When it comes to his pursuit of featherweight gold, Movsar Evloev says he absolutely does not have the backing of the UFC.
Evloev made his latest appearance on the preliminary card of last December's UFC 310 pay-per-view in Las Vegas, where his second outing of the year came against an ex-bantamweight titleholder in Aljamain Sterling.
After his decision victory over Arnold Allen in January wasn’t enough to impress the promotional higher-ups, the Russian had more work to do to place himself in a strong position heading into 2025.
While he appeared to do that with his decision victory over "Funk Master," it remains unclear whether Evloev's winning run will be rewarded.
During a recent interview for Kolos on MMA's YouTube channel, Evloev acknowledged as much, even suggesting that the UFC will be doing everything in its power to find alternative options for the featherweight title.
As I understand it, the UFC is trying to keep me as far away from anything title related as possible," Evloev said. "I was at UFC 314. After the fight, I had the opportunity to talk to the UFC. They did not want this. When the event was over, we were walking out through the hallway. Volk was standing not far from me, talking to the fans and staff...I wanted to go up to him and congratulate him, but the security guys didn't let me and took me to the opposite side.
This shows who the UFC wants to see in the next title fight," Evloev continued. "Apparently in their eyes, I am not worthy of the title yet. Give me the opportunity to prove that I'm worthy. If nine wins in the best organization in the world isn't enough, I'm ready to fight nine more times.
Both Jean Silva and Yair Rodriguez have staked their claims for the next title shot after wins at UFC 314, and many have suggested that their entertaining styles place them as significant threats to Evloev's ambitions of competing for championship glory.