Volkanovski Hands Evloev His First Loss and Breaks Aldo's Featherweight Record at UFC 333

By The Arena Staff

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 24, 2026 — Movsar Evloev had never lost a professional fight. He had the better of the first round against Alexander Volkanovski, too. Then the 38-year-old champion found his range, and Evloev's perfect record was gone with six seconds left in the second.

Volkanovski kept the UFC featherweight title with a TKO at 4:54 of the second round at UFC 333 on Saturday at Etihad Arena, UFC.com reported. It was his ninth win in a featherweight title fight, a division record that moves him past Jose Aldo's eight, according to BBC Sport and UFC.com.

Evloev came in unbeaten, and he started well. ESPN's round-by-round scoring gave the first round to the challenger, who landed three takedowns in the opening five minutes. BBC Sport noted Evloev finished the round ahead in significant strikes and takedowns.

The second round turned early, when Volkanovski clipped Evloev and sent him briefly to the canvas, BBC Sport reported. In the final minute, a clean shot made Evloev turn away as he backed out, and the champion tracked him down, put him on the canvas and finished it with punches from top position, according to UFC.com and BBC Sport. Referee Marc Goddard stepped in, the BBC said.

"He's a great fighter, and he was undefeated for a reason. I just said I'm the right guy for that job," Volkanovski said, according to the BBC. He also left the door open to fighting on. "I said if I didn't take too much damage, we'd probably keep going. So maybe we keep going."

Volkanovski lost the belt to Ilia Topuria in February 2024. This was his second successful defense since he regained the vacant title last April, BBC Sport reported.

Evloev, 32, was gracious about it. "He's like good wine - older, stronger, better. He's a true legend," he said, according to the BBC. "I didn't prove that I am the best. I'm not there yet."

The co-main event did not produce a new champion either. Petr Yan beat Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision, 48-47 on all three cards, in the third fight of their rivalry, according to the UFC's official scorecards. Dvalishvili pushed a relentless pace and kept Yan on the defensive through the first two rounds, UFC.com reported, before Yan found his rhythm in the third. BBC Sport said a liver kick in the final minute of the third swung the fight, and that Yan is the first fighter to beat Dvalishvili twice in a row.

Earlier on the main card, Lone'er Kavanagh stopped Ramazan Temirov in the first round, Alexander Volkov won a decision over Rizvan Kuniev on his 38th birthday, and Aaron Pico stopped Losene Keita in 74 seconds, UFC.com reported.

Share-card photo: Alexander Volkanovski in 2021, by NAPARAZZI via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.