You don’t start your career with 15 consecutive victories, including five straight wins inside the Octagon, if you’re not highly skilled and clearly talented, especially not when you’re working your way up the ranks in a talent-rich division like featherweight.
Since debuting in the UFC three years ago, Evloev has continued to make steady progress up the ladder in the 145-pound weight class, culminating with a unanimous decision win over Hakeem Dawodu last June at UFC 263 that finally earned him a place in the Top 15. Currently stationed at No. 13, the 28-year-old Russian standout finally makes his 2022 debut on Saturday, squaring off with Dan Ige in a critical main card clash.
Evloev is part of that generation of fighters that arrived in the sport well-versed in every discipline, with wrestling and boxing standing out as his greatest strengths, and his ability to shift between the two effortlessly depending on the situation evident throughout his ascent. Against Dawodu, he secured nine takedowns, recognizing his clear path to victory on the ground against the Canadian kickboxer, while in his two previous outings, he worked to out-strike grapplers Nik Lentz and Mike Grundy.
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Saturday’s matchup with Ige is a perfect chance to further assess where Evloev stands both in terms of his development and his place within the division. The Hawaiian veteran is dangerous on the feet, difficult to hold down, near impossible to put away, and he’s been in there with a collection of the division’s best over the years, establishing his bona fides as a Top 10 fighter in the 145-pound weight class.
Evloev is very much part of the crop of young, emerging talents looking to continue claiming space in the upper regions of the featherweight rankings along with Arnold Allen, Bryce Mitchell, and Ilia Topuria, and a victory over Ige would certainly help move him forward in that quest. This is without question his toughest test to date, and there will be plenty of people watching to see how he handles this assignment on Saturday night.
