Ahead of his title shot next week, Movsar Evloev thinks his champion opponent might be making a miscalculation in his pre-fight assessments.
Evloev (20-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC) brings his unblemished record to the UFC 333 main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi to challenge two-time featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (29-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) for the title. Volkanovski has back-to-back Fight of the Night decisions over Diego Lopes in his second reign as champ.
The fight is a pick’em at the betting window, but Volkanovski seems to think the advantage is his – and insinuated that the longer the fight goes, the more it plays in his favor. The problem with that theory is that – and even Evloev is quick to point it out – Evloev is a decision machine.
All 10 of his UFC wins have gone the distance. Only the most recent, a majority decision over Lerone Murphy in March, was a five-round fight, though.
The thought of Volkanovski counting on having the edge late might make Evloev all the happier to be there past 15 minutes.
“I was looking for a finish (against Volkanovski), but when I hear that kind of stuff, I don't want a finish,” Murphy told MMA Junkie on Friday. “I want to prove that he's not special. I can beat him over five rounds. Yeah, he's confident. I like that confidence. But me too. Only the fight will show whose confidence works better.
“All my 10 fights (in the UFC) by decision, so it wasn't luck, right?”
In his run to the title shot, like Volkanovski, Evloev has a Fight of the Night win over Lopes. He also picked off former bantamweight champion Aljamain STerling nearly two years ago.
Evloev’s win over Murphy in March in the UFC London main event was his first fight in 15 months after a long layoff. Now the American Top Team-based Russian is on the verge of a UFC title. If he wins it, he doesn’t sound like he’s worried about the current champ asking for a rematch.
Instead, Evloev expects Volkanovski to make a run at lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, which he recently brought up as a fantasy retirement fight for each of them. He can look ahead if he wants, Evloev said.
“I think he will get this fight if he wants it, even if he loses to me,” Evloev said. “I can beat him and he still can have a chance to fight Justin because he deserves it. But in his mind, he’s going to beat me and then go up. But there is no chance to him to fight Gaethje next (as champ vs. champ). He will be ‘champion’ without the (featherweight) belt.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Movsar Evloev OK with Alexander Volkanovski's 5-round confidence at UFC 333
