Alexander Volkanovski made good on his promise of an early finish to beat Movsar Evloev inside two rounds in Abu Dhabi to cement his place as the greatest featherweight in UFC history.
The Australian had promised his wife Emma that he would not make her suffer on the sidelines at UFC 333 by finishing Evloev early as a belated anniversary present, and he was as good as his word.
Evloev, an elite wrestler, took Volkanovski down three times in the first round, but each time the champion was quickly back to his feet.
An uppercut and a straight left rocked Evloev in the second. The Russian went to ground, and Volkanovski didn't waste the opportunity, pummeling his opponent with vicious ground-and-pound to finish the fight.
The victory meant Volkanovski, 38, surpassed Jose Aldo for the most title wins in the featherweight division with nine wins.
Petr Yan settled his trilogy bout with Merab Dvalishvili with a unanimous victory at UFC 333 to retain the bantamweight title as Abu Dhabi witnesses a fight-of-the-year contender.
The champion took his time to get going, constantly defending the relentless Georgian's takedown attempts through the first two rounds.
A kick to the liver in Round 3 changed the momentum of the contest in the champion's favour. From there on, Yan picked off Dvalishvili at will, patted off ineffective takedowns and connected with combinations that had the challenger wincing.
Dvalishvili simply had no answer to Yan's superior striking, and Yan settled their trilogy with his second win over the Georgian after dethroning him for the title back in December.
Lone’er Kavanagh gave Ramazan Temirov a taste of his own medicine with a sensational first-round finish.
The English flyweight caught the Uzbek with a beautiful left uppercut that sent Termirov reeling. Kavanagh waited for his opponent to get back to his feet before wading in with several crunching blows, after which the referee stepped in.
Alexander Volkov picked up the 41st win of his pro MMA career with a unanimous decision over Rizvan Kuniev.
The giant Russian heavyweight, celebrating his 38th birthday, controlled the distance and landed some punishing kicks throughout the three-round contest.
Volkov, 38, repeated his request to Dana White for a title shot. It remains to be seen whether the UFC president grants his request after next month’s title fight between champion Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit.
Aaron Pico kicked off the main card with a first-round stoppage of Losene Keita.
The American featherweight had the Belgian in trouble with an early takedown before rocking him with a right hand that sent Keita to the canvas.
Pico pounced, peppering his opponent with pot shots before the referee waved off the fight.
