Reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will be watching closely later tonight (Sat., Mar. 21, 2026) as Movsar Evloev headlines UFC London against fellow contender Lerone Murphy in hopes that the Russian wrestler can pull out his 10th-straight Octagon win.
Volkanovski, who is coming off his second-straight win over Diego Lopes at UFC 325 this past February, is looking to stay active in 2026. This includes three potential trips to the Octagon as the 37-year-old veteran staves off talks
of his UFC retirement. Volkanovski is expected to get the winner of tonight’s Evloev vs. Murphy matchup so he’ll surely be tuning in for UFC London’s main event.
If it was up to Volkanovski he would get his hands on Evloev next. In fact, the featherweight legend lobbied for his last title defense to come against Evloev, but UFC matchmakers wanted Volkanovski to prove himself against Lopes one more time. Volkanovski is hoping that Evloev can snap Murphy’s 10-fight UFC unbeaten streak so the two can finally do battle and he can prove that he has “the answer to that Dagestani and Chechen wrestling.”
Remember, Volkanovski lost twice to pound-for-pound king and current UFC welterweight champion, Islam Makhachev, but some believe “The Great” actually won their first fight.
“This has been a problem for fighters,” said Volkanovski via his YouTube channel. “A lot of fighters don’t know how to deal with this. You’ve got [Khamzat] Chimaev just out grappling, Islam wrestling, all these guys that have been so effective with their Dagestani wrestling, the Chechen wrestling, and a lot of people can’t figure it out.
“You’ve seen in my fight with Islam that I can deal with it, and I’d love to get a guy who, if he wins against Lerone, he’s gonna be 20-0. I’d prefer Movsar just because of that.”
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