Major problems arose for Dana White and Movsar Evloev, as a major fight fell through after Aljamain Sterling pulled out of his fight in UFC 307. With just two and a half weeks to go, the American fighter cited injury on his YouTube channel, while asking Evloev to wait until December (UFC 310) to go one-on-one against him, where he hopes to be fully recovered. However, the undefeated fighter did not want to give up on the October fight and asked the UFC to find him a replacement. But even before White could pick up the phone, a challenger had already announced himself. Who is it? Well, it’s none other than Jean Silva. However, there is a catch.

While there were speculations of the Russian facing Diego Lopes again in a rematch that handed the 26-6-0 his only UFC loss, he was shot down. With no other opponent in sight, all that was left was for the UFC to find one now. In a recent video, Silva thus launched a challenge at Evloev, asking the Russian for a fight. The catch, however, is that the Brazilian is not medically cleared to fight just yet. So rather than 307, the 14-2-0 has challenged for a fight at UFC 309 instead. A conundrum that gives Evloev a major fight, but one that will ask him to wait for an additional month.

For the unaware, Silva recently suffered a shoulder injury during his fight against Charles Jourdain at UFC 303. He also broke both of his hands during his fight against Drew Dober. So no wonder he is asking for more time. In the video, Lord said, “Evloev, I know your fight is off, and I accept to fight with you. But I can’t fight on October 5th. The UFC and my doctor Daniel didn’t allow me to fight. But on November 16, if you agree, on the Jon Jones card, I guarantee that you will have a war. Let’s go?”

Evloev is one of the future candidates to face Ilia Topuria in a race for the belt if the Spaniard Georgian manages to defend himself from Max Holloway’s attacks first. So he sure would be looking for a fight that will help him climb up the ranks and get a title shot very soon. But while Silva sounds like a good option, the Russian actually had a different opponent in mind, the aforementioned Diego Lopes. So why did Lopes decide to go against a rematch and what actually happened?

Silva’s call-out to former rival

While requesting an opponent for 307, Evloev directly mentioned Diego Lopes and offered him a rematch in Utah. The two featherweights faced each other in May 2023. The Russian started with an advantage with four victories in the competition, while the Brazilian made his debut in the UFC. Evloev took victory by unanimous decision. Taking to his Twitter, he wrote, “@Diegolopesmma Hey, if you want to defend your honor, you have 2.5 weeks to try to erase this defeat from your record.” 

Diego Lopes is coming off a victory over Brian Ortega last week at The Sphere in Las Vegas, and although he wants to get even for his only loss in the UFC, the Brazilian does not plan to fight again with only two weeks to spare. The number four featherweight reminds him that he had an opportunity to face him a few months ago and rejected it; now he tells him, “Now you sit back and watch the bus leave you waiting.” 

Well, it looks like this fight won’t be taking place anytime soon. So it would be interesting to see if the Russian decides to accept the challenge sent forward by Silva. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.