“Movsar is much stronger than me.” UFC fighter’s brother won the Olympics, retired and made a very successful comeback

The plot is as follows: August 3, 2021 Moussa Evloev becomes Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling in the under 97 kg category. In February 2023, Evloev announced that he was putting his career on hold due to “fatigue and a back injury.” At the end of 2023, the wrestler decided to return, resumed training in the fall and on January 20, 2024 became champion of Russia. Moreover, less than a day after Evloev’s final, the first cousin of the Olympic champion, so far undefeated in 17 fights, is expected to compete in the UFC. Movsar Evloev will face Arnold Allen at UFC Toronto.

First, Evloev is asked about the new world order (the World Cup took place in September in Serbia):

— Gabriel Rosillo won the world championship in your weight category, what can you say about him?

— When I was fighting, I considered him as one of my potential opponents, because the guy was already doing well back then, but now he didn’t surprise me anymore. Nothing new: He shoots in one direction, then changes direction and does a good job down the field. I myself supported Artur Aleksanyan, we are old rivals, we are friends, I thought he would win, but in the end it didn’t work out. No matter who I fight with, I’m not even the first, nor the first or second number in the international federation. At the Olympic Games we will decide which of us is the strongest. We are going there to win…

Then we talk about everything, sitting on the pedestal. Evloev sits on the first step and allows people to communicate with him from the third place.

— How did you get such a beautiful bruise after the Russian Greco-Roman wrestling championship?

– I wouldn’t say beautiful. When I was preparing for the Russian Championship, I fought with young people in training. And there, you have to go out with everyone, give your all and get straight to the point. They hit their heads and were bruised. I received it a week before the tournament. It was a nice black eye, but now it’s fading.

—Did you realize when you got back on the mat that these guys you had easily passed were defeating you?

— Two years of downtime have taken their toll. No competition, no training, no physical activity, and then “boom!” you decide to return to the mat in three months and perform at a high level. It was very difficult for me and my opponents, I felt like everyone was backing away, not letting me breathe… by the rules, I mean. But I knew that if I was patient, I would succeed, because in those three months I had done a lot of work.

– To understand: when was your first appearance on the mat after a break, was it such that a conditional candidate for the master of sports could compete with you on equal terms (Evloev, Honored Master of Sports – ) ?

— One hundred percent, because when I started training, it was October 10, I went out on the mat with guys who could be medalists at the Moscow championship in the 60 kg. Such average guys. I only started working with opponents of my weight half a month ago. And I just started lifting a hundred kilo barbell to my chest. I’ve only just gotten back into shape. I felt everything, I knew it wouldn’t be easy for me.

— After finishing your career, what could be the longest period you didn’t go to the gym at all, without getting stressed? Two weeks? Three weeks?

– Hahaha…

– More?

— When you just finished your career, when you are done with this profession, you just don’t want to look in that direction (shows three wrestling mats after the competition – “”). There is no desire to return to the gym, fitness center, you want to plan your day differently. Because when you are sporty, you wake up and fall asleep only with sport. I think I definitely didn’t study for six months. At most, if I was invited to some kind of master class, I would do a warm-up. Then my friend from Kaliningrad, president of the hockey federation, Oleg Borisovich, introduced me to hockey, I began to get carried away a little, then I moved to Moscow, where I began to dabble in boxing. Not for a long time. When physical activity started, I did too. Honestly, even if I held the bar for 30 seconds, I didn’t want to endure it.

You could say that I was already done, but my friend from Krasnodar, Shamil, insisted, wrote to me every day, called me, said “do at least one workout a day” , and one day I decided.

– In your boxingAt least one fight?

– No. Just a warm-up, paws, punching bag. I have such a weight that I didn’t risk training. I have a friend who is a boxing trainer, we got in the ring with him, there was no one else there, just for me, to get me in shape, otherwise I was swimming too much.

– How much did you weigh?

– 106-107 kg. Today it turns out that I weighed 97 kg, which is 10 less.

— You said that at your best you did 56 pull-ups. How many pull-ups are you going to do now?

— I think maybe 25 times, but I still have something to achieve in wrestling. It’s just between us.

— What does the prospect of participating in the Paris Olympic Games look like for you currently?

— To be honest, I dream day and night of becoming a double Olympic champion. Me, my family and my loved ones have a great desire. And then the leaders and coaches of our country will say that it will be so. Our task is to prepare and keep ourselves fit. When they say, “Come on guys, let’s go,” go ahead and don’t let us down. Not just ourselves, but our entire country. However, everyone understands that it is the Russian team that has arrived and that we must win.

— Would it be correct to say that your participation in the Paris Games can be described by the words “neither yes nor no”?

“They haven’t said anything for sure yet.” We are currently preparing for the European Championships, but we will see more closely. There are seven months left before the Olympic Games, it is too early to make predictions. You can prepare in time.

— As an expert in Greco-Roman wrestling, can you say: who would have won in better shape: Alexander Karelin or Mikhain Lopez (in Tokyo he became four-time Olympic champion in the heavyweight category)?

“I can’t say who would have won, but these wrestlers are not only legends of our sport. And all sport in general. San Sanych Karelin is a three-time Olympic champion and nine-time world champion. Maintaining this form for 16 years, always at the top, is a very long time. And the other is a four-time Olympic champion, and this is his sixth cycle. Honestly, I don’t know what you have to be like to compete six cycles in a row, for me it’s supernatural.

— The day before yesterday I spoke with Movsar Evloev, a UFC fighter, he told me a long time ago that your fathers were cousins. Do they communicate with each other?

– Of course, we are from the same places, where our ancestors and Movsar and I are very close, our fathers are friends, we have such a council that everyone communicates with each other. Even if you don’t know your namesake by sight, when you do, he’s already like a brother to you. I wish Movsar good luck, God willing he will win this fight and his next one will be the title fight.

—Have you ever tried to count how many Evloevs you have in your phone book? More than 20?

– Maybe yes. Brothers Sisters. I didn’t count it exactly, but in Ingushetia it is the largest teip.

– Tough question: will you wake up at five in the morning to watch his fight?

– Tomorrow morning one hundred percent we will definitely look at him, we will support him with all our hearts, my whole family will support him, I have no doubt in him that everything will work out.

— He started in Greco-Roman wrestling, but you trained in different sections?

– Yes, we did not meet, because Movsar spent very little time in wrestling, he immediately realized that it was not for him and found himself in something else.

— You are very similar in appearance to first cousins, is this celebrated in your family?

“A lot of people say that we are very similar, and I also started to notice that from the outside. And we also have a similar character, but Movsar is such an athlete, he is much stronger than me. I saw how he trains, how he gives everything, I envy him. There are very few such people. When he came to our training camp, he gave everyone a head start in cross country and training. It’s simply a machine, there are no words. The guy has a big future.

— Movsar told you he loved CrossFit resorts, did he suggest you do anything to check it out?

– Yes, we trained together, a year and a half or two years ago, he came to our training camp, showed us exercises, and I showed him some. Then he left for the USA and did not come to us for a long time.

Live broadcasts of mixed martial arts tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.