UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski recently revealed that he wants to face Movsar Evloev after reclaiming his title. But Evloev, who remains undefeated, made it clear, he doesn’t plan on losing now.
Following his win over Diego Lopes, Volkanovski is already eyeing his next opponent and has set his sights on Evloev. While Evloev is excited about the opportunity, he’s confident the fight won’t end the way Volkanovski wants it to.
“I think if I face him, I’ll just push him to the wall,” Evloev said on the Overdogs podcast. “I won’t let him run from me or move around. He’ll have to exchange with me, and then he’ll tire. Or I’ll break him, because I know I have more power, better wrestling, and I can control him for five rounds, or finish him on the ground.”
Evloev also expressed confidence in his striking and believes he’ll be able to showcase it more against Volkanovski than he did in his last bout with Aljamain Sterling.
“For the last fight with Aljo, I focused almost 100 percent on striking because the UFC kept saying I had no finishes and only a wrestling style,” Evloev explained. “I wanted to prove I have solid striking too. But in that fight, I couldn’t show it because my opponent kept taking me down and trying to grapple. It’s hard to showcase striking when you’re rolling on the floor the whole time.”
In fact, Evloev believes so strongly in his striking that he guarantees a stand-up war if he gets a title shot, no takedowns from his end.
“OK, I can promise that I won’t take anyone down if they give me a title shot,” Evloev said. “I’m not going to initiate it. If they try to take me down, fine. I’ll deal with it. But I’ll come in looking to strike. So let’s see.”
