The State of the UFC Featherweight Division

delay of Movsar evloev's title shot

Undefeated at 19-0, Evloev put himself in title contention after earning an unanimous decision win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310. 

It was thought that he would most likely be the next challenger for the 145-pound belt after victories over current contenders of the Featherweight division, holding wins over Arnold Allen, Dan Ige, and the most recent title opportunist, Lopes. 

However, it looks like the Russian will be waiting for a championship chance in the UFC as he's set to face Bellator star, Aaron Pico, at Abu Dhabi in July.

The #4 Featherweight contender may not be Dana White's first choice for a title shot due to the lack of stoppage wins he has in his MMA career as all of his UFC bouts have gone the distance. 

Regardless though, Evloev has stated that if he is victorious against Pico in Abu Dhabi, there'll be no doubts that he is the rightful challenger for the throne at 145 pounds.

winning streaks

Subtracting Evloev from this section, especially in the top 10 of the Featherweight division, there doesn't seem to be any contenders that have stood out with their triumphant streaks.

When looking at the official UFC Featherweight rankings, Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria are set to be fighting at Lightweight which rules them out of this segment. Lopes has very recently lost at UFC 314, while other top contenders Yair Rodriguez and Arnold Allen have redeeming wins, but no winning streak.

Brian Ortega lost his last bout, along with Aljamain Sterling and Josh Emmett being in the same situation. 

Lerone Murphy is unbeaten in his MMA career, but his last five fights have gone the distance, despite having wins over Emmett, Edson Barboza and Dan Ige. One more fight could put him in title contention, but that would depend on who his opponent is.

It's clear to see that apart from Evloev, there is no one really deserving of a title shot until they next step into the Octagon.

prospects and rising stars

When you're questioned potential title challengers in the Featherweight division, a name which most people will think of is Jean Silva, a Brazilian fighter who currently sits at #11 in the Featherweight rankings with 15 of his 16 wins ending in a stoppage.

He certainly made his battle with Bryce Mitchell at UFC 314 anticipating after the heated press conferences, before delivering a dominant display to win by second-round submission.

Other prospects in the 145-pound weight class include contenders, Youssef Zalal and David Onama, as well as unranked Argentinian Featherweight, Kevin Vallejos, who all holds impressive win streaks. 

But apart from these four fighters, there doesn't seem to be anyone else who stands out from the crowd as the UFC Featherweight division begins to have less rising prospects who could turn into big stars and feature on PPV events.

We may not see any potential eye-catchers until later on in the year as Dana White's Contender Series could feature some promising up-and-coming fighters from the start of August.