Everyone wants the throne Ilia Topuria (16-0). The Hispanic-Georgian champion faces 2025 with the most privileged position in the featherweight division and, obviously, the best-positioned contenders in the category are trying to make noise to earn an opportunity for the UFC title. However, it seems that former champion Alexander Volkanovski is the one who is guaranteed the fight for the belt, although other challengers, such as the Brazilian Diego Lopes or the Russian Movsar Evloev, are trying to find their space.
Precisely the latter, originally from the republic of Ingushetia, is the one who is making the most noise lately. Evloev was already very close to facing Topuria when both were on the rise, something that happened at the beginning of 2022, but Covid-19 caused the Russian to leave the fight. Now, Evloev is willing to pursue the Hispanic-Georgian wherever necessary, to try to settle his pending scores.
The reality is that, after the spectacular knockouts against Volkanovski and Max Holloway, El Matador is far above in terms of prestige within the American company, after having successfully defended his title with performances for the ages. Although it is true that Evloev has achieved a 9-0 record within the UFC, all of his victories have been by decision, none by finish, yes, the last one against a former bantamweight champion like Aljamain Sterling.
“Even if Topuria moves up a division, first I will get the belt, because that is my first goal, and then I will go for it, even if I go up to middleweight (three divisions above),” declared Evloev, who assured that the power and Topuria’s reputation are no threat to him. «He’s not a big guy. I don’t need to cut weight to beat this guy. I need your head on my list», the Russian stated in an interview on ‘MMA Fighting’, who is waiting to see what his next challenge is within the UFC.
#Ilia #Topurias #Russian #eternal #enemy #seeks #fight #list
