Undefeated and Seeking the Title, Movsar Evloev Reveals He Trained With Alexander Volkanovski

Evloev celebrates his UFC victory. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

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After years of waiting, Movsar Evloev will finally have the opportunity to face Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title (up to 65,7 kg) at UFC 333. However, anyone who believes this will be the first time the two fighters have faced each other is mistaken. In an interview with 'MMA Fighting', the Russian revealed that he had already shared the mats with the current champion in a training session, even before joining the world's largest MMA organization.

According to the challenger, the encounter between the two was brief and occurred during a very specific moment in both of their careers. At the time, the Russian was not competing in the featherweight category (up to 65,7 kg). In fact, they were in a completely different weight class.

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“Yes, (I trained with Volkanovski in the past). Back then, I was a bantamweight. It was before the UFC. We only did a few rounds. We trained at the same gym,” said the fighter, who avoided saying who would have come out on top at the time.

🚨 Movsar Evloev reveals he's already shared rounds with Alexander Volkanovski in the past.

“Yeah, [I trained with Volkanovski in the past]. I used to be a bantamweight at that time. It was before the UFC. We just had a couple of rounds. We trained at the same gym.”

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Although he didn't go into detail about when this training session took place, neither of their careers in the sport began at 65,7 kg. While Evloev started in the bantamweight division (up to 61,2 kg), the Australian took his first steps in the middleweight division (up to 83,9 kg). Clearly limited by his height, Volkanovski debuted in the UFC as a lightweight (up to 70,3 kg), but experienced his best moments in the category where he currently reigns.

Movsar Evloev is undefeated as a professional.

Evloev defeated Murphy in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/X/UFC

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Undefeated in 20 professional fights, the Russian has victories against names of the caliber of Diego Lopes , Lerone Murphy , and Aljamain Sterling . Despite this, it took him a while to secure the number one contender spot, mainly due to his low popularity. On the other hand, Volkanovski has only been defeated once in the featherweight category (up to 65,7kg), when he was knocked out by Ilia Topuria.