shared the octagon with Alexander Volkanovski. Recently, when asked what has kept him sidelined, he said:
I pulled out because of, I don’t know, some type of corona in Thailand. I was ready to fight, but two weeks before the fight, I started feeling so bad. Even doing some easy exercises made me feel so bad. So, I decided to pull out because my body wasn’t ready to fight.”
