“The most important thing in this one is victory,” Evloev told Uncrowned. “It doesn’t even matter that this is not a title shot. I don’t even know what’s next. If they tell me that this is not for the No. 1 contender, if they tell me that after this fight: You’re never fighting again. You know, what’s most important is that I’m gonna come out there and I’m gonna do everything that’s in my power to show what level of the game that I’m at, to show what kind of an athlete I am, to show what kind of a fighter I am. I will do anything to claw this victory away because this is the most important thing right now is winning this fight against Lerone Murphy on Saturday.”

For a combatant who averages nearly five takedowns per fight, I’m not sure he would even know how to break out of his rinse-and-repeat offense at this point and to be fair, it keeps getting him to the win column. He’s a competent striker with clean footwork but his ability to control the fight is where Evloev really shines. This marks his first five-round fight in UFC and the first time he’s been asked to go 25 minutes since his knockout victory over Rafael Dias at M-1 Challenge 95: “Battle in the Mountains 7” back in summer 2018. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t expect cardio to be an issue, even with his high-energy output, but we can’t just dismiss his layoff, either. I think the determining factor will be Lerone Murphy’s defense and how hard Evloev has to work to keep “The Iceman” from melting him with a counterstrike.

Lerone Murphy joined the ranks of UFC just a few months after Evloev and surprisingly, has nearly the same amount of fights (10). The 34 year-old Englishman has been a little more consistent in terms of activity but never competes more than twice per year. Perhaps some of the blame falls to matchmakers, who frequently want “The Iceman” featured on London cards, typically held in March and July. Again, we’re trying to build a case for a division title shot and you can’t just brush off fan favorites like Jean Silva when they’re doing more — and doing it more often. Working in Murphy’s favor is his sensational knockout victory over Aaron Pico last August, which may have forgiven his run of five straight (and mostly forgettable) decision wins.