Evloev Tells Tsarukyan 145 Is His Territory Ahead of UFC 333

Movsar Evloev has not even fought for the UFC featherweight title yet, but he was already asked about lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan. At UFC 333 media day, the unbeaten Russian said he would be open to the fight, provided Tsarukyan is willing to make the weight and the promotion signs off on it.

Tsarukyan is still waiting for his next assignment and hopes it will be a shot at 155-pound champion Justin Gaethje. In the past, however, he has teased the idea of moving down to 145 pounds, which is why the question came up this week.

"I'm just a gladiator"

Evloev explained that he has never spent time planning potential matchups, because in his view the decision has never belonged to him. He described himself as a fighter who simply takes whoever the UFC offers, comparing himself to a gladiator and admitting that the label might sound primitive. Belts, money and popularity come along the way, he said, but the fighters themselves sign up for that and do not get to decide the bookings.

When it came to Tsarukyan specifically, Evloev repeated that featherweight is his home. "If Arman wants to come down to featherweight, like I said, it's my territory." He added that it makes no difference to him whether a lightweight drops down or someone else moves up, as long as they make 145 pounds and the UFC wants the fight.

The title fight at UFC 333

Evloev earned his chance at Alexander Volkanovski by beating a string of ranked featherweights, including Lerone Murphy, Aljamain Sterling, Arnold Allen, Diego Lopes and Dan Ige. The win over Murphy moved his professional record to 20-0, with ten of those victories coming inside the UFC. On Saturday he meets a champion who is 18-1 at featherweight over a 14-year career and holds three wins over Max Holloway and one over Jose Aldo. A victory would make Evloev only the second featherweight, after Ilia Topuria, to beat Volkanovski.

Evloev did not make claims about his legacy. He said taking the belt now would not make him the best featherweight, only mark the start of his path toward becoming one of the best, and that even two title defenses would not settle the debate, since much would depend on who he beats. First, he said, he needs to settle the question of the belt, and only then think about becoming the greatest featherweight of all time.