Movsar Evloev isn’t thrilled about fighting on the preliminary card at UFC 310, and he’s pointing the finger squarely at former champ Aljamain’Funk Master’ Sterling. Sterling, who held the bantamweight belt just last year, finds himself downgraded to the prelims, a spot typically reserved for less relevant or lower-drawing fighters.
Evloev’s attack on Sterling’s fighting style doesn’t come as a surprise considering the ‘Funk Master’ had earlier claimed about him not being a clean fighter.
“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 teaching people how to do it.”
When the reporters asked Evloev about it, he sort of smirked and asked them how Sterling could accuse anyone of using steroids when he didn’t know. Asking Sterling who he was to pass judgment, Evloev said the former champion should go to USADA or doping control organizations if he had concrete proof of any wrongdoing.
Evloev then pressed further and blamed the whole situation with prelims on the former champion but then also asserted that it didn’t bother him since the money was the same.
” Maybe even like better to stay in prelims for this card because more people will watch our fight.”
When another reporter asked him if he blamed Sterling’s fighting style, the #5 ranked bantamweight claimed that he didn’t think that their fight would be boring.
“When two wrestlers fight each other, it’s always a good fight.”
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The Russian fighter is trying to turn this into a positive but that’s not how PPVs generally work. The reason the main card exists is because those are the fights the fans want to watch the most.
Besides, Sterling was headlining PPVs until he lost the title to Sean O’Malley last year; so this is rather disrespectful. Even the otherwise nonchalant Renato Moicano also feels the same way.
Moicano asks fans to show Sterling respect
Moicano took to social media to express his shock over Sterling’s placement on the card and said,
It’s crazy sterling vs evloev is in the prelims… the level of DISHESPECT!!! #ufc310
— Renato Moicano (@moicanoufc) December 2, 2024
While most fans agreed with the assessment, some were happy to debate the lightweight fighter. And when this man chimed in, claiming Sterling wasn’t a “main card caliber” fighter, Moicano hit back and reminded them that ‘Funk Master’ is a former champion with three successful title defenses to his name.
Don’t be a hater he’s former champ
— Renato Moicano (@moicanoufc) December 2, 2024
Having made his debut in 2014, Sterling is now a veteran of the sport with a 24-4-0 record. He’s defeated some of the best fighters in his division, like Petr Yan (arguably the next contender for the bantamweight title), the legendary TJ Dillashaw, former two-division champion and Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo among others.
While his loss to O’Malley set him back a bit, he has since won a brutal fight against Calvin Kattar and would hope to score one over Evloev when they fight this week.
