At UFC London, Movsar Evloev edged out Lerone Murphy to move to an astonishing 20-0 in his professional career. In a normal world, Evloev would be the unquestioned next challenger for featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, but in the new era of the UFC, merit doesn’t always matter most.
So let’s talk about Evloev, UFC London, and more.
Movsar Evloev, title challenger
Will the UFC blatantly ignore Evloev once again in favour of a more popular fighter?
I’m as shocked as anyone that I’m about to type this, but I think not.
Heading into UFC London, I was functionally certain that unless Evloev pulled off the coolest finish ever, there was no way he was challenging Alexander Volkanovski for the title next. And if you had told me he was going to eke out a controversial win? Less than zero percent chance.
And yet, it really seems like we’re heading for Evloev to finally get his day in court.
You never know with the UFC, but the vibes right now seem to be firmly behind Evloev. Partly it’s because, even if you don’t think he beat Lerone Murphy, it’s hard to argue with how deserving he is. 20-0, 10-0 in the UFC, wins over No. 2, 3, 5, and 8 in the rankings, there is no rational world where Evloev isn’t next in line. And then you’ve got the champion lobbying for him on the back of these very obvious truths, and somehow, Evloev is reaching critical mass. Even Jean Silva seems to feel it, getting a little more desperate in his attempts to jump the line.
Honestly, I’m shocked about this all, and I really hope this isn’t just wishful thinking. At the end of the day, the UFC has to have some level of meritocracy in it, or else the whole thing falls apart. Evloev has done as much as any fighter ever to earn his first title shot, and even if it may not be the most exciting fight and it creates a situation where he could be champion; you’ve gotta let him try. And improbably, I think the UFC is going to do just that.
I think a lot of what’s being lost is how much of a warrior that Lerone is for the type of performance he put on. Are there other fighters in recent memory that weren’t given their due props, because of the narratives that followed, relating to judging, the reffing, the matchmaking, etc.
I feel like most people are giving Murphy props? My mentions have been flooded with people who thought Murphy was robbed (no). And while I think the truth is Evloev fought sub-optimally to try to earn his shot at the belt, Murphy still had a solid performance against one of the best fighters in the world.
I’ve rewatched Evloev vs. Murphy a few times now, and I feel the same way I did on fight night: the “correct” score is 47-47, but if you go 48-46 Evloev, I have no issue with that, and 48-46 Murphy is also fine. A few of those rounds were toss-ups, and Murphy happened to lose the coin flips.
But what I want to credit Murphy for is his class in defeat. Immediately after losing a very close decision, Murphy didn’t cry sour grapes, but put Evloev over for a title shot. And then, a few days later, after he rewatched the fight, he still didn’t trash Evloev. Yes, Murphy thinks he won — a defensible position — but he never stooped to knocking his opponent.
All class. Loved to see that.
Do you think UFC will keep MVP?
Also who can he beat if he stays? I think he beats JDM & Prates. Leon is such an awful staring match I don’t wanna see it. Maybe catches Belal with a knee now that Belal is too old to wrestle.
At MW maybe Caio, Strickland, Whitaker, Izzy.
On the whole though, I guess no one will sign to fight him now so better go elsewhere.
The UFC experience with Michael “Venom” Page has been a weird one. The initial booking for MVP was perfect: Kevin Holland was the exact sort of matchup that puts Page right in the mix, and was winnable. And then getting him right into the title mix with Ian Machado Garry also made sense, but after he lost that, things went wonky.
By Page’s own admission, he just took some fights at 185 to stay busy, but here’s the thing — he won those! He beat Shara Bullet and Jared Cannonier, meaning he should be a legitimate contender at 185 pounds. But instead, he dropped back to 170 for a no-win fight with Sam Patterson. That booking was enough to make me think the UFC was sort of done with Page, and that was before the fight. Page vs. Patterson wasn’t the worst fight of all time, but it was the worst of the year, and may hold that honor for all of 2026.
Which leads us to the brass tacks of it all: Page is the exact opposite of everything the UFC wants right now. MVP is about to be 39 years old, he’s not in real title contention, and his style only leads to exciting fights with a very specific style of opponent. If you’re going to aggressively charge him, we can have fun; if you’re not, it will be awful. Plus, I imagine he makes a lot of money. I doubt the UFC cuts him, but I’d be quite surprised if he re-signs with the promotion. The man is soon to be on the prowl once again.
And I’ll just say it, I’m kinda into a Jake Paul vs. MVP boxing match.
Alex Pereira’s new deal
Was it a mistake for Alex Pereira to sign a new 8-fight deal with the UFC? He’s basically slammed the door shut on the chance for bigger paydays in both boxing and other MMA events (MVP/Netflix).
Yes. But it’s his mistake to make.
By all accounts, “Poatan” is going to make a pile of money every time he fights for the remainder of his career. Pereira has already set himself up for life, and now he’s just building layers between his family and poverty. Good for him, and he certainly seems happy with the choice.
But if you’re looking at this from a monetary standpoint, I struggle to see how this was a better deal than something with more flexibility. In my opinion, no one should ever take a lifetime deal for anything, and that’s essentially what Pereira’s done. Eight fights is the remainder of his MMA career, and even if it’s a big paycheck attached, I would personally want the freedom to chase bigger money elsewhere.
Now, we don’t know the specifics of his deal, and it’s entirely possible he would not be getting a heavyweight title shot had he not re-signed (probable, even), but if “Poatan” becomes the first three-division champion in UFC history, the man could write his own check on the open market. Now, he’ll never get there.
But again, he’s a big boy. He made his choices, and if he’s happy with that, then that’s the most important thing
Thanks for reading, and thank you to everyone who sent in questions. Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because you can send them to me. Every Sunday (sometimes I forget and it happens on Monday), I’ll put out a call for questions on The Feed. Doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane; just drop your questions in there and let’s have fun.
Read the full article here
