UFC champion Ilia Topuria not impressed by Movsar Evloev, would rather fight Diego Lopes

UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria doesn’t believe Movsar Evloev is deserving of a title shot.

Topuria has been observing the 145-pound division and his potential contenders. While the featherweight king would rather move up to lightweight, he’s letting the UFC brass decide what they want to do with him going forward. “El Matador” is rumored to be facing Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch, but Topuria insists he hasn’t signed anything.

If the Volkanovski fight doesn’t happen, rising contender Evloev might throw his name in the hat to be the next featherweight title contender.

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Ilia Topuria Dismisses Movsar Evloev from UFC Title Conversation

In an interview with FOX Sports Australia, Ilia Topuria was asked about Movsar Evloev as a potential title challenger. “El Matador” explained why he’d be more interested in fighting Diego Lopes.

“I think Diego deserves it more because Movsar has more fights in the UFC, but he has seven fights in the UFC, eight, eight decisions, five by split decision. It’s like, man, you need to finish someone. Do something relevant, put yourself in that spot and why not? We can do it, but if you don’t finish anyone, I fight for the fans.

“I fight to entertain the fans and I need someone inside the cage to be entertaining. I don’t need someone who is only looking for a win and grab you and this and that, which he won’t be able to do that with me. I would knock him out in the first round, but I need someone to hype up the fight.”

Evloev is a perfect 19-0 in his pro MMA career. He’s coming off a unanimous decision win over former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in a highly competitive fight. Evloev holds the number four spot on the official UFC featherweight rankings.

Lopes is just ahead of him at number three. He’s expected to take on Yair Rodriguez on March 29th. An impressive win for Lopes could put him at the front of the line to challenge for the featherweight gold.

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