Movsar Evloev Shares First Statement After UFC 333 Loss to Alexander Volkanovski

It didn’t take long for Movsar Evloev to address fans after falling short against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 333.

Taking place at the Eithad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UFC 333 featured a total of 14 fights and a stacked main card featuring two highly-anticipated title bouts.

After Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili closed out their rivalry with another “Fight of the Night”-winning scrap in the co-main event, Alexander Volkanovski secured the second title defense of his second featherweight title reign when he stopped Movsar Evloev in the waning second of the second round.

Movsar Evloev Releases First Statement After UFC 333 Loss

The result marked one of the most impressive wins of Volkanovski’s already Hall of Fame-worthy career, as Evloev entered the night with a perfect 20-0 record that included 10 victories in the UFC.

Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) reacts after defeating Diego Lopes (not pictured) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Perhaps because all ten of those fights went the distance, Evloev struggled to convince the UFC matchmakers that he was worthy of a title shot until he took a majority decision over the formerly-undefeated Lerone Murphy in the main event of UFC London in March.

Movsar Evloev (red gloves) fights Lerone Murphy (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After suffering the first loss of his professional MMA career, the 32-year-old appears to be taking things in stride and also made sure to congratulate Volkanovski on his victory.

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

“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”

Is Alexander Volkanovski the GOAT of the Featherweight Division?

Although he was already squarely in the conversation following his first reign with the UFC featherweight belt, Volkanovski’s latest victory encouraged many fans to declare him the GOAT of the featherweight division immediately following UFC 333.

An undefeated run to begin his UFC career saw Volkanovski claim the featherweight belt from fellow divisional great Max Holloway in 2019 before defending it four times, finally suffering his first UFC loss when he moved up in weight to challenge Islam Makhachev at UFC 284.

Islam Makhachev (red gloves) fights Alexander Volkanovski (blue gloves) during UFC 284 at RAC Arena. | USA TODAY Sports

“The Great” defended the featherweight title once more against interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez before back-to-back losses to Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, and that latter fight marks the only time that Volkanovski has tasted defeat at 145 lbs.

Alexander Volkanovski Teased Justin Gaethje Superfight Before UFC 333

After Topuria vacated the featherweight belt to move up to lightweight, Volkanovski bested Diego Lopes in a fight for the vacant strap and also took a unanimous decision over Lopes in their rematch to set up his meeting with Evloev at UFC 333.

Justin Gaethje (blue gloves) celebrates after winning the UFC Freedom 250 fight against Ilia Topuria (not pictured) at the White House South Lawn. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Seven title defenses across two separate title reigns is already a massively impressive achievement for Volkanovski, and ahead of UFC 333 the 38-year-old suggested he might be interested in moving back up to lightweight again in the future to challenge reigning titleholder Justin Gaethje.

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