On the prelims of UFC 310 on Saturday night, we are going to see a huge featherweight matchup between two top ten featherweights. Former bantamweight champion and ninth ranked featherweight contender Aljamain Sterling (24-4) will be taking on the undefeated fifth ranked contender Movsar Evloev (18-0).
Starting with The Funk Master, this will be his second fight since moving up to the featherweight division. In August 2023, Sterling lost the bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley after having defended the title three successful times. A feat nobody else has done at bantamweight. Following the loss to O’Malley, Sterling decided to move up and he made his featherweight debut at UFC 300 against Calvin Kattar. Sterling looked solid in that first fight and won by decision.
In that fight he used his wrestling, but he’s going to have a tough time using that against Movsar Evloev. Evloev made his octagon debut back in 2019 at 10-0. Since signing with the UFC, he’s gone a perfect 8-0. His last two wins featured a short-notice win over top contender Diego Lopes and a big time decision win over Arnold Allen.
UFC 310 Prediction
This is going to be a very interesting matchup given the styles of both men. When Aljamain Sterling was doing his thing at 135, he used his dominant grappling to control his opponents. Sterling’s long limbs allowed him to get ahold of fighters and he had a knack for getting their backs, just ask Cory Sandhagen.
On the feet, Sterling has a unique striking style that resembles a point fighting karate fighter featuring a lot of kicks. He’s going to need to score a lot of points on the feet in this one because he’s not outgrappling Movsar Evloev. I think Evloev is the better wrestler and I’m willing to bet he’s physically stronger as a grappler.
On the feet, Evloev can also hold his own and might be better than the former UFC champion. The odds are heavy in favor of Evloev and I think that’s about right. For Sterling to win this fight, he’d have to keep things standing and score more points while avoiding takedowns. In the grappling, he’s going to need to use reversals or scrambles to potentially get the back of Evloev.
I’m not convinced he can have enough success in this matchup to win a decision. I think this one goes the distance and I think Evloev moves to 19-0.
Prediction: Movsar Evloev by Decision