Undefeated UFC featherweight contender Movsar Evloev couldn’t care less whether he makes the walk at the start or end of a fight card.
Evloev is set for a crucial outing this weekend at UFC 310, where he looks to stake his claim for a first shot at gold on MMA’s biggest stage at the expense of former bantamweight kingpin Aljamain Sterling.
The Russian opened his account for 2024 by getting the better of Arnold Allen in Canada this past January. The result pushed him into the top five at 145 pounds and left him 8-0 since joining the UFC from M-1 Global in 2019.
But he’s come under fire for failing to find a finish in his UFC tenure to date, and Dana White’s reaction to his latest win would suggest Evloev isn’t Mr. Popular among the promotional higher-ups.
That’s perhaps contributed to the controversial decision to place Evloev’s clash with Sterling — another whose entertainment value has been called into question by some — on Saturday’s preliminary card.
The move hasn’t pleased “Funk Master,” who has vowed to prove that the UFC made a mistake. Evloev, however, is seemingly unbothered.
“Guys my fight will be broadcasted on ESPN, way more people will watch my fight than on the PPV, I don’t even care if I’m the first fight of the night, I get paid the same,” Evloev wrote on X. “All my life I worked hard to earn thing nothing was ever given to me”
Regardless of their position on the lineup, both Evloev and Sterling will be looking to put themselves among the night’s biggest winners by extending their respective unbeaten featherweight records. “Funk Master” is 1-0 in the division, having gotten the better of Calvin Kattar on debut this past April.