Paddy Pimblett says Evloev quit against Volkanovski
The Liverpool lightweight says Evloev stopped moving with seconds left in round two and gave the referee a reason to stop UFC 333
Paddy Pimblett, the UFC lightweight from Liverpool, says Movsar Evloev quit in his title fight against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 333. Pimblett made the comments in a video on his YouTube channel, reported on Monday, two days after Volkanovski kept the featherweight belt in Abu Dhabi.
Volkanovski stopped Evloev by TKO at 4:54 of the second round in Saturday’s main event at Etihad Arena. It was the first loss of Evloev’s career, after a 20-0 start.
What Pimblett said about Evloev
For Pimblett, the problem came in the final seconds of the round. With Volkanovski on top raining down punches, Evloev covered up and stopped fighting back, and the referee waved it off with six seconds left in the frame.
“Evloev quit there for me, like. Just rolled over,” Pimblett said, according to Sherdog.
“When there’s five seconds left, you just gotta keep moving so the fight stays on. You can’t start just covering up,” he added.
The stoppage with six seconds left
Pimblett’s take touches on a debate that always splits fans. In MMA, referees stop a fight when a fighter is no longer intelligently defending himself, and shelling up on the bottom without trying to escape is usually the cue.
From the fighter’s side, it looks different. Evloev had just been dropped by a combination of rights and lefts against the fence, as VF Comunica reported in Volkanovski stops Evloev at UFC 333, passes Jose Aldo record. Getting out of that spot takes strength and a clear head, and he may have had little of either left.
Pimblett’s point is that experience matters in those moments. Evloev had never been in that kind of trouble in the UFC, where all ten of his previous wins came by decision.
What Evloev said after the loss
Evloev has not answered Pimblett directly. On Sunday, he posted a message on X accepting the result. “Today wasn’t my day,” he wrote, also thanking the UFC for the title shot.
He also praised the champion. “Congratulations to Volk. He was the better man today,” Evloev wrote, without mentioning the stoppage.
The loss also brought back Jose Aldo’s criticism. Four days before the fight, the former Brazilian champion said he would cut Evloev after his first loss because of his low-action style, as we covered in Jose Aldo would cut unbeaten Evloev after his first UFC loss.
The featherweight picture after UFC 333
Volkanovski, 38, now has nine wins in UFC featherweight title fights, passing Aldo’s eight. During fight week, he promised to finish the unbeaten Evloev before the end of five rounds, and he delivered.
Now the champion weighs his next move. In recent weeks, Volkanovski has pitched a superfight with Justin Gaethje for the lightweight title, Pimblett’s division, and after UFC 333 he signaled he plans to keep fighting.
Do you agree with Paddy Pimblett? Did Evloev quit in the final seconds, or was the stoppage the natural result of the beating he took from Volkanovski? Tell us in the comments.
Read more:
- Volkanovski stops Evloev at UFC 333, passes Jose Aldo record
- Jose Aldo would cut unbeaten Evloev after his first UFC loss
- Volkanovski pitches Gaethje superfight for lightweight title
