Jon Anik has felt Movsar Evloev has deserved a title shot for years, but now that he has it, the undefeated fighter may have to cash in or he may not get another one.
Anik calls the action Saturday at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, where Evloev challenges Alexander Volkanovski for featherweight gold in the main event. Evloev finally gets his day in court after defeating Lerone Murphy in the main event of UFC London in March for his 10th straight UFC win, and 20th overall in as many chances.
Like others before him who had to scratch and claw while they watched others get their title shots, Evloev could be facing a must-win situation if he ever hopes to become UFC champion.
“Great question,” Anik told MMA Fighting. “I think when you look at bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight, they are so loaded that it really is hard to get multiple championship opportunities. But if he were to lose the UFC 333, it would be his first loss, and I think he would be favored perhaps prohibitively against almost anybody else in the division. The Aljamain Sterling fight was super competitive.
“But I think right now, with respect to my dear friend Aljo, that Jean Silva is title-shot worthy. And it’s not his fault that Jose Miguel Delgado was the man who showed up that night and not Yair Rodriguez. I don’t know that that should be held against the ‘Lord.’ So, I just feel like depth-wise, there are worthy contenders right now. I think Aljo is on the fringe of worthiness already before his big fight coming up. So, yeah, I think it’s gonna be tough for Movsar, so I think forced to answer yes or no, yeah, I think it, it all comes down to Oct. 24.”
UFC 333 is packed with big fights, massive storylines, and talking points for stakes that go beyond titles, not just for the main event, but the co-main event trilogy bout for the bantamweight title between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili.
While there are plenty of things to spotlight on Saturday’s stacked card, Anik believes the main storyline for the event is quite clear.
“It’s hard for me to get past Movsar, right?,” Anik said. “Because no fighter maybe has earned more opportunities over the years than Diego Lopes, and he has been afforded a lot of opportunities. But my goodness, man, it’s about time.
“When I think about crafting a pay-per-view open, and I think about shining the proper light on the decorated two-time UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, that’s part of the thought process. But bro, this pay-per-view open is going to be about Movsar Evloev, right? Undeniability in mixed martial arts—Belal Muhammad, Merab Dvalishvili—this guy, I think trumps all cases, right?
“Doesn’t have the finishes, or the finish singularly, I guess, but this is going to be really exciting to see what he can do with this showcase. I’ve said repeatedly, the most exciting part of this job for me is seeing a non-champion break through and become a champion for the first time, and it’s just crazy how much he could stamp his potential greatness with one singular win. And yeah, excited to see what Volk has to say about all of that.”
Volkanovski became a two-time champion after defeating Diego Lopes for the title vacated by Ilia Topuria at UFC 314 in April 2025. “The Great” defeated Lopes again in a more dominant fashion in his next fight at UFC 325 in February, and has been rolling out the red carpet for an Evloev bout for years.
With so much at stake, and so many intangibles, Anik is fascinated by the style matchup, not just on a skill-for-skill basis, but from a physicality perspective, and expects the result to answer a burning question, overall.
“Yeah, Movsar Evloev’s ability to wrestle offensively and what has he done developmentally since you and I talked about this fight probably two years ago, when for Volk’s sake, it might have been better to get Movstar then,” Anik said. “Can he do appreciable damage and employ ground and pound to cause damage and something of consequence that affects Volk, either a cut, extended time on the ground? Volk is a master.
“I thought he won all 10 rounds against Diego Lopes. If he starts getting his feinting game going, switching stances all the time, working off the jab, timely takedowns, working you in the clinch, Dustin Poirier said before the Khabib Nurmaggomedov fight, I’m not going to know how he feels until I get in there. And I think it’s going to be interesting to see these athletes feel each other out and see how they feel physically, because I don’t have to tell you, Volk was 214 pounds playing for the Warilla Gorillas and I’m not sure that Movsar has fought a featherweight who’s sort of as thick and as physically daunting as Volkanovski is at whatever age.
“So that’s a big factor for me, and I think Movsar is ready for prime time.I feel bad that he hasn’t had sugar in so long. I remember when he sat down in our fighter meeting and said ‘No sugar until world title,’ and I thought, alright, well, [he’ll] get a title fight in 8 or 12 months. It’s been f*cking three years.”