Movsar Evloev eyes 26-pound weight cut as he opens up on UFC lightweight move following Alexander Volkanovski featherweight title fight at UFC 333

Movsar Evloev is preparing for the biggest fight of his UFC career. The undefeated Russian will challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title at UFC 333 next month. Evloev has earned his first UFC title shot after winning 10 straight fights inside the Octagon.However, the featherweight contender is already thinking about his future beyond the title fight. Evloev admitted that making the 145-pound limit is becoming increasingly difficult. The Russian said he is getting bigger and may eventually have to move up to lightweight. He revealed that he currently needs to cut around 26 pounds to compete at featherweight.Movsar Evloev admits featherweight weight cut is becoming harderMovsar Evloev has established himself as one of the UFC’s most difficult featherweights to beat. He remains undefeated and has built an impressive winning run inside the promotion.His reward is a title opportunity against Volkanovski. The Australian champion has spent years competing at the highest level. Volkanovski has also suggested that UFC 333 could potentially be his final fight if the contest leaves him badly hurt.Evloev recently caused confusion when he appeared to agree with Volkanovski’s comments about retirement. He later explained that his comment did not mean he was planning to retire.Instead, the Russian wanted to make it clear that his focus is on winning. He does not intend to walk away simply because his opponent has retirement plans.While retirement is not currently on Evloev’s mind, a move to another division could eventually become necessary.The 31-year-old discussed his future during an appearance on The Bohnfire. He was asked about the possibility of moving to lightweight, particularly after former opponent Diego Lopes was linked with a move up.Evloev admitted that he has also considered making the jump.His main concern is the physical demand of remaining at featherweight. The Russian explained that he is naturally getting bigger. As a result, the weight cut is becoming more difficult.“I’m getting bigger every day so one day, I don’t know how long it will take, one day I need to move up because now I need to cut about 26 pounds to be featherweight,” he said.Evloev did not give a specific timeline for when he could move to lightweight. His immediate priority remains his title fight with Volkanovski.A victory would make Evloev the UFC featherweight champion and could give him more flexibility when deciding his long-term future.Volkanovski, meanwhile, will enter the fight with plenty of experience in championship contests. His coach Joe Lopez also believes the Australian could struggle to walk away even if he loses.“We’ll discuss it with him obviously and go through it but knowing Alex, if he loses, he’ll go, ‘I don’t want to go out on a loss and I want to come back and get it back. Come back on a win.’ I just know how competitive he is,” Lopez said.For now, Evloev’s attention remains on the biggest challenge of his career. But his comments suggest that lightweight could eventually be part of his UFC future.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.