New date, same mission @MovsarUFC vs @FunkmasterMMA has been rescheduled to take place at #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/aWYCPfPdt8
— UFC (@ufc) September 27, 2024
A potential title eliminator-turned-grudge match for the Ultimate Fighting Championship will go on a few months later than expected.
For the UFC 307 card in Salt Lake City on Oct. 5, the UFC had matched Movsar Evloev (18-0) against Aljamain Sterling (24-4) together for a possible no. 1 contender contest at 145 pounds. Sterling suffered an injury in September that forced him out of the contest, and the promotion opted not to slot in a late replacement. Instead, about two months later, the two will collide. The UFC released the news on Friday that Evloev and Sterling will handle their business at UFC 310, which will go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 7.
In this rescheduled top-tier grappling-centric tilt, Evloev will put his unbeaten record on the line, as he is currently tied among all active fighters in major MMA organizations for the most victories without a defeat. The Russian joined the UFC in 2019, where he took home a pair of decisions over Seung Woo Choi and Enrique Barzola to get started. Since then, he has rattled off six more victories in the Octagon, but all six have come at the hands of the judges.
Former bantamweight kingpin Sterling relocated to the featherweight division to clear the way for teammate Merab Dvalishvili to pursue gold. “Funk Master” won the strap in 2021 from Petr Yan when Yan disqualified himself for throwing an illegal knee. Three defenses against Yan, T.J. Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo set the record for the most consecutive defenses of a UFC bantamweight throne. Sterling surrendered his belt to Sean O’Malley, prompting his shift to 145 pounds. His debut in the weight class went swimmingly, as he handily outworked perennial contender Calvin Kattar to earn a spot among the rankings.
UFC 310 will take place on Dec. 7 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. There is currently no headliner on the books, but a number of matchups involving top-ranked fighters are registered on its billing. A rescheduled heavyweight rematch between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov will bolster the lineup, and other fights including a possible title eliminator at 115 pounds between Tatiana Suarez and Virna Jandiroba as well as a banger between Nick Diaz and Vicente Luque at 170 pounds are also set.
