Movsar Evloev came into UFC 333 undefeated and looking to take Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight crown. Unfortunately for the challenger, Volkanovski had absolutely no interest in handing over the keys to the kingdom.
The UFC featherweight champion put Evloev’s unbeaten record to rest Saturday night, scoring a vicious second round TKO to retain his title. Evloev found success with his wrestling early, but keeping Volkanovski on the canvas proved to be a whole different nightmare. Once the champion started finding his rhythm, the punches came flying, and Evloev simply couldn’t keep up.
A massive right hand eventually put Evloev in trouble before Volkanovski unleashed hell with ground and pound to force the stoppage. Evloev came looking to make history. Instead, he became another reminder of why Alexander Volkanovski is one of the best featherweights to ever do it.
Round 1 – Volkanovski got things started with an inside leg kick, letting Evloev know he wasn’t about to give him anything easy. Evloev answered with a leg kick of his own after eating a counter from the champion. Volkanovski started pressing forward with straight punches, forcing Evloev to back up and rethink his approach.
The champion found a home for his straight right while keeping an eye out for the inevitable takedown attempt. Because let’s be serious, everybody knew that shot was coming sooner or later. Evloev mixed in a body kick and managed to avoid most of Volkanovski’s looping overhand right.
Volkanovski attacked the lead leg again, prompting Evloev to change levels and look for a takedown. Unfortunately for Evloev, the champion was already throwing punches his way, forcing him to abandon the attempt. Evloev eventually committed to another shot and finally managed to put Volkanovski on the canvas.
That celebration didn’t last very damn long. Volkanovski immediately worked his way toward the fence, scrambled back to his feet, and broke free.
The champion went right back to work with his jab before connecting with a clean right hand. Volkanovski backed Evloev against the fence and started unloading, looking to make the challenger pay for every opening.
Evloev wasn’t interested in standing around and taking that punishment, though. He quickly changed levels and dragged Volkanovski back to the canvas. Once again, however, keeping the champion down was proving to be a whole different nightmare.
Volkanovski popped right back up, refusing to let Evloev establish any meaningful control. Evloev shot for another takedown, but this time Volkanovski greeted him with a nasty uppercut on the way in. Unfortunately for the champion, Evloev powered through the shot and managed to finish the takedown anyway.
When they returned to their feet, Evloev cracked Volkanovski with a big left hook. And apparently one wasn’t enough. Evloev landed another left hook when the two met in the middle of the Octagon. Volkanovski answered with a sharp jab before closing the distance and looking for a takedown of his own.
That’s right, the champion decided he wanted to play the wrestling game too. Evloev defended the attempt beautifully, refusing to let Volkanovski turn the tables on him. The two eventually separated, exchanging right hands on the break as neither man was willing to give an inch.
Both fighters had their moments, but Evloev was discovering that taking Volkanovski down was much easier than keeping him there.
Round 2 – Volkanovski came out looking to make a statement, rushing forward and immediately letting his hands go. Evloev wasn’t interested in standing around and trading, quickly changing levels and shooting for a takedown. The challenger managed to push Volkanovski against the fence, but getting him to the canvas was another story.
Unable to finish the takedown, Evloev eventually backed away and went right back to striking with the champion. Evloev ducked underneath a right hand and finally managed to put Volkanovski on his back.
Unfortunately for Evloev, that turned out to be a pretty damn big mistake.
Volkanovski immediately reversed the position and ended up in side control, putting the challenger in an uncomfortable spot. Evloev worked to recover his guard, eventually getting himself into half guard. Volkanovski wasn’t exactly losing sleep over that development.
The champion seemed perfectly happy sitting on top and introducing Evloev to some good old-fashioned ground-and-pound. Evloev eventually turned belly down, looking for an opportunity to scramble back to his feet. He managed to get himself upright, but Volkanovski wasn’t about to give him much breathing room.
The champion slipped a right hand from Evloev before firing back with a massive shot of his own. Evloev was suddenly moving backward, and Volkanovski smelled an opportunity to turn up the pressure.
The challenger managed to grab hold of Volkanovski in the clinch, slowing things down before the champion could unload. That little break wasn’t going to solve all his problems, though.
Volkanovski started putting his combinations together, and Evloev was having a hell of a time avoiding them. The head movement and defensive reactions that worked earlier weren’t doing nearly as much for the challenger anymore.
Volkanovski was finding his range, landing cleaner shots, and making Evloev pay whenever he stepped into striking distance. The two continued trading until Volkanovski connected with a massive right hand that appeared to rock Evloev.
The champion immediately followed up, putting Evloev on the canvas and landing in top position. With just over 35 seconds remaining, Volkanovski had the challenger exactly where he wanted him.
And things were about to get really ugly.
Volkanovski started fighting to posture up, looking to create enough space to unload some serious punishment. Evloev desperately tried to grab hold of the champion, hoping to break his posture and slow down the incoming damage.
Unfortunately for Evloev, Volkanovski wasn’t interested in cooperating.The champion continued creating space and raining down heavy shots while Evloev struggled to defend himself.
Every time Evloev tried to tie him up, Volkanovski found another opening to land more punishment. At this point, the challenger was doing everything he could just to survive. Volkanovski kept unloading until the referee had seen enough and stepped in to stop the fight.
Alexander Volkanovski finished Movsar Evloev with a vicious second-round ground-and-pound stoppage, reminding everybody exactly why he’s the champion. Evloev came into the fight looking to take the crown.
Instead, he got a front-row seat to another Alexander Volkanovski masterpiece.
Official Result: Alexander Volkanovski def. Movsar Evloev via R2 TKO, 4:54