Alexander Volkanovski's coach: Jean Silva barking, but not deserving
· Yahoo Sports
Joe Lopez echoes the same sentiment as Alexander Volkanovski regarding his next title defense.
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Featherweight champion Volkanovski (28-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) has his sights set on undefeated Movsar Evloev (20-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC), who defeated Lerone Murphy in the UFC Fight Night 270 headliner this past Saturday.
Top contender Jean Silva (17-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) claimed he flew to London to meet with UFC brass to sign a contract for a title shot, but Volkanovski is not interested – and neither is his head coach Lopez.
"Jean Silva or whatever his name is, barking like the little dog that he is in the background, trying to make a lot of noise to make himself think he's the next one – but he's not deserving," Lopez told Submission Radio. "There's still Aljo (Sterling), guys above him. He's got to earn his spot.
"Don't think because you make a lot of noise you're going to get it, because you're not. ... People assume he's going to be the one, but again, I don't think he's deserving of it. There's plenty of guys above him. Let him have one or two more fights and then we'll have a look, but you're not ready."
Silva attempted to spice things up when he vowed to leave the UFC if Volkanovski beats him, but Lopez is not budging.
"I think Movsar is going to be the one," Lopez said. "Unless he gets hurt or something happens, I think he's definitely going to be the one we're going to be facing. But again, you never know with the UFC. We thought it was going to be Murphy at one stage."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Alexander Volkanovski's coach: 'Barking' Jean Silva undeserving