A matchup between two top-15 UFC featherweights is nearly a done deal.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reports that #9 Dan Ige and #13 Movsar Evloev are slated to fight each other on June 4th.
Ige (15-5) is on a two-fight losing streak, coming off decision defeats to upcoming title challenger Chan Sung Jung at UFC Vegas 29 and later Josh Emmett at UFC 269. The Hawaiian had otherwise established himself as a featherweight contender on the back of a seven-fight winning run, which included consecutive split decisions over Mirsad Bektic and Edson Barboza. While he did have his streak end against Calvin Kattar in a five-round decision, he rebounded with a big KO of Gavin Tucker last March.
Evloev (15-0) is a former M-1 champion whose five-fight UFC career consists of decision wins over Seung Woo Choi, Enrique Barzola, Mike Grundy, Nik Lentz, and most recently Hakeem Dawodu. The Russian was supposed to face Ilia Topuria at UFC 270 but withdrew after testing positive for COVID-19.
It is a bit surprising that Ige is getting such a difficult opponent with a perfect record while on a two-fight losing streak, but it’s still nevertheless an intriguing fight.
No other fights have been linked to the June 4th card.
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