VOLKANOVSKI PROMISES A WILD FINISH AT UFC 333: "EVLOEV CAN'T OUTGRAPPLE ME FOR 25 MINUTES"
“I'll finish him inside the five rounds for sure.”
The featherweight champion opened fight week in Abu Dhabi by telling the undefeated challenger his five-round plan will not work — and promising the best Volk anyone has ever seen.
Alexander Volkanovski is not planning to survive Movsar Evloev at UFC 333. He is planning to finish him.
The featherweight champion doubled down on his fight-week warning Sunday in Abu Dhabi, telling MMA Junkie there is "no way" the undefeated challenger can outwork him over five rounds in Saturday's main event at Etihad Arena — and promising to end the argument early.
"I think I get my hand raised, and I think I can do it in pretty wild fashion," Volkanovski said. "I believe I can get a finish. I think I can do it inside the five. He's saying maybe he wants to win the decision. I'm saying I'll finish him inside the five rounds for sure."
Evloev (20-0) opened the exchange on Friday, saying he wants to dominate the champion for the full 25 minutes and would not be upset if the finish never comes. Volkanovski's answer: that game plan plays directly into his hands — because the grappling road Evloev has taken against everyone else does not exist against him.
"Trying to out grapple me for 25 minutes, I can't see it," Volkanovski said. "I believe the only chance any of these guys have — and it isn't just him, any of them — is for them to catch me."
The numbers say Evloev will try anyway. The 32-year-old Russian has landed 52 takedowns across his 10 UFC appearances, grinding his way to the title shot without a single loss. Volkanovski, the oldest champion on the UFC roster at 38, insists the fight will be forced to stay on the feet — where he rates himself far superior, even while crediting Evloev as a calculated, awkward threat standing.
"I want him to bring his best game," Volkanovski said. "However he thinks he can win, come and do it."
The champion also addressed the question that follows him into every fight now: how much time is left. He admitted he would likely retire if things went "horribly wrong" on Saturday, but made clear that is not the performance he expects to give.
"There's no plans to retire, but we're not going to be silly and act delusional like I've got another 10 fights left in me," he said. "Maybe a few more, though. Maybe a couple. We'll see."
What he expects instead is a statement — the kind people talk about afterward.
"A lot of people are going to go say after this fight, 'Is that the best Volk we've ever seen?' I truly do believe that."
UFC 333 takes place Saturday, October 24 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, with Volkanovski vs. Evloev for the featherweight title in the main event and Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili 3 for the bantamweight title in the co-main event.
