Paddy Pimblett says Movsar Evloev quit in his UFC 333 title loss to Alexander Volkanovski

Paddy Pimblett has given a blunt verdict on Movsar Evloev's first professional defeat: in Pimblett's view, Evloev quit once Alexander Volkanovski hurt him in the UFC 333 main event.

Volkanovski retained the featherweight title on Saturday, October 24, 2026, stopping Evloev by TKO in round 2 at 4:54 — with six seconds left in the round. Evloev, who had built his title run on relentless wrestling, lost his undefeated record and fell to 20-1.

Pimblett was watching the fight in a live reaction video, and his reaction to the finish was immediate.

"He's hurt, he cut him there, he's bleeding," Pimblett said. "It's over, boom. Volk gets the finish. Evloev quit there, for me. Just rolled over."

"When there's five seconds left, you've got to keep moving so the fight stays on. You can't start just covering up."

That is Pimblett's opinion, not an official finding. Nothing in the result — a TKO stoppage, not a submission or a referee ruling on quitting — says Evloev gave up, and Evloev praised Volkanovski in his post-fight interview. Pimblett's charge is about what he saw in the closing seconds: a hurt challenger covering up, in his view, instead of moving to keep the fight alive until the bell.

How Pimblett saw round 2 turn

Pimblett had called the stylistic problem before the fight: Evloev's route to victory was takedown and control, but that is very hard to do to Volkanovski, so Evloev might be forced to strike — and Volkanovski, in Pimblett's view, is a much better striker.

In round 1, Evloev went to his wrestling, and in the eyes of many he edged the round. Volkanovski stayed out of trouble, then pulled away in the second.

"Volk's landing a lot more now," Pimblett said. "That overhand is working for him. Right behind the ear. That left hook landed there. Volk took over this round. The first round was close, but Volk took over."

"It's the feints with Volk. That's why he's landing, because of all the feints. Making him think he's going to throw something all the time, so when he actually does throw, he doesn't see it coming."

All 10 of Evloev's UFC wins had come by decision, including victories over Lerone Murphy, Aljamain Sterling, Arnold Allen and Diego Lopes. At UFC 333, the grinding route that had carried him to the title shot did not hold up once Volkanovski adjusted on the feet.

Volkanovski has pushed back on the criticism

Volkanovski himself has defended Evloev since the loss, and his version of events is very different from Pimblett's. The champion said the Evloev he beat would "walk through" anyone else in the division, that he himself is a nightmare matchup for Evloev, and that Evloev's next fight will be his best performance to date.

"Watch his next fight. It'll be his best performance to date," Volkanovski said.

Other fighters and pundits have also questioned whether Evloev quit on himself, including Evloev's teammate Dustin Poirier, who said Evloev must have been hurt not to fight back. That, too, is criticism and speculation, not a settled account of what happened in the final seconds.

What is settled is the result and the question it leaves behind. Evloev's first loss ends an unbeaten run built on control and durability. Whether he returns to the title picture will depend, in large part, on whether he can answer the criticism that followed this finish — starting with the version of events Pimblett laid out in real time: hurt, cut, bleeding, and, in Pimblett's words, rolled over.