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Robert Whittaker proved doubters wrong in light heavyweight debut at UFC 329: "I think I silenced those guys"

Published

3 months ago

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Robert Whittaker proved doubters wrong in light heavyweight debut at UFC 329: "I think I silenced those guys"

Robert Whittaker believes he proved the naysayers wrong following his successful light heavyweight debut.

Whittaker is a former UFC Middleweight Champion, and he's had a slew of career-defining moments at 185 pounds. At the age of 35 and with his fighting run winding down, Whittaker wanted to challenge himself at 205 pounds. He got his wish at UFC 329 this past Saturday, taking on Nikita Krylov.

Krylov was ranked No. 12 in the light heavyweight division by the media panel prior to UFC 329. Whittaker shined in his 205-pound debut, stopping Krylov in the third round via TKO. Whittaker spoke to reporters during his media scrum after handing Krylov his third loss in four outings, and he thinks he put doubt about his viability at light heavyweight to rest.

“I wanted someone ranked out of the gate,†Whittaker said. “I think a lot of questions have been answered. I feel like there was a lot of doubters out there. There were a lot of people that had questions. A lot of people wanted to see what the transition looked like, me going up. So, I think I silenced those guys and put my case forth.â€

This was Whittaker's first win since June 2024. It was a solid bounce back for “The Reaper,†who had lost his previous two bouts. Whittaker was submitted by Khamzat Chimaev and then dropped a split decision to Reinier de Ridder before meeting Krylov.

Prior to UFC 329, Whittaker said he felt that the move to 205 pounds has extended his career. Even so, Whittaker doesn't plan on sticking around the fight game as a competitor when he hits his 40s. How far “Bobby Knuckles†can go in the weight class before ultimately walking away will be interesting to follow.

Who is the best opponent for Robert Whittaker at light heavyweight? Name your pick in the comments below.

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MMA

Alexander Volkanovski explains why he’s a ‘nightmare matchup’ for Movsar Evloev

Published

8 hours ago

on

October 24, 2026

By

Alexander Volkanovski explains why he’s a ‘nightmare matchup’ for Movsar Evloev
Alexander
Volkanovski is confident he'll become the first fighter to
defeat Movsar
Evloev.

Volkanovski (28-4) will defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title against
Evloev (20-0) at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The champion
believes he presents a “nightmare†stylistic matchup for the
unbeaten Russian.

Alexander Volkanovski explains why Movsar Evloev’s grappling
may fail him in UFC 333 title fight

Ahead of their title clash, Volkanovski explained that Evloev
relies on his wrestling to escape difficult situations. The
Australian champion believes his own grappling skills will deny the
challenger that fallback option.

“I think it just doesn't end well for him,†Volkanovski said in a
pre-fight interview. “I don't mean it in any bad way. I just think
I'm the guy to take that zero from him. He's got incredible skill.
He is very effective with what he does… Every time he's had
problems, he could rely on that wrestling and grappling to get him
out of trouble. And you’ve got to respect that skill. But that
doesn't work with me. That's not a get out of jail free card with
me. When you're panicking, when you're freaking out, you don't get
to just grab hold of me and hang on to a leg or anything like that…
I just think that I'm a bit of a nightmare matchup for him.â€

Volkanovski has demonstrated his defensive wrestling in previous
appearances, including his competitive first bout against Islam
Makhachev, who tops the UFC's men's pound-for-pound rankings.
He has never been submitted in 32 professional fights.

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MMA

Alexander Volkanovski stops Movsar Evloev with barrage of shots to defend title in UFC 333 main event

Published

10 hours ago

on

October 24, 2026

By

Alexander Volkanovski stops Movsar Evloev with barrage of shots to defend title in UFC 333 main event

Alexander Volkanovski is still the greatest after his latest title defense as he ended Movsar Evloev's undefeated run with a second-round stoppage in the UFC 333 main event.

As usual, Volkanovski showed off tremendous takedown defense and immaculate striking as he picked Evloev apart on the feet. Finally in the second round, Volkanovski put together a combination of punches that put Evloev down and the Australian finished with a barrage of shots on the ground.

The end came at 4:54 in the second round.

“He's a great figher,†Volkanovski said after his latest title defefnse. “He was undefeated for a reason but I just said I'm the right guy for that job. I knew the ref would have to stop it when he covered up like that.

“I'm choosing to do this. I said if I didn't take too much damage, we probably keep going so maybe we keep going. I feel the love and it's paid off now. The love around the world is incredible.â€

After tasting defeat for the first time, Evloev was understandably upset but he paid homage to Volkanovski on a job well done.

“It was a terrible fight,†Evloev said. “He's a good one. Older, stronger, better, he's truly a legend. I'm grateful for this opportunity to be here. Alex, great champion, I'm happy to be here to share the cage with him.â€

Volkanovski started fast with a series of inside leg kicks and then peppering Evloev with a series of stiff jabs. Evloev then exploded forward with a takedown but Volkanovski bounced back up almost immediately.

Volkanovski continued with his forward pressure before countering another takedown as kept working on the feet. Evloev was undeterred though, as he kept battling to drag the champion to the ground.

Evloev grabbed onto the body lock to open round two and literally dragged Volkanovski to the canvas but the champion reversed positions to land on top. From there, Volkanovski laned some ground and pound before Evloev escaped back to his feet.

Volkanovski then uncorked a well-timed overhand right that seemingly wobbled Evloev momentarily.

Late in the round, Volkanovski connected with a nasty combination of punches that had Evloev turning away to avoid the damage as a cut opened up on the head.

Evloev eventually faded as he fell to the ground following a blistering left hand from Volkanovski and the champion took full advantage of the opening. With Evloev hurt, Volkanovski just unleashed a barrage of shots to finish the fight.

That makes three straight wins for Volkanovski in championship fights and his seond straight title defense since reclaiming the featherweight belt. He obviously indicated that he plans to continue fighting and it's soon going to be difficult not to declare Volkanovski as the greatest featherweight of all-time, if he hasn't already taken that crown.

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MMA

UFC 333 ‘Volkanovski vs. Evloev’ play-by-play, results & round scoring

Published

20 hours ago

on

October 24, 2026

By

UFC 333 ‘Volkanovski vs. Evloev’ play-by-play, results & round scoring

Sherdog’s live
UFC 333 “Volkanovski vs. Evloev†coverage will begin Saturday
at 10 a.m. ET.

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 4

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 5

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

Round 1

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 2

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 3

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 4

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

Round 5

Sherdog Scores

Brian Knapp scores the round:
Tyler Treese scores the round:
Mike Sloan scores the round:

The Official Result

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