Movsar Evloev Admits He Was Once Dropped; Only To Realize Later That It Was His Next Opponent!
Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy headline UFC London this Saturday at The O2 Arena. Both featherweight contenders enter the octagon with perfect professional records and lengthy win streaks. Evloev has won every single fight in his seven-year UFC career without tasting defeat. Murphy also remains unbeaten throughout his time with the promotion dating back years. The winner likely earns a title shot against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in the near future.
Back in November, Murphy posted something on social media that caught everyone’s attention across the MMA community. He shared a mysterious photo showing a fighter crumpled on the floor from what appeared to be sparring. The caption read “He ain’t undefeated” alongside the image of someone who looked suspiciously like Evloev.
Murphy deleted the post eventually, but the UFC brought it back during their promotional buildup. Movsar Evloev had no idea about the connection until Murphy’s social media post revealed everything.
Movsar Evloev Confirms The Eight-Year-Old Sparring Incident
The UFC presented both fighters with the deleted Instagram post during their recent promotional obligations. Murphy looked somewhat embarrassed about his own posting being brought back into the spotlight. But Evloev remained completely unbothered by the revelation and freely admitted what actually happened.
“Honestly, I didn’t know until he posted that screenshot. I didn’t even know it was him. It was eight years ago in a sparring session when I was in Thailand. One guy, as it turns out, Lerone Murphy, he took a moment and landed a shot to my liver. Such situations happen. I’m even glad he posted it because I didn’t know it was him, [but] now I know who to settle it with.”
Liver shots are among the most painful strikes in combat sports that can instantly drop even elite fighters. The liver sits on the right side of the body just below the ribcage. A well-placed punch or kick to that area causes excruciating pain and temporary paralysis. Fighters describe the sensation as completely debilitating regardless of toughness or pain tolerance levels. Even the best conditioned athletes crumble when liver shots land cleanly during sparring or competition.
Evloev’s honesty about the incident shows confidence in his current abilities despite what happened years ago. He could have denied everything or dismissed the sparring footage as fake or misleading. The Russian fighter now knows exactly who dropped him nearly a decade ago in Thailand. That knowledge gives him extra motivation heading into their UFC London main event showdown.
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Evloev Looks Forward To Settling The Score
Movsar Evloev clearly views this upcoming fight as an opportunity for payback after eight years. The liver shot knockdown happened during his earlier development as a MMA fighter. Since then, Evloev has evolved significantly with improved striking defense and offensive capabilities.
Murphy’s decision to post the old sparring footage might seem like a low blow to some observers. Posting training footage from private sessions generally breaks unwritten rules within the fighting community. Sparring is where fighters experiment, make mistakes, and learn without public scrutiny or embarrassment. What happens in the gym typically stays in the gym unless both parties agree otherwise.
The featherweight division currently features several deserving contenders waiting for opportunities against Volkanovski. Jean Silva recently earned an invitation to attend UFC London, putting pressure on both Evloev and Murphy. If their fight disappoints or fails to produce a clear winner, the UFC might skip over both of them entirely. That reality forces each fighter to leave everything inside the cage Saturday night.
Whether Evloev earns his revenge for that eight-year-old liver shot remains to be seen this weekend. Murphy likely feels confident knowing he’s already dropped his opponent once before under any circumstances. But sparring and actual competition represent completely different environments with different stakes involved. Saturday night will reveal which undefeated featherweight contender deserves the next title shot against Alexander Volkanovski.
(Image Credit: Imagn)
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