Movsar Evloev thinks Jose Aldo’s career declined after drug testing was introduced to the UFC.
Aldo currently holds the record for most title defenses in UFC featherweight history at seven. He was long considered the greatest 145-pounder of all time until Alexander Volkanovski (28-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) entered the conversation.
Volkanovski holds a win over Aldo and three title victories over Max Holloway. He defended his belt five times in his first reign and managed to reclaim his belt at UFC 314 with a win over Diego Lopes, followed by a title defense over Lopes again at UFC 325.
Evloev (20-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC), who challenges featherweight champion Volkanovski in the UFC 333 headliner on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (Paramount+), explained why Volkanovski is the featherweight GOAT over Aldo.
“I think Volk is better than Aldo just because he’s a more complete fighter,” Evloev told MMA Junkie. “Aldo was great until they did doping tests – then he goes down. Everyone knows that. I think only Jon Jones stayed on the same level after doping tests. Everybody else go down like (Anderson) Silva, (Anthony) Pettis. Pettis was great before they started testing. Yeah, they are talented but looks like the stuff they used helped them before, like Vitor Belfort. I respect all these fighters, but we know the story, right?”
Evloev has hopes of being an active champion and becoming the hunted instead of the hunter. However, the 32-year-old admits he doesn’t see longevity at featherweight.
“I’m getting bigger every day, so one day, I don’t know how long it will take, but one day I need to move up,” Evloev said. “Because now I need to cut about 26 pounds to be featherweight.”
