Father Time might be undefeated, but Alexander Volkanovski is giving him a serious run for his money.
Volkanovski (29-4) defended his featherweight title for the second time this year Saturday, knocking out undefeated challenger Movsar Evloev (20-1) at 4:54 of the second round at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. The finish came after Volkanovski dropped Evloev with a left hook-right cross combination, and then rained down unanswered strikes on the ground.
Volkanovski, 38, had said he would retire Saturday if he took too much damage from his 32-year-old opponent. Instead, Volkanovski picked up his first finish since July 2023, and continued to cement himself as the greatest UFC featherweight of all time.
"He's a great fighter; he was undefeated for a reason," Volkanovski said. "I'm just the right guy for that job. I choose to do this. I said if I didn't take too much damage, we'd probably keep going. So, maybe we'll keep going."
Evloev, of Russia, went into the bout as arguably the most decorated title challenger in featherweight history. Since he signed with the UFC in 2019, Evloev was 10-0 with notable wins over former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and Diego Lopes. Evloev fought competitively with Volkanovski in the opening round, but offered little resistance once Volkanovski visibly hurt him late in the second.
"It was a terrible fight," Evloev said. "He's like a good win: older, stronger, better. He's truly a legend. I didn't prove I'm the best in the world. Maybe I'll try again. Alex is a great champion, and I'm glad to share the cage with him. It's better to lose to a guy like him."
Evloev had some success with takedowns early, but failed to control Volkanovski on the floor. Evloev landed some heavy shots from the clinch, but Volkanovski was more active and put Evloev on his back foot in the second frame. According to UFC Stats, Volkanovski outlanded Evloev in total strikes 45-37.
"He was the one aggressively really going after the finish," UFC CEO Dana White said. "This guy is f---ing built different."
In 2025, Volkanovski became the first fighter older than 35 to win a UFC belt in a weight class under 170 pounds. He has now defended that title twice. He has proposed a "send-off" lightweight title fight against Justin Gaethje, who won the 155-pound belt at age 37 in June against Ilia Topuria.
