Silva Expects Evloev Pullout, Eyes Volkanovski Title Shot

Jean Silva expects to be pulled from his Noche UFC 4 bout with Yair Rodriguez and inserted into a featherweight title fight against Alexander Volkanovski.

The Brazilian contender told fans on YouTube that he believes top-ranked Movsar Evloev will withdraw from his championship clash with Volkanovski, which has not yet been officially announced. "There's a big risk he'll pull out of the fight and they'll put me in his place," Silva said, per MMA Mania. "In my heart, I still believe I'll fight for the belt instead of fighting Rodriguez."

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Silva Faces Rodriguez Next Month in Glendale

Silva is booked to headline Noche UFC 4 against former interim titleholder Rodriguez next month in Glendale. The 29-year-old remains focused on that assignment but acknowledged his gut feeling about the Evloev situation. "My focus today is on Rodriguez, obviously, but I have a slight feeling in my heart that Evloev will withdraw from the fight," he said.

Evloev sits at number one in both the Meta and Media rankings and is expected to challenge Volkanovski later this year. A win over Rodriguez would position Silva to face the winner of that bout regardless — unless his prediction proves accurate and the unbeaten Russian backs out.

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Noche UFC 4 takes place next month at Desert Diamond Arena.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — Jean Silva expects to be pulled from Noche UFC 4, fight Alex Volkanovski for featherweight title