Alexander Volkanovski coy on sparring Movsar Evloev before UFC 333 title fight
The featherweight champion would say only that the sessions took place long ago, as he prepares to defend his belt against the unbeaten Russian, who beat Britain's Lerone Murphy to earn the shot.
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Alexander Volkanovski has refused to go into detail about the times he sparred with Movsar Evloev, ahead of their featherweight title fight that headlines UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The Australian, 38, said: “I’m not one to talk, I’m not one to talk.” Asked about the sessions, he added: “Again, it was a long, long time ago. He was only young, but yeah, I’ll leave it at that.” Evloev, 32, reached the title fight by outpointing Britain's Lerone Murphy at UFC London in March. That win was his first fight back after an injury kept him out of the cage for 15 months. Before the lay-off, the unbeaten Russian beat former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling on points, and before that, he beat another British contender, Arnold Allen, on a disputed decision.
Volkanovski said he would not have predicted back then that Evloev would fight for a UFC title. He also said that the training sessions are no guide to Saturday, because both men have improved since. He is expecting a tougher, fitter and more well-rounded opponent, and said Evloev had been overdue a title shot: “I think he should’ve got a title shot before this weekend. He deserved it maybe a year or two ago to be honest, so yeah, glad he gets his shot. He deserves it.” Betway has both fighters at 10/11, and some odds have the fight as a 50-50 contest.
Volkanovski goes into the Etihad Arena on the back of two points wins over Diego Lopes, a fighter Evloev also beat on points. The first, in April 2025, won Volkanovski the vacant featherweight belt after Ilia Topuria gave up the title. Topuria's reign had begun with a knockout of Volkanovski. The second, in January, was a successful defence.
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