Demetrious Johnson has one big question for the UFC: How does a guy go 20-0 with zero UFC finishes and still get a title shot, while Michael ‘Venom’ Page gets shown the door? That’s the head-scratcher ‘Mighty Mouse’ couldn’t get past.

Movsar Evloev is set to fight Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title in the UFC 333 main event in Abu Dhabi on October 24. The Russian is unbeaten through 20 professional fights and has already picked up notable wins over Lerone Murphy, Aljamain Sterling and Arnold Allen. Yet despite building one of the strongest undefeated records in the division, Evloev has never finished an opponent inside the UFC.

“Well, something came into my mind; you say he’s undefeated, 20-0, no finishes. How the f— is he still in the UFC?” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “Like, I’m just saying, they just cut (Michael Venom Page).

“But when you think about it, the UFC is so gung-ho, cutting people who aren’t exciting, no knockouts, and it’s like, they just got rid of MVP, you know, he’s not knocking people out, but he’s doing some flashy s— in there.”

That comparison is at the heart of Johnson’s argument. He isn’t questioning whether Evloev can win fights. Instead, he is questioning whether the UFC applies the same entertainment standard to every fighter.

“Movsar Evloev does know how to win, but that’s the thing that came to mind when you say he’s undefeated with no knockouts,” Johnson added. “I’m like, how the f— is he still here? Not even a submission? Wow.”

And the numbers do make the contrast striking. Evloev is 10-0 inside the UFC, with all 10 victories coming by decision. That record has nevertheless been enough to carry him into the title picture, where he now has a chance to take the featherweight championship from Volkanovski.

Michael ‘Venom’ Page, meanwhile, left the UFC with a similarly decision-heavy record. Page went 5-1 during his UFC run, with each of his five victories coming on the judges’ scorecards.

The difference, however, was that Page had built his reputation around his unorthodox striking, flashy movement and counter-attacking style long before joining the UFC. That made his departure particularly surprising to the MMA great.

Speaking to the media during a scrum ahead of the Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn boxing match, Dana White revealed that UFC matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard were ultimately responsible for the decision not to bring Page back.

“Listen, at the end of the day, the matchmakers make the decisions on who stays and who goes, and they didn’t want to re-sign him,” White said.

That explanation did not necessarily tell the whole story for Israel Adesanya. The former UFC middleweight champion suggested there may be factors surrounding Page’s departure that the public simply doesn’t know about.

“And he’s a grappler. Again, he’s a grappler with no finishes or no knockouts. So I think the stuff for MVP is other stuff that we’re not privy to as a public. So that’s why they have the issues,” Adesanya added.

Johnson did not dismiss the possibility.

“You might be right,” he replied.

While Johnson sees the contrast as evidence of a potential double standard, i.e hypocrisy, Volkanovski has taken a very different position when it comes to his upcoming opponent.

Alexander Volkanovski defends Movsar Evloev from the criticism

Volkanovski believes Evloev has earned his opportunity the hard way. The champion pointed out that the Russian has spent years working his way toward the top rather than being handed a title opportunity.

“That’s why he’s had to take the long road to the title; he probably deserved it before now,” Volkanovski said. “I almost feel bad for the guy, but I’m weird; even when we were doing the press conference, everyone was booing him, I was feeling bad.

“The booing was meant to get into his head, but it was getting into my head more than his because I felt bad for him.”

There’s actually a little more history between Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev, which might explain why the champion seems to have so much sympathy for him.

The two have crossed paths in the gym before. The Russian revealed that they trained together several years ago, back when he was still competing at bantamweight.

“I used to be a bantamweight at that time; it was before UFC,” Evloev told Youngs. “We just had a couple of rounds, and yeah, we trained at the same gym before.”

At the end of the day, Movsar Evloev and Michael ‘Venom’ Page represent two very different sides of the UFC’s entertainment-vs-winning debate.

Demetrious Johnson is looking at the lack of finishes and asking why fighters who don’t produce much action can get pushed aside, while Alexander Volkanovski’s argument is pretty simple: Movsar Evloev keeps winning. Ten UFC fights, ten wins, and every opponent has gone the distance with him.

As for MVP, his UFC chapter may be over, but there’s already plenty of interest in what comes next. Jake Paul’s MVP MMA and David Feldman’s BKFC have both expressed interest in bringing him in.

For fans who remember the wild, knockout-hunting version of MVP from his Bellator days, his next move could give him the chance to bring that version of himself back and potentially make his post-UFC chapter a lot more exciting.