Movsar Evloev could finally be on the verge of his long-awaited UFC featherweight title opportunity, with manager Ali Abdelaziz revealing that the undefeated contender is expected to face Alexander Volkanovski for the championship in October.
Speaking on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Abdelaziz laid out his vision for the UFC’s title picture across several divisions, identifying Evloev as the next challenger at 145 pounds. He said:
“At 145, Movsar is fighting Volkanovski, probably in October. At 155, Justin is the champion. At 170, Islam is the champion.”
Check out Ali Abdelaziz’s comments about Movsar Evloev below:
The matchup has not yet been officially announced by the UFC, but Volkanovski has indicated that Evloev is expected to be his next opponent.
Movsar Evloev enters title picture with perfect 20-0 record
Movsar Evloev has built one of the most impressive unbeaten records in the UFC. The Russian improved to 20-0 with a majority decision victory over Lerone Murphy in the UFC London main event in March.
The judges scored the five-round contest 48-46, 48-46 and 47-47 in Evloev’s favor. The victory extended his undefeated run and strengthened his position as the leading contender for Volkanovski’s featherweight title.
Evloev has also previously defeated Diego Lopes and Aljamain Sterling during his UFC run, giving him a résumé that increasingly makes a championship opportunity difficult to ignore.
Volkanovski, meanwhile, is coming off a successful second reign as featherweight champion after defeating Diego Lopes at UFC 325. The Australian has already indicated that he expects Evloev to be next.
Ali Abdelaziz outlines Umar Nurmagomedov and UFC title picture
Abdelaziz also discussed the bantamweight division, pointing to Umar Nurmagomedov as another fighter he expects to remain in the championship picture.
Nurmagomedov is scheduled to face Song Yadong in the UFC Shanghai main event on August 29. The former title challenger suffered his only professional defeat against Merab Dvalishvili in their 2025 championship fight but rebounded with consecutive decision victories over Mario Bautista and Deiveson Figueiredo.
Speaking about Nurmagomedov, Abdelaziz said:
“135 is Umar… he’s going to beat Song Yadong, hopefully, and he’s next.”
The Song matchup will give Nurmagomedov another opportunity to position himself for a second title shot.
At lightweight, Abdelaziz pointed to Justin Gaethje as champion following his victory over Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250. At welterweight, Islam Makhachev is preparing for his title defense against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 on August 15.
If Abdelaziz’s prediction materializes, Evloev vs. Volkanovski could provide one of the UFC’s biggest featherweight title fights of the year.
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