Movsar Evloev is growing tired of Ilia Topuria’s rapidly evolving list of fights he wants for the future, especially because he’s not on it.
Outside of reigning champion Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who claimed the featherweight belt with a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski earlier this month at UFC 298, Evloev (18-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) is the only undefeated fighter who is ranked in the division.
Topuria dismissed Evloev as a title-ready contender in the immediate aftermath of UFC 298, but has since expressed a desire to fight a plethora of different names. Most recently, Topuria detailed how former UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov is his “dream fight,” and also said he thinks he’s one title defense away from moving up to challenge current 155-pound kingpin Islam Makhachev.
All that doesn’t sit well with Evloev, who despite not having any stoppage wins on his record, thinks he’s a more logical fight than anything else Topuria is asking for (via X):
Conor, Islam, Khabib, Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, Messi… Who else do you want to fight rather than the only undefeated fighter in your division? @Topuriailia https://t.co/xzUE8gRiZm
— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) February 26, 2024
Conor, Islam, Khabib, Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, Messi… Who else do you want to fight rather than the only undefeated fighter in your division?
Evloev, No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Arnold Allen at UFC 297 in January.
The Russian was scheduled to fight No. 1-ranked Topuria at UFC 270 in January 2022, but Evloev was forced to withdraw from the event, which prompted Topuria to put him on blast.