EVLOEV VOWS TO PROVE VOLKANOVSKI "NOT SPECIAL" AT UFC 333
“I want to prove that he's not special.”
The unbeaten challenger welcomes the champion's late-round confidence — because going the distance is exactly how he has won every UFC fight so far.
"I want to prove that he's not special."
Movsar Evloev said that to MMA Junkie on Friday, one week before his first UFC title shot. He challenges Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi.
This is a pick'em title fight for a reason. Evloev is 20-0 as a pro and 10-0 in the UFC. Volkanovski is a two-time featherweight champion in his second reign.
Five Rounds Is His Game
Volkanovski has hinted that a longer fight favors him. Evloev hears that as good news, not a warning.
The challenger was chasing a finish. Hearing the champion talk about the late rounds changed his mind. Now he wants all five rounds, on purpose.
His record backs him up. Every one of his 10 UFC wins came by decision. That is not a weakness he hides from. It is the path he trusts most.
"All my 10 fights (in the UFC) by decision"
The Road to Abu Dhabi
Evloev earned this shot the hard way. His last win was a majority decision over Lerone Murphy in March, in a UFC London main event.
That fight ended a 15-month layoff. It was also his first five-round fight in the UFC, and he passed the test.
Before that, he beat former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. He also owns a Fight of the Night win over Diego Lopes, the same man Volkanovski beat twice.
Looking Past Him?
Evloev also addressed what comes next. Volkanovski has talked about a fantasy fight with lightweight champion Justin Gaethje.
The challenger's view is simple. Volkanovski can still chase that fight if he loses, because he has earned it. But he cannot chase it as a champion against a champion.
The Gaethje superfight was pitched as a non-title farewell with both men vacating — and it only works if Volkanovski still holds this belt. The super-fight dream runs through Abu Dhabi first.
So who blinks first on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena — the champion who trusts the late rounds, or the unbeaten challenger who has made a career out of them?
