UFC 310 is stacked from top to bottom; so much so that former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling’s clash with #5 ranked Movsar Evloev has been demoted down to the prelims.
Whilst the two remain at odds with each other over their fight’s placement, the undefeated Russian believes that UFC 310 is still the perfect opportunity to prove that the featherweight division is in desperate need of some ‘fresh blood.’
Movsar Evloev believes it’s time for ‘fresh blood’ in the UFC featherweight division
The UFC featherweight division is experiencing a quiet logjam right now; with champion Ilia Topuria weighing up his options for his second title defense; either a rematch with former champion Alexander Volkanovski or against surging Brazilian, Diego Lopes.
Whilst we wait on ‘El Matador’ to decide on his next opponent, undefeated Russian contender Movsar Evloev believes that the Spanish Georgian sensation should disregard some of the veterans sitting between him and a title shot.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea [for Topuria] to fight with Volkanovski again,” stated Evloev to the media, just a few days before his return to action at UFC 310 against Aljamain Sterling.
“Volkanovski is a legend, but he’s done, and Max Holloway also… They have been good fighters for a long time, but [their] time is gone, you know, fresh blood is here so let me prove that I am champion [material].”
Evloev might be the #5 ranked featherweight with eight consecutive wins under the UFC banner, but with all eight of those victories coming via the judges’ scorecards, the 18-0 contender has been accused of snoozing his way into title contention.
“I mean everybody’s talking about [me not getting the] finish, okay, if you need a finish then try to finish me,” Evloev stated in response, teasing that after 11 months of preparation, he’s ready to send a statement to Topuria at UFC 310.
“He beat big legends like Volkanovski and Max Holloway; these legends were good at one time, but then they took big damage and [their level] went down and you beat them,” said Evloev on the champ via UFC News.
“I don’t think that you beat the legends we were looking at [before]… I’m the guy who is the worst nightmare for this guy. So just let me go [and] step inside the cage, and I’ll prove it.”
Movsar Evloev blames Aljamain Sterling for their UFC 310 prelim placement
One key storyline heading into UFC 310 has been the placement of Sterling vs Evloev, which has been buried on the prelims, whilst Bryce Mitchell vs Kron Gracie has been moved onto the main card.
Sterling was left furious at the PPV downgrade, claiming that the UFC will only realize that they’ve “messed up” when the cage door locks behind him on Saturday evening – Evloev argues to the contrary.
“I think we’re in the prelims because of him but I don’t care, [I get the] same money and nobody cares… Maybe it’s better to stay on the prelims for this card because more people will watch our fight.
“I think for this fight, I’ll do something [impressive]… I don’t think that this fight is going to be boring because his style and my style [is so similar], when two wrestlers fight each other, it’s always a good fight.”
Evloev stated that the fight will determine “who is the next contender for the belt,” before he fired back at Sterling’s accusation that he’d been taking performance-enhancing drugs.
“I don’t know what this guy is looking for, how can you say that someone is using steroids if you don’t know? He said ‘I don’t see but I know’ – how do you know?
“I have USADA, doping-control, just tell them if you know something.”
UFC 310 goes down this weekend, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.