Alexander Volkanovski’s coach wants it to be very clear: they want Movsar Evloev next … even though no one was particularly impressed with Evloev’s win over Lerone Murphy at UFC London.
Evloev and Murphy engaged in what was widely seen as a featherweight title eliminator bout, although the UFC never committed to the winner getting a shot. Even after Evloev won a close decision that many saw as a draw, UFC CEO Dana White never used a stronger word than ‘possibly’ to describe whether Movsar would fight
for the title next.
But Volkanovski coach Joe Lopez says that’s who they want, even though he agrees the fight was probably a draw.
“Realistically, I judge the fight a draw,” he told Submission Radio. “But I’m glad it didn’t end up a draw because then we’d probably get [Diego] Lopes 3. So I’m glad that didn’t happen. I’m glad Movsar got on top. He’s been hanging there for a long time. We’re glad for that matchup.”
Lopez thinks it would have been a bigger blowout if Evloev hadn’t kept it on the feet to make a more exciting fight for UFC management.
“We’ve heard things in the background that they’ve told him, or maybe he just thought to himself, ‘Look, they’re not gonna give me a go unless I stand and bang,'” Lopez said. “And, yeah, that’s what he tried to do for the first three rounds. And then, obviously, when he wanted to take him down, he took him down pretty easily.”
Will that be enough for the undefeated Russian to get a title shot? Especially with the much more exciting Jean Silva hanging around declaring he’s the real No. 1 contender?
“He’s the deserving one,” Lopez said of Evloev. “There’s a lot of Jean Silva or whatever his name is barking on like the little dog that he is in the background, trying to make a a lot of noise to make himself think he’s the next one. But he’s not deserving. You know? There’s still [Aljamain Sterling] and a lot of guys above him. He’s got to earn his spot.”
“Don’t think because you make a lot of noise you’re gonna get it, because you’re not.”
You sure about that?
“Let him have one or two more fights, and then we’ll have a look,” Volk’s coach concluded. “But yeah, he’s not ready.”
Volkanovski is now in the strange position of having to defend his desire to fight the No. 1 contender, who is 20-0 and on a 10 fight UFC win streak, over Jean Silva, who is 1-1 in his last two.
If the UFC hadn’t just served Volk up an unnecessary rematch against Diego Lopes in his last title defense, the Silva fight might not feel like such an affront. But having the No. 6 guy jump the No. 1 guy after UFC already skipped over him once before? It’s enough to make you question the promotion’s dedication to the best fighting the best.
