TORONTO – [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] thinks he’s done enough to fight for the UFC featherweight title.
The unbeaten contender picked up another UFC win Saturday when he beat Arnold Allen (19-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) with a unanimous decision on the main card of UFC 297. Evloev (18-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), now with eight consecutive wins in the division, is confident he’s up next.
“It’s not about finishing somebody or something else,” Evloev said at his UFC 297 post-fight news conference. “I’m 18-0 – that’s no joke. Even if I had no finishes, with 15-0 I beat everybody and everyone knows. Because I’m still undefeated, there’s no way they don’t let me go for the title. (But) if I need to beat somebody else, just give it to me.”
The featherweight title is up for grabs next month at UFC 298 when champion Alexander Volkanovski attempts to defend his belt a sixth time. He takes on undefeated contender Ilia Topuria, whom Evloev has history with. They were booked to fight in the past, but Evloev had to withdraw from the fight.
Evloev doesn’t care whom he fights. He does think it’s going to be Volkanovski, but wouldn’t mind it being Topuria.
“He’s still tough, and it’s not about Ilia – he’s still tough, too,” Evloev said when asked for his prediction of Volkanovski vs. Topuria. “He’s undefeated. Of course (Topuria) has a chance for victory, but my favorite is still Alex. But for me, maybe it’s better for Ilia to win because we have a backstory and for me, it’s good to take a title shot and fight him for once.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.