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Tag: Movsar Evloev

  • Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling Set For UFC 307 On October 5

    Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling Set For UFC 307 On October 5

    Top UFC featherweights Movsar Evloev and Aljamain Sterling will look to stake their claim for a first title shot in the division when they share the cage later this year.

    The undefeated Russian and the former UFC bantamweight champion have been going back and forth on social media about doing battle ever since the latter successfully debuted in the weight class this past April.

    A victory over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 saw Sterling enter the rankings at #8, and “Funk Master” will now have the chance to crack the featherweight top five at the expense of Evloev.

    As first reported by MMA Propagande and subsequently confirmed by both men on social media, Evloev and Sterling are slated to collide on the UFC 307 pay-per-view card on October 5.

    A location and venue is yet to be officially announced by the promotion, but the expectation is for UFC 307 to take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

    Evloev, Sterling To Vie For Shot At Topuria’s Gold At UFC 307

    When they finally meet in the Octagon after months of online discussion regarding a date and ducking allegations, both Evloev and Sterling will hope to continue their winning form all the way to the top.

    Evloev (18-0) further climbed the 145-pound pecking order this year by narrowly getting the better of Arnold Allen on the scorecards at UFC 297 in Canada this past January. The result marked the former M-1 Global bantamweight champ’s eighth straight victory on MMA’s biggest stage, following triumphs over Dan Ige and Diego Lopes.

    The Russian, however, has come under fire for his tendency to go the distance inside the Octagon, having yet to find a finish in the UFC since his debut back in 2019. He’ll look to rectify that unwanted statistic at the expense of the division’s newest contender.

    Sterling (24-4) brought his time making a difficult weight cut down to 135 pounds to an end following his title loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 in Boston last August. With his calls for an immediate rematch falling on deaf ears, “Funk Master” committed to the pursuit of gold in a second weight class, which he began successfully by outgrappling Kattar at April’s milestone PPV.

    The 34-year-old must now get past Evloev if he’s to put himself in position for a future shot at Topuria’s featherweight title.

    Aljamain Sterling
    Image: UFC.com
  • Diego Lopes Dismisses Aljamain Sterling, Movsar Evloev Fights For UFC 306 At The Sphere: ‘Makes No Sense’

    Diego Lopes Dismisses Aljamain Sterling, Movsar Evloev Fights For UFC 306 At The Sphere: ‘Makes No Sense’

    UFC featherweight contender Diego Lopes will seemingly take nothing but a top five opponent for his planned appearance at the Sphere this fall — excluding Movsar Evloev.

    Lopes is a few weeks on from his latest success on mixed martial arts’ stage. The Mexico-based Brazilian had his hand raised in the UFC 303 co-main event, ending what had been a tumultuous International Fight Week for him with a fourth straight win.

    After original opponent Brian Ortega withdrew on the day having already forced a change in weight on the Friday, Lopes was left sharing the Octagon with Dan Ige on just hours’ notice.

    The 29-year-old outpointed “50K” and was rewarded with a boost to #12 in the featherweight rankings. Next up, Lopes is looking to break into the top 10, but he won’t be wilfully accepting anyone above him in the pecking order…

    Lopes Not Interested In First-Time Sterling Fight Or Evloev Rematch

    During a recent interview with Canal Encarada, Lopes looked back on his victory on June 29 and addressed what he hopes will come on the heels of it.

    In the aftermath of UFC 303, Lopes called for a spot on the upcoming Noche UFC card at the Sphere on September 14. He’s since been called out for that date by two top 10 contenders in former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and ex-opponent Movsar Evloev.

    But having been scheduled to do battle with higher-ranked featherweight in Brian Ortega, Lopes has little interest squaring off against Sterling or Evleov, and that’s in spite of the Russian sitting inside the top five.

    “It doesn’t make sense now,” Lopes said when asked about possibly facing Sterling next (h/t MMA Fighting). “We were going to fight the number three in the world, then we fought the number 13 and went up two positions. The UFC has basically guaranteed me a fight with a top-five (opponent) now, so Aljamain Sterling makes no sense, and neither does a rematch with Movsar.

    “They know I’m in a good spot right now, They know I was going to fight the number three in the world and I’m kicking down the door for a title fight, so they want the buzz for themselves,” Lopes continued. “It makes no sense for them to call me out since they’re ranked higher than me. It makes no sense, but they know I’m generating a lot (of buzz) with fans and the UFC.”

    Lopes has instead called for a rearranged bout against Ortega or a Sphere meeting with ex-featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski.

    Sterling, meanwhile, acknowledged the Brazilian’s stance and readjusted his sights to Evloev, reiterating his willingness to face the unbeaten Russian at a September event.

  • Aljamain Sterling Moves On From Movsar Evloev Matchup, Targets Different Ranked Featherweight For The Sphere

    Aljamain Sterling Moves On From Movsar Evloev Matchup, Targets Different Ranked Featherweight For The Sphere

    Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has appeared to lose patience with the undefeated Movsar Evloev.

    Sterling announced his arrival in the featherweight division with a successful divisional debut at UFC 300 this past March. “Funk Master” utilized his grappling to limit all of Calvin Kattar’s offense en route to the scorecards.

    Since then, much of the discussion regarding Sterling’s sophomore outing at 145 pounds has involved Evloev, who sits three places above the ex-bantamweight at #5 in the rankings.

    While the pair expressed mutual interest in the fight, they’ve since been at odds over its apparent delay, with both throwing blame at one another.

    Evidently, Sterling has now had enough of that back and forth…

    Sterling Adjusts Sights From Evloev To Lopes

    During a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sterling provided an update on his future plans, as he looks to climb toward the gold at 145 pounds in pursuit of two-division glory.

    With a lengthy period of discourse with Evloev not resulting in an official booking, “Funk Master” expressed frustration at the Russian’s ongoing “excuses.”

    And with that, he has a fresh name in mind for his desired appearance at the Sphere for Noche UFC this fall.

    “Stay tuned. Hopefully we’ll have some fight news for you guys. I’m thinking about Aljamain Sterling vs. Diego Lopes as the Sphere,” Sterling said. “That has a nice ring to it.

    “Movsar, I don’t know what the hell he’s doing. I gave him a date, he hasn’t accepted yet. He started making all these excuses,” Sterling continued. “Either you want to fight on my terms or I’ll go fight somebody else. So, Diego Lopes, if you oblige, let’s make it happen at the Sphere, September 14.”

    Interestingly, Evloev’s different take on why the long-discussed fight with Sterling isn’t coming to fruition has also led him to the doorstep of Lopes and a potential rematch.

    Lopes is one of the fastest-rising names in the division, having followed a competitive short-notice debut against Evloev last May with four straight wins, the first three of which came in the opening round.

    Most recently, the Mexico-based Brazilian defeated Dan Ige in a UFC 303 matchup that came about on just hours’ notice following the extremely late withdrawal of Brian Ortega.

    While Lopes remains outside the top 10 and four places below Sterling in the featherweight pecking order, “Funk Master” seemingly wants to capitalize on the hype around the 29-year-old’s name on a major platform this September.

  • ’10-7 Diego Lopes’ – Fans React After Lopes & Movsar Evloev Trade Barbs Over UFC 303 Fight On X

    ’10-7 Diego Lopes’ – Fans React After Lopes & Movsar Evloev Trade Barbs Over UFC 303 Fight On X

    UFC featherweight contenders Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev recently exchanged heated words on X, much to the MMA community’s amusement, adding fuel to the already unclear matchmaking situation in the division.

    Lopes navigated a tumultuous lead-up to his short-notice fight at UFC 303 last Saturday. Despite the chaos, the highly regarded featherweight contender extended his winning streak, triumphing over Dan Ige, who accepted the bout just a few hours before the showdown.

    With Brian Ortega unable to compete, Lopes chose to remain on the card and face Ige, who resides near the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and heroically stepped up when the UFC needed him most.

    Lopes had his fair share of success with both striking and grappling throughout the first two rounds of their fight. However, Ige mounted a fierce comeback in the final round, pushing the Brazilian to his limits. Despite this, Lopes secured the victory, with all three judges unanimously scoring the bout 29-28 in his favor.

    Following Lopes’ triumph, Evloev took to X to propose a rematch against his former opponent at Noche UFC (UFC 306), slated for September 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. The undefeated Russian’s challenge came out of apparent frustration with Aljamain Sterling’s reluctance to schedule a fight.

    “Hey, @Diegolopesmma, I wanna give you a rematch at the Sphere because @funkmasterMMA is running for his life, and this time, I’m gonna finish you.”

    Lopes swiftly fired back at Evloev, accusing him of ignoring his previous callout for a rematch.

    “Have you finally realized that the way the UFC pays attention to you is by mentioning my name? Or are you afraid that tomorrow morning I’ll be in your place in the rankings? It took you 3 months to get back to me. Sit back and watch the big guys do the work.”

    Lopes’ Apparent Rejection of Evloev’s Offer Sparks Fan Reactions

    https://twitter.com/ajtafoya92/status/1808165527849738696
    https://twitter.com/AlexJ_Daugherty/status/1808085268060151904
    https://twitter.com/CovertBetsMMA/status/1808117727673929904

    The two fighters first clashed at UFC 288 in May 2023, where Lopes made his promotional debut on less than a week’s notice. Although he was a fresh face up against a top-ranked opponent, Lopes delivered an impressive performance, narrowly losing a decision in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors.

    Following their initial bout, Lopes has been nearly unstoppable in the UFC, amassing a four-fight win streak. In contrast, Evloev has only competed once, securing a unanimous decision victory over Arnold Allen in January.

    Only time will tell if this duo gets the chance to settle their score. However, Lopes has already laid down the gauntlet, expressing his desire to either fight with Ortega or challenge former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at the UFC’s highly anticipated event in September.

  • Dan Ige Vs. Movsar Evloev In The Works For June 4 UFC Event

    A featherweight showdown between rising contenders Dan Ige and Movsar Evloev is close to being finalized for a June 4 UFC event.

    News of the targeted booking was first reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.

    Ige is coming off a Fight of the Year contender against Josh Emmett at UFC 269, despite losing via unanimous decision. He’s lost two of his last three, including to featherweight title challenger Chan Sung Jung last June.

    If the booking is confirmed, this will easily be the toughest test of the upstart Evloev’s young career in the Octagon. He’s undefeated in his UFC tenure and will enter the fight with a 15-0 professional record.

    Despite his recent losing skid, Ige remains one of the toughest featherweights in the UFC. He began his Octagon tenure on a six-fight winning streak after losing his debut against Julio Arce at UFC 220.

    During that streak, Ige picked up dominant wins over the likes of Mirsad Bektic and Edson Barboza. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum is still just entering the prime of his MMA career and has the chance to replicate his previous successes.

    Evloev has emerged as arguably one of the top prospects in the UFC. He most recently picked up wins in impressive fashion over fellow prospect Hakeem Dawodu and also MMA veteran Nik Lentz. Dan Ige could present some interesting challenges for Evloev, particularly with his striking.

    Evloev was originally supposed to face Ilia Topuria earlier this year before withdrawing just days before the fight.

    It’s unclear if the fight will be booked for a UFC Fight Night event or a pay-per-view card. But regardless, it’s a massive fight that is sure to garner the attention of fans.

    What are your thoughts on this featherweight matchup?

  • Evloev vs. Topuria Scrapped From UFC 270, Topuria Calls Out Ige

    The battle of two undefeated featherweights Movsar Evloev and Ilia Topuria has been canceled after Evloev was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a positive COVID-19 test.

    Soon after news of Evloev’s withdrawal became known, Topuria was immediately hot on the trail in pursuit of a replacement.

    “Bad news! @MovsarUFC is out. We already knew that this was gonna happen. @Dynamitedan808, are you up for a fight? Let me know ASAP and if you are down, hope to see you January 22. Let’s go!”

    Dan Ige is currently ranked #9 in the division while Topuria is unranked, so the callout certainly makes sense for Topuria, who is coming off a vicious KO win over Ryan Hall at UFC 264.

    The 24-year-old was ranked 15th at featherweight not too long ago and is 3-0 in the UFC. He made his debut on short notice back on Fight Island in October of 2020 as he beat Youssef Zalal by decision. In his next fight, he scored another highlight-reel vicious KO over Damon Jackson last December.

    Movsar Evloev (15-0) last fought back at UFC 263 as he beat Hakeem Dawdou by decision it was his fifth fight inside the Octagon. The 27-year-old gas beat Nik Lentz by split decision, Mike Grundy, Enrique Barzola, and Seung Woo Choi, all by decision in the UFC. He’s currently the 13th-ranked featherweight and is the former M-1 bantamweight champion.

    There is no word on if Topuria will remain on the card as he wishes or if this fight will be rescheduled.

    With this cancellation the updated UFC 270 lineup is as follows:

    • UFC Heavyweight Championship Bout: Francis Ngannou (c) vs. Ciryl Gane
    • UFC Flyweight Championship Bout: Brandon Moreno (c) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
    • Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier
    • Greg Hardy vs. Aleksi Oleinik
    • Wellington Turman vs. Rodolfo Vieira
    • Michel Pereira vs. Andre Fialho
    • Poliana Botelho vs. Ji Yeon Kim
    • Said Nurmagomedov vs. Cody Stamann
    • Trevin Giles vs. Michael Morales
    • Matt Frevola vs. Genaro Valdez
    • Raoni Barcelos vs. Victor Henry
    • Kay Hansen vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
    • Tony Gravely vs. Saimon Oliveira