Following a decision win over former champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310, Movsar Elvoev has firmly placed himself in the bantamweight title race. UFC veteran Khabib Nurmagomedov was so impressed by the performance that he stated Evloev now “deserves” to fight for the title.
19:0 in MMA and 9:0 in UFC
I think @MovsarUFC deserves title shot.— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) December 8, 2024
The #5 ranked bantamweight is now 19-0 in his UFC career and has recorded impressive wins against warriors like Dan Ige and Diego Lopes. While Elvoev is yet to get a finish via a KO or submission, he has shown utter dominance in the octagon, and has risen rather quickly through the ranks too.
However, MMA fans are not convinced if they want to see him hold the title.
One fan commented on Khabib’s post saying that the result of the Aljo fight was a bit sketchy: “I think so too but I don’t think he beat aljo“.
Another person just asked Khabib to “Stop taking all the ufc titles“. While one user was bowled over by how Evloev held his own against former champion Sterling: “He looks pretty impressive against a phenomenal grappler. Gotta tell ya he won me as a fan.”
A fan urged Evloev to reiterate his credentials with a solid victory: “Needs a finish or at least a win over top 5 competition next.”
Now, regardless of what the opinion of the MMA community is, the fact remains that Evloev has won every fight he’s been in. With another win or two, no one will be able to dispute or ignore his credentials.
Evloev’s mythical monster status
Evloev has been so overwhelming for all of his competitors that leading up to tonight’s fight, Sterling had accused him of dabbing in the magical Russian sauce.
“People can say whatever, ‘You have no proof.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, same thing people were saying about T.J. Dillashaw from years ago and (he was) teaching people how to do it.”
However, the undeterred Evloev responded to the accusations of not being a clean fighter by asking Sterling to go to the USADA or other authorities if he had proof.
As of now, the speculations and accusations have been based on how vascular Evloev looks and how strong a grappler he is inside the octagon.
When Sterling had to pull out of their scheduled fight at UFC 307, Evloev had to do the same. The UFC just couldn’t find him an opponent because no one wanted to fight him.
In combat sports, this would be something that gets celebrated, but rarely has that been the case for Evloev or a lot of other Russian fighters. There has always been chatter of steroid use amongst Russian fighters or athletes. This is ironic since a lot of combat sports athletes who aren’t Russian have been caught or have admitted to using PEDs and other drugs.
While there have been some true cases, painting every Russian athlete with the same doping brush reeks of stereotypical bias.
