TJ Dillashaw Defends Movsar Evloev’s Title Shot: “You Can’t Blame the Guy for Winning”
Former two-time UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has stepped in to defend Movsar Evloev's right to a title shot. W
While many criticise Evloev's heavy wrestling style and lack of finishes, Dillashaw says that the undefeated contender has earned his shot and opponents should defend themselves instead of complaining.
Evloev Movsar is to lock horns with Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight belt in the main event of UFC 333 on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
TJ Dillashaw Says Fighters Must Find a Way to Stop Movsar Evloev
In an interview with Mike Bohn, Dillashaw pushed back against the idea that Evloev's approach makes him undeserving of a title shot.
“You’ve got to respect it. This is a sport. I understand it’s also entertainment, but the guy has proved himself. He deserves the title shot,” Dillashaw said.
“He’s very dominant in one aspect of fighting. Yeah, it might not be the most entertaining, but be better at defending it.”
Dillashaw pointed to a recent example to make his case. Petr Yan's game plan against Merab "The Machine" Dvalishvili at UFC 323 showed what happens when a fighter stops the takedown and forces a different fight.
“We’ve just seen Yan do it against Merab in his last fight. Not saying Merab’s boring, but he’s going for a takedown, and Yan did a very good job defending it. That’s what made the fight the way it was. Get better at defending. You’ve got to hold it to the other fighters as well. Don’t get held down on your back. Get up.”
Dillashaw doubled down on his stance. He said:
“You can’t blame the guy for winning. He’s maybe not going to build a big enough brand for himself because he fights the way he does. That’s his fault. But you can’t not give him the title shot and bag on him for it. He can’t let all those people get into his head and dictate how he fights, or it’s just going to throw him off.”
TJ Dillashaw Backs Alexander Volkanovski to Beat Evloev
While defending Evloev’s place in the main event, TJ has not predicted an upset. He favours Alexander Volkanovski and has lauded the champ's footwork, fight IQ, and ability to stay elusive. Dillashaw also acknowledged that age plays a major role in a fighter's performance, but he believes that Volkanovski's smart game plan and experience will make him difficult to pin down for five rounds.
Evloev's criticism also comes from high-ranked fighters. Demetrious Johnson questioned Evloev's lack of finishes, while Jose Aldo said that if he ran the UFC, he would never give Evloev a title fight and would cut him after his first loss.
At UFC 336, to become champion, Evloev will now try to impose the same control that carried him through an undefeated career.
