ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Alexander Volkanovski stopped previously unbeaten Movsar Evloev at 4:54 of the second round Saturday to retain his featherweight championship at UFC 333.
asserted
Volkanovski → stop → UFC
The 38-year-old Australian overwhelmed Evloev with punches late in the round, sending the challenger to the canvas before the referee intervened with 6 seconds remaining.
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referee → overwhelm → seconds
Volkanovski (29-4) earned his ninth UFC featherweight title-fight win, tying Jose Aldo for the most in division history.
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Volkanovski → earn → history
Evloev (20-1) lost for the first time in 11 UFC appearances.
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Evloev → lose → appearances
“I’m just glad that I had a No. 1 contender to fight, a clear one,” Volkanovski said.
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Volkanovski → ’m → contender
Already the oldest fighter to win and defend the UFC featherweight championship, Volkanovski extended his success during his second reign atop the division.
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Volkanovski → win → division
He improved to 16-3 in UFC, with all six of his stoppage victories coming by knockout or technical knockout.
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six → improve → knockout
Despite giving up size to the challenger, Volkanovski pressed the action early and repeatedly regained his footing after first-round takedowns.
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Volkanovski → give → takedowns
Evloev struggled to turn those opportunities into sustained control.
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Evloev → struggle → control
Volkanovski developed swelling and a cut beneath his left eye but continued finding openings with his punches.
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Volkanovski → develop → punches
A right hand staggered Evloev in the second round, and Volkanovski followed with a barrage that left the challenger covering up on the canvas.
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that → stagger → canvas
Evloev won each of his first 10 UFC appearances by decision, becoming the first fighter in promotion history to start his career with that many decision wins.
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Evloev → win → wins
Afterward, Volkanovski welcomed more challengers in the division and said he wanted to keep competing.
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he → welcome → division
“You got a lot of these guys that are trying to get that No. 1 spot,” Volkanovski said.
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Volkanovski → got → spot
“They’re pushing for it, and that’s what I like to see.”
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I → push → what
Yan beats Dvalishvili to retain bantamweight title
In the co-main event, Petr Yan retained his bantamweight title with a unanimous decision over No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili.
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Yan → beat → Dvalishvili
Yan (21-5) turned back the former champion, who fell to 21-6.
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who → turn → 21
Dvalishvili entered with a UFC-record 119 takedowns, including a title-fight record 20 against Cory Sandhagen.
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Dvalishvili → enter → Sandhagen
Sixth-ranked flyweight Lone’er Kavanagh (11-2) stopped No. 10 Ramazan Temirov (20-3) at 4:28 of the first round.
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Kavanagh → rank → round
Kavanagh caught the advancing Temirov with a left uppercut, then followed with a flurry of punches to finish the bout.
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Kavanagh → catch → bout
Temirov suffered his first UFC loss after winning his first three appearances with the promotion.
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Temirov → suffer → promotion
Second-ranked heavyweight Alexander Volkov (41-11) celebrated his 38th birthday with a unanimous decision over No. 7 Rizvan Kuniev (15-4-1, one no-contest), then pleaded for a championship opportunity.
“What should I do to get a title shot?
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I → rank → shot
Answer me, please,” Volkov said.
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Volkov → answer → me
The former Bellator heavyweight champion earned his 15th victory in 20 UFC appearances.
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champion → earn → appearances
In a featherweight bout, No. 11 Aaron Pico (15-5) stopped Losene Keita (17-3) at 1:14 of the first round.
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Pico → stop → round
Pico dropped Keita with a straight right hand before finishing him with a flurry of punches.
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Pico → drop → punches
The Aporia
