Alexander Volkanovski retained the UFC featherweight championship with a second-round TKO over Movsar Evloev in the main event of UFC 333 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The 38-year-old Australian stopped the Russian challenger at 4:54 of round two, giving Evloev his first professional defeat and breaking the record for the most UFC featherweight title wins.
Evloev entered as one of the toughest stylistic tests at 145 pounds. Undefeated in 20 professional fights, he had built his career around relentless wrestling, control, and suffocating top pressure.
Yet Volkanovski, in his second reign as champion, found the opening when it mattered most and handled Evloev as usual.
The opening round was competitive, with Evloev trying to impose his grappling and Volkanovski working to keep it standing.
The champion’s defensive awareness and fight IQ dominated the early exchanges, as he avoided prolonged scrambles and kept looking for clean striking opportunities.
The finish arrived late in the second. Volkanovski hurt Evloev with a left hook and right cross, dropping the challenger before following him to the canvas.
Once on top, he landed unanswered ground-and-pound strikes near the fence, leaving Goddard with no choice but to end the contest.
It was a decisive answer to questions about Volkanovski’s durability and future at 38.
Before the fight, he said he would consider retirement if he absorbed excessive damage, but he emerged largely unscathed and delivered his first finish since July 2023.
Volkanovski recorded his ninth win in a UFC featherweight title fight, surpassing Jose Aldo’s previous mark of eight and setting the division record.
It was also his sixth successful featherweight title defense and his second since reclaiming the vacant title in April after losing to Ilia Topuria in February 2024.
Volkanovski’s latest performance reinforced why he remains such a demanding matchup for the division’s leading contenders.
Evloev posed some threat with his wrestling, but the champion’s ability to read distance, defend takedowns, and punish openings proved superior once the fight entered its most dangerous phase.
Image credits: : Mark Kolbe Photography/ Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
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