High off of an undefeated career, Alexander Volkanovski wanted to create history—add a Lightweight alongside his Featherweight title—in a challenger vs Islam Makhchev in UFC 284. The result? A career-first defeat in a razor-close bout, which he repeated with another perfect head kick-induced upset at the UFC 294 shutting down detractor. But now that the Aussie’s back to Featherweight, a new enemy lurks in the shadows. One that keeps his loyalties way above his conveniences. Will that be beneficial to Volkanovski? Let’s find out.

History is witness that Volkanovski is no friend to Makhachev. Despite the current Lightweight title-holder calling his former opponent a “real champion” and getting the same compliment back, ‘The Great’ is probably waiting for the day he can execute his revenge. Now, enter Movsar Evloev, the Russian fighter with a stunning 19-0-0, who’s been eagerly waiting for a title shot vs Volkanovski. And, so far, the recently crowned Featherweight champ also seems ready, saying during a post-UFC 314 presser, “Obviously you’ve got Mosvar, he’s undefeated, and I would love to that that zero. We got to see what the UFC says.”

In the rare chance that the UFC finally deems Evloev as “worthy” and allows him to challenge, one thing we can guarantee is: It won’t be easy. But like they say: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Or in this case, the enemy of your enemy is actually your brother. It should be a no-brainer that Evloev would train with the lightweight champ, and has every reason to seek Makhachev’s guidance. But he won’t—a decision comes from a place far more noble, and frankly, heartwarming.

During a conversation with ‘Kolos on MMA’ on April 21, the host asked, “If you fight for the title against Volk, don’t you want to train a little bit with Islam? He’s got a lot of experience fighting Volk.” To this, the 31-year-old responded, “Islam is bigger than me. I have my own team: American Top Team. I’ve been training in this gym for a long time. It wouldn’t be right to change camps right before a title fight. It’s not only my dream, it’s the dream of everyone on American Top Team. I already consider myself a 100% American Top Team fighter.” 

“Although I started in Russia [in the province of Ingushetia]. But the last five years, probably the most important five years of my career, were spent in American Top Team. So I would like to take the belt representing them,” And they say loyalty is dead. Well, not as long as Movsar Evloev is fighting!

Notably, this comes days after Evloev had announced that is never going to fight Islam Makhachev. “Me and Islam? Yeah… A fight like this—this guy can kill me. Really. I respect that. I respect it. I respect that. So, what is it that makes him so special? Because he’s my only brother. I’m never, never going to fight him,” the fighter said in an interview on the OverDogs Podcast earlier this week.

Having said that, of course, we do not know who will fight Volkanovski for the featherweight title next, but Evloev is certainly at the top of the conversation. But on the other hand, former title contender, and co-#4 ranked featherweight Yair Rodriguez, also made a strong case for himself as the next title challenger with his clinical dismantling of the legendary Patricio Pitbull at UFC 314, so it isn’t a done deal that Evloev would be next.

In fact, in light of some major recent developments, and the Russian’s own comments in this interview, it seems increasingly likely that Rodriguez may get the next shot.

Why will Movsar Evloev probably not get the 145lbs title shot next?

The UFC will go to Mexico for this year’s Noche card (UFC 320) to celebrate Mexican Independence Day. The marquee card is set to take place on September 13 in Arena Guadalajara (Mexico), primarily for Mexican fans, and as such, will surely feature a lot of Mexican fighters. But the thing is, the UFC doesn’t have many Mexican fighters who can headline the card. There is former flyweight champ Brandon Moreno, who deserves a rematch with reigning champ Alexandre Pantoja.

But since the UFC is famously icky about the 125-pound division, they are likely to go with the only other title fight featuring a Mexican fighter they can make at the moment. Yair Rodriguez vs. Alexander Volkanovski! In fact, even Evloev believes that the UFC doesn’t want him to fight ‘Volk’ next based upon what he experienced after UFC 314, where the Aussie great reclaimed his title by beating Diego Lopes.

“The UFC is trying to keep me as far away from anything title-related as possible. I was at UFC 314, and after the fight, I had the opportunity to talk to the UFC. They did not want this. When the tournament was over, we were walking out through the hallway. Volkanovski was standing not far from me,” Evloev told Kolos in the same interview.

“I wanted to go up to him, talk to him, congratulate him personally, and ask him about the fight, but the security guys did not give me this opportunity and took me to the opposite side. This shows who the UFC wants to see in the fight for the belt. They somehow let certain fighters through, so there is a story. Apparently, in their eyes, I am not worthy of the title yet,” the Russian phenom added. What do you think about Movsar Evloev’s comments about not wanting to train with Islam Makhachev?