Alexander Volkanovski retained the UFC featherweight title with a second-round TKO of Movsar Evloev at UFC 333, handing the previously unbeaten challenger his first loss.
The Australian champion finished Evloev at 4:54 of the second round at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday (Sunday morning Australian time), MMA Fighting reported.
Evloev went into the fight 20-0 as a professional and 10-0 in the UFC, with wins over Lerone Murphy, Aljamain Sterling, Arnold Allen and Diego Lopes.
How the fight finished
Evloev had the better of the first round, scoring brief takedowns and landing knees to the body and a head kick. MMA Fighting scored the opening round 10-9 to the challenger in its live blog.
The fight turned late in the second. After Volkanovski reversed a takedown and the pair traded on the feet, the champion rocked Evloev with right hands, opened a cut and dropped him with a left to the chin. Volkanovski followed him to the canvas and finished the fight with ground and pound just six seconds before the end of the round.
Read more: Alexander Volkanovski Predicts ‘Wild’ Finish of Evloev at UFC 333
Volkanovski went into the bout 27-4. He regained the featherweight belt at UFC 314 with a decision win over Lopes after Ilia Topuria vacated it, then beat Lopes again in a rematch at UFC 325.
Volkanovski open to Gaethje superfight
Volkanovski revealed after the fight that he had been unwell in the lead-up. “Yeah, a little crook, but it’s alright,” he told Main Event, as reported by Fox Sports. “It comes with the job – when I started getting crook, I was like ‘oh well, things were going too perfect’.”
The champion also floated a farewell fight with lightweight veteran Justin Gaethje. “But hey, if you are thinking of doing something like that, if we wanted to retire together, superfight, have a bit of fun, let the divisions do their thing, we can go save the last dance with each other and get stuck into it,” Volkanovski said. “Super fight to end the careers, I’ll do it.”
UFC boss Dana White praised the win at his post-fight press conference. “The guy is an absolute stud,” White said. “Coming in and beating an undefeated, younger (man) … Volkanovski is incredible.”
Yan beats Dvalishvili in co-main event
In the co-main event, Petr Yan kept the bantamweight title with a unanimous decision over Merab Dvalishvili, with all three judges scoring it 48-47, according to the UFC’s official scorecards. It was the third fight between the pair.
How the other Australians fared
Colby Thicknesse beat Asaf Chopurov by split decision on the prelims. Jacob Malkoun lost a unanimous decision to Abubakar Vagaev, and Cam Rowston was submitted by a first-round guillotine from Abus Magomedov.
Read more: Volkanovski vs Evloev at UFC 333, Card and Aussie Start Time
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