Volkanovski stops unbeaten Evloev in round 2 to keep his title

Alexander Volkanovski is still the featherweight champion. In the main event of UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, he stopped Movsar Evloev in the second round, handing the Russian the first loss of his career.

Evloev came in 20-0 and had never been finished. He had won every one of his UFC fights on the scorecards. Volkanovski needed less than two rounds.

ROUND 1

Volkanovski landed the cleaner shots from the start: sharp right hands and a hard left hook late in the round. Evloev came on in the closing minutes with takedown attempts and body punches, but the round belonged to the champion.

ROUND 2

Evloev landed a hard punch early and went for the takedown again. This time Volkanovski reversed it and ended up on top. Back on the feet, he dropped Evloev with a right hand, stunned him with another, and hurt him with a left hook. He followed him to the ground with strikes until the referee stepped in.

WHAT IT MEANS

The bookmakers had this fight at 50-50. Instead it was one of the best performances of Volkanovski's career. At 38, the Australian keeps proving the doubters wrong in his second reign as champion. Before the fight, he said he wanted a superfight with Justin Gaethje if he won.

For Evloev, it's back to the drawing board after the biggest night of his career.