Born in Ingushetia in 1994, Evloev came up in the wrestling culture of Russia’s North Caucasus — the same regional pipeline that produced Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev. He turned pro in 2014, built his record on the Russian regional circuit, then took the bantamweight title in M-1 Global. The UFC signed him in 2019. He moved up to featherweight, debuted with a decision win over Seungwoo Choi, and hasn’t lost a round that mattered since. He trains out of American Top Team in Florida now, where head coach Conan Silveira recently told Sherdog he sees “the complete MMA package”.
His reputation is built on wrestling, but the Murphy fight reframed the picture. He lands 3.99 significant strikes per minute at 63.70% accuracy — striker’s numbers. Against Murphy he won the standup exchanges before turning to grappling, finished nine of ten takedown attempts, and walked off with a 124-89 strike edge. The book on him hasn’t changed: pressure, top control, smothering position, low finish rate. Three KOs and four submissions across twenty fights say the rest. Critics, including some of the media at UFC London, call him cautious. He answers by winning.
Inside the UFC the résumé is real. He beat Hakeem Dawodu at UFC 263, edged Dan Ige in 2022, then ran off the wins that pushed him into contention: Diego Lopes by unanimous decision at UFC 288, Arnold Allen at UFC 297, and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310 in December 2024. The Murphy fight at the O2 Arena was his fourth straight win over a ranked opponent. He was docked a point for low blows in round four, survived a possible draw scenario, and walked out with two 48-46 cards.
A planned 2025 bout with Aaron Pico fell through after Evloev caught a virus that, he told MMA Fighting, attacked his cardiovascular system and left him fearing his career was over. He’s healthy again, ranked No. 1, and asking for a May or June return. Volkanovski has named him publicly. The only question is whether the UFC books the fight his record says it should.