Alexander Volkanovski should enjoy his time at the summit of the featherweight mountain while he’s there, according to Movsar Evloev. 

The Australian, 36, became a two-time UFC 145-pound champion at the recent UFC 314 event in Miami, Florida, defeating Diego Lopes to claim the title which had been vacated by Ilia Topuria ahead of the Spaniard’s run at lightweight gold. Volk has said that he wants to fight on at least two more occasions in 2025, with the likes of Yair Rodriguez and Jean Silva mentioned as candidates.

But there is one man who perhaps stands above the rest at the moment: the 19-0 Russian Evloev, who holds impressive wins over Aljamain Sterling, Arnold Allen and Diego Lopes in his last three outings.

And as you might expect from an undefeated fighter, he is expecting to bring the same ferocity to Volkanovski if and when the fight is confirmed.

“I think if I face him, I will just push him to the wall,” he said to the Overdogs podcast, as noted by MMA Fighting.

“So don’t let him run from me, don’t let him move. And then he has to exchange with me, then he will tire. Or I will break him because I know that I have bigger power, better wrestling, and I can control this guy for five rounds or finish on the ground.”

However, the Russian is aware that he might be something of a tough sell to headline a card opposite one of the company’s biggest fan favourites. In his fight with former bantamweight champion Sterling, Evloev said that he was determined to show off his improved striking in an effort to impress UFC matchmakers but said he was disappointed when the American pursued a grappling-heavy approach to the fight.

“For the last fight with Aljo, I was focused almost 100 percent for striking because UFC only talking about ‘I have no finish, just wrestling style,’ so I was trying to show them I have good striking also,” he said. “But in this fight, I cannot show it because my opponent just take me down and tried to do some jiu jitsu with me, that’s why it’s not easy to show you striking when you’re just rolling on the floor.”

And as such he laid down a challenge to his next opponent, Volkanovski or otherwise.

“OK, I can promise them that I’m not going to take down anyone if they give me a title shot,” he explained. “I’m not going to go there first. If they try to take me down, OK, I’ll accept this, but I’m not going to go first. I will just go straight striking, so let’s see.”