Movsar Evloev experienced defeat for the first time in the UFC 333 main event.
Evloev (20-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) saw his perfect MMA run come to an end Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi when he suffered a second-round TKO loss to Alexander Volkanovski (29-4 MMA, 16-3 UFC) in their featherweight championship bout.
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Although disappointed, Evloev acknowledged “The Great” for his performance and for getting the stoppage via strikes.
“It was a terrible fight,” Evloev told Daniel Cormier in the octagon after the UFC 333 headliner. “He’s like good wine. Older, stronger, better. He’s truly a legend. He’s still good and I’m grateful for this opportunity to be here. This is great land, and I love my brothers here. Thank you, Abu Dhabi.”
The 32-year-old, who made his professional debut in November 2014, had to rack up double-digit UFC wins in order to get himself in position to challenge for gold. Now he will face an unfamiliar situation of trying to come back from adversity.
“I didn’t prove that I’m the best,” Evloev said. “I’m not yet. Maybe we’ll try again. I need to go home, take some rest and recovery my injuries. But like I said, Alex is a great champion, and I’m glad to be here to share the cage with him. Better to lose to the guy like him than to somebody who is not good like him. Thank you.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Movsar Evloev offers no excuses after UFC 333 loss to Alexander Volkanovski
