Jean
Silva believes he will jump the queue ahead of Movsar
Evloev for the next
UFC featherweight title shot.
Silva considers himself next in line for a title shot against
Alexander
Volkanovski. However, standing in his way is Evloev, who has
long been the top contender at 145 pounds. Volkanovski has also
repeatedly acknowledged the undefeated Russian as the most
deserving title contender. However, Silva doesn’t think Evloev will
get the next title shot. While Silva is eyeing a title shot next,
he is willing to take one more fight if he needs to.
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“I’m the next one in line for the title,” Silva told MMAjunkie.com. “I’m the next one that’s gonna
get that belt. I’m taking that belt back to Brazil. Hunter’s
helping me with that. My manager Ivan is helping me out with that.
Dana as well… They’re giving me the path to that… I think the
chances of Evloev fighting Volkanovski by the end of the year are
slim. And if Volk wants to fight somebody, I’ll be ready to fight
him. And if I need to fight somebody else, I’ll beat up on somebody
else before I’m on my way to fighting him by the end of the
year.”
Assessing Evloev
While Evloev (20-0) is unbeaten in 10 UFC fights, he hasn’t
finished any of his opponents. Silva believes Evloev only has
himself to blame for being deprived of a title shot so far.
“I don’t think he has ever got left behind,” Silva said. “I just
think he has been stuck, he just hasn’t progressed. This is a
business, you need to sell your fights, you need to perform. You
need to be there, you need to be active. If you don’t perform,
people are gonna outperform you. They are gonna bypass
you.”
Meanwhile, Silva (17-3) has finished five of his six UFC wins so
far, while only losing to Diego
Lopes. “Lord” has rebounded from that loss with a decision win
over Arnold
Allen this past January.