Volkanovski Stops Evloev to Defend Featherweight Title at UFC 333

Alexander Volkanovski defeated previously unbeaten Movsar Evloev via TKO at 4:54 of the second round on Saturday to retain his featherweight championship at UFC 333. The victory marked Volkanovski's ninth UFC featherweight title-fight win, tying Jose Aldo for the most in the division's history. Evloev suffered his first loss in 11 UFC appearances.

Volkanovski, the oldest fighter to win and defend the UFC featherweight championship, improved his record to 29-4 overall and 16-3 in the UFC. All six of his stoppage victories in the promotion have come by knockout or technical knockout. Despite facing a larger opponent, Volkanovski pressed the action and recovered from early takedowns by Evloev, who struggled to maintain control.

Volkanovski sustained swelling and a cut under his left eye but landed effective punches. A right hand staggered Evloev in the second round, leading Volkanovski to follow up with a series of punches that prompted the referee stoppage.

Evloev, whose professional record now stands at 20-1, had won his first 10 UFC fights by decision, a promotional record for consecutive decision victories to start a career. Volkanovski expressed his satisfaction with facing a clear No. 1 contender and indicated a desire to continue defending his title against emerging challengers.

In the bantamweight co-main event, Petr Yan retained his title by unanimous decision against top contender Merab Dvalishvili. Yan's record moved to 21-5, while Dvalishvili fell to 21-6.

Other notable results included No. 6 flyweight Lone’er Kavanagh defeating No. 10 Ramazan Temirov by first-round TKO. In the heavyweight division, Alexander Volkov, celebrating his 38th birthday, secured a unanimous decision win and called for a title shot. Additionally, No. 11 featherweight Aaron Pico stopped Losene Keita in the first round.