UFC 333 was headlined by two incredible title fights where both champions retained their belts. In the main event, Alexander Volkanovski kept his UFC featherweight title on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, stopping Movsar Evloev by TKO at 4:54 of Round 2.
The 38-year-old Australian improved to 29-4 and handed the 32-year-old Evloev his first loss in 11 UFC appearances, dropping the Russian to 20-1. Referee Marc Goddard waved off the fight with only six seconds left in the round.
UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett has since criticized how Evloev handled those closing moments, claiming he quit instead of trying to survive the clock.
Paddy Pimblett Says Movsar Evloev Gave Up in the Final Seconds
Evloev tried using his wrestling early on and scored some takedowns in the first round. But “The Great” got right back up every single time and picked him apart on the feet. Even though the champion got a cut and some swelling under his left eye, he just kept landing hard shots.
In the second round, Volkanovski rocked Evloev with a massive right hand. He followed it up with a flurry that dropped the challenger to the mat and then unloaded heavy ground-and-pound from the top until Marc Goddard stepped in.
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With this victory, Volkanovski officially tied the legendary Jose Aldo for the most featherweight title wins in UFC history. After watching the clip of the ending sequence, Pimblett doubled down on his accusation.
He said, “Movsar quit there for me, like. Just rolled over. When there’s five seconds left, you just got to keep moving… you can’t start just covering up.”
Paddy Pimblett criticizes Movsar Evloev, believes he quit in late finish against Alexander Volkanovski😬
“Movsar quit there for me, like. Just rolled over. When there’s five seconds left, you just got to keep moving… you can’t start just covering up.”
Via: @PaddyTheBaddy https://t.co/QI0zBHpZLH
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) October 25, 2026
But after the loss, Movsar Evloev kept it classy and admitted that it simply wasn’t his night. In a statement posted to X, he wrote, “Alhamdulillah for everything. Today wasn’t my day. Everything is written by Allah, and I accept whatever He has planned for me. Congratulations to Volk. He was the better man today. Thank you to the UFC for giving me the opportunity to fight for the title, and to all my fans.”
Alhamdulillah for everything. Today wasn’t my day. Everything is written by Allah, and I accept whatever He has planned for me.
Congratulations to Volk. He was the better man today. Thank you to the UFC for giving me the opportunity to fight for the title, and to all my fans
— Movsar Evloev (@MovsarUFC) October 25, 2026
While Pimblett thinks Evloev just gave up, the replay shows the challenger was badly injured and absorbing completely unanswered punches to the head. Referees in the promotion are trained to stop the fight when a fighter is no longer intelligently defending themselves, no matter how little time is left on the clock.
But Pimblett’s comments added extra drama to a fight that “The Great” had already completely decided.
