Volkanovski TKOs Evloev in Round 2 to retain UFC featherweight title

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski turned back the clock once again, scoring a brutal finish of Movsar Evloev to retain the title in the UFC 333 main event.

The TKO stoppage came at the 4:54 mark of the second round Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Volkanovski wobbled Evloev with two huge punches before getting on top and finishing him with ground-and-pound in the final seconds of the round.

Volkanovski handed Evloev the first loss of his professional career, with Evloev falling to 20-1.

"He's a great fighter," Volkanovski said of Evloev in his postfight interview. "He was undefeated for a reason. I just said I'm the right guy for that job. Nothing but respect to him. But yeah, it feels good to get a finish."

With the victory, Volkanovski surpassed Jose Aldo for the most title-fight wins in UFC featherweight history (nine). He's also tied with Aldo for the most successful title defenses in division history (seven).

Volkanovski has defended the belt twice since reclaiming the belt in a vacant title bout against Diego Lopes at UFC 314 in April 2025. The 38-year-old Australian was coming off a unanimous decision victory in a rematch with Lopes at UFC 325 in January.

Volkanovski's first title reign lasted from December 2019 to February 2024, when Ilia Topuria knocked him out in the second round at UFC 298. But Topuria vacated the belt less than a year later to move up to the lightweight division, paving the way for Volkanovski to become the champion again.

Volkanovski, widely considered one of the greatest fighters of all time, hinted that he will likely return to the Octagon after his latest victory.

"I said if I didn't take too much damage we'll probably keep going, so maybe we keep going," Volkanovski said.

Evloev earned a title shot with a majority-decision win over Lerone Murphy at UFC London in March. The 32-year-old Russian now sits at 10-1 in the Octagon.