Volkanovski Stops Evloev to Retain UFC Featherweight Title

Alexander Volkanovski retained the UFC featherweight championship on October 24, stopping Movsar Evloev by TKO at 4:54 of the second round in the main event of UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. The official result listed the finish as a TKO by punches. A live account described Volkanovski rocking Evloev with punches before finishing him with ground strikes. The victory ended Evloev’s unbeaten run and secured Volkanovski’s title defense. The fighters exchanged kicks and punches early in the first round. Evloev scored takedowns, but Volkanovski returned to his feet each time, according to the live account. Volkanovski pressed forward with punches as the round ended. In the second, Evloev landed right hands and briefly took Volkanovski’s back during a scramble. Volkanovski reversed position, landed a hard punch and then connected with a combination that sent Evloev covering up. He followed with ground strikes until the referee stopped the fight. The matchup pitted the champion’s striking against the wrestling and grappling of Evloev, who entered the bout undefeated and was making his first UFC title challenge. Before the fight, Evloev had most recently beaten Lerone Murphy by majority...