It’s rare to see two unbeaten prospects matched up together, but when UFC matchmakers push forward in that direction, it’s a thing of beauty. Undefeated featherweights, #15 Ilia Topuria (11-0) and #13 Movsar Evloev (15-0) are set to square off at UFC 270 which is being held on January 22nd.
UFC 270 is expected to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California with the main event being a heavyweight unification bout between Francis Ngannou (16-3) and #1 Ciryl Gane (10-0).
Movsar Evloev is 5-0 in the UFC winning all of his bouts by decision. Evloev’s latest victory was against Hakeem Dawodu at UFC 263 in June. The former M-1 Bantamweight Champion is currently ranked #13 in a featherweight division that has had a recent influx in new prospects and contenders.
He’ll be facing one of those men in Topuria. “El Matador” is coming off a 1st Round finish of Ryan Hall back in July at UFC 264. Ilia Topuria is 3-0 in the UFC, with two of those victories coming by stoppage. He’s 3 years younger than Evloev and has four less professional fights. This fight is certainly going to propel the winner into top-10 consideration.
The Featherweight Division
The featherweight division is extremely hot at the moment. Champion, Alexander Volkanovski recently defended his title against Brian Ortega in a fight of the year contender. Over five rounds, Volkanovski was able to frequently land on Ortega, gaining the unanimous decision victory.
Former champion, Max Holloway is 0-2 against Volkanovski as it stands but put on the performance of a lifetime against Calvin Kattar last time out in January. ‘Blessed’ is set to meet Yair Rodriguez on November 13th, assumingly to determine the next contender for the Australian champion.
Both Movsar Evloev and Ilia Topuria are outsiders to the top 10 of the division, but we also have to remember there are names including Chan Sung Jung, Edson Barboza, Dan Ige (who is scheduled to face Josh Emmett), Arnold Allen, Giga Chikadze and many more who could be in the reckoning for a title fight sooner or later.
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