Jon Anik believes Movsar Evloev could struggle to secure another UFC title opportunity if he fails to dethrone Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 333, despite entering the biggest fight of his career with an unbeaten record.
The UFC commentator will call the action when Evloev challenges Volkanovski for the featherweight championship on October 24 in Abu Dhabi.
The Russian has won all 10 of his UFC appearances and remains 20-0 professionally, but Anik believes the division’s growing depth could make another shot at the belt difficult to obtain.
Jon Anik Explains Why Movsar Evloev May Not Get Another Title Shot
Evloev finally earned his championship opportunity after defeating Lerone Murphy in the main event of UFC London in March. However, Anik believes the contender’s position could change dramatically if he suffers the first defeat of his professional career.
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Speaking to MMA Fighting, Anik explained that divisions such as featherweight, bantamweight, and lightweight are so competitive that fighters cannot always count on receiving multiple championship opportunities.
Great question,” Anik said. “I think when you look at bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight, they are so loaded that it really is hard to get multiple championship opportunities.
Anik acknowledged that Evloev would likely remain a formidable contender even after a loss, potentially favored against many other fighters in the division. Nevertheless, several other names are positioning themselves for a title shot, leaving little room for setbacks.
The play-by-play commentator specifically pointed to Jean Silva as a legitimate contender and described former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling as being on the fringe of title-shot contention ahead of his upcoming fight.
So, I just feel like depth-wise, there are worthy contenders right now,” Anik explained. “I think Aljo is on the fringe of worthiness already before his big fight coming up. So, yeah, I think it’s gonna be tough for Movsar, so I think forced to answer yes or no, yeah, I think it, it all comes down to Oct. 24.
