Matt Brown explains why Movsar Evloev getting passed over for a title shot is just business as usual for UFC

Despite an undefeated record, including nine consecutive wins in the UFC, Movsar Evloev isn’t getting the next shot at the featherweight title.

He revealed in a social media post that as much as he appreciated reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski pushing for a fight between them, Evloev was instead accepting a matchup at the UFC Abu Dhabi card in July in a non-title bout. With Evloev out of the picture, all signs are pointing towards Yair Rodriguez getting the opportunity instead — even with a 1-2 record in his past three fights, including one of those losses coming in a third-round stoppage against Volkanovski.

As upsetting as that scenario might be for Evloev, UFC legend Matt Brown says that’s just business as usual for the promotion that’s been built on entertainment rather than sport.

“You have to decide what you want to watch is entertainment, which is what the UFC is, or if you want to watch an actual sport, which is not necessarily what the UFC is,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “An actual sport would have rankings from a third party. They would have mandatory challengers. They would have a lot of things that the UFC just doesn’t have.

“Because they didn’t build a company based on sport. The sport is what they’re selling, but the actual competitive ranks and the way that matches are made, is not sport. They got rid of tournaments a long time ago.”

Brown argues that Rodriguez getting a title shot over Evloev is really just the UFC doing what has always been done and that’s making fights that are better for business.

On paper, Evloev has definitely done more to deserve a title shot, but Brown understands that the UFC’s primary goal involves making profits and that keeps investors happy in a publicly traded company.

Add to that, Brown argues that while hardcore fans might get upset that Evloev isn’t getting a title shot, the vast majority of the audience doesn’t even really know him, and that’s what the UFC recognizes when putting together marquee fights like these.

“Unfortunately for a guy like Movsar, you have to be a real fan to even know who he is [much less] that he’s on a streak and that he could threaten a [champion],” Brown said. “The fact is most guys don’t know his name. You go to a bar and mention Movsar Evloev, no one’s going to know who the hell you’re talking about, and they put him into a pay-per-view or hell even a Fight Night or a co-main event on a pay-per-view, no one’s going to know or care.

“Again, you can’t necessarily diss the UFC or hate them for the way they do it. It just f*cks the guys like Movsar. He’s not out there trying to be Sean O’Malley and make pretty little social media videos. He’s not trying to sit around and use CapCut all day. He’s out there fighting like a true warrior that he is. Like a Belal Muhammad or a [Magomed] Ankalaev, we’ve seen it time and time again.”

Because Evloev isn’t the most popular or polarizing character in the UFC, he might have to work twice as hard to get a title shot compared to somebody like Rodriguez.

That said, Brown recognizes that fighters in a similar position as Evloev in the past have found a way to break through and start getting attention without putting on the most entertaining fights.

“It is absolutely an entertainment industry,” Brown explained. “That is what they are selling is the entertainment. They are not selling the sport. If you can step back and look at it like that, then you can kind of recognize the reality of the situation. That’s why Movsar isn’t getting a title shot. He should know that. He’s in an entertainment industry.

“You’ll see guys like Colby [Covington] recognize that, or Chael Sonnen, he recognized it. No one wanted Chael Sonnen to have a title shot until he started talking about having a barbecue with Anderson Silva.”

Through nine fights in the UFC, Evloev hasn’t built a reputation as a tremendous trash talker, and he’s gone to decision in all of his wins. Brown says like it or not, that’s a bad combination working against Evloev getting a title shot.

“Things can be entertaining in a thousand different ways,” Brown said. “But what’s not entertaining is not talking and putting on boring fights.”

Of course, Evloev isn’t the first deserving contender passed over for a title shot and he won’t be the last.

Brown says that’s the best evidence available that the UFC holds all the cards in these situations and it would take a fundamental change in the way they do business for anything to happen differently.

“The UFC has built this brand, and they have control over the sport,” Brown said. “Like it or not, and there’s a lawsuit about it, we don’t have to get into all that, but there is a lawsuit specifically about that, and if you love the UFC, you have to respect that’s the way they do things. That’s the way things are going to be done. They are a business. They are an entity, and their objective is solely to sell tickets and make money. That’s what a business does.

“I guess my ultimate point is if people want to complain about it, you’re going to have to try to change the whole sport. That’s up to you. You’re going to do your research. You’re going to have to look into the people against the UFC that are trying to change things. There is an argument for it. I’m not just a UFC talking head. I think there’s a good argument. There’s also a very good argument for the way the UFC does things, and I totally understand why they do the things that they do, especially once you actually own a business. You start realizing why they do shit like that.”

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