MMA

Superlek seeks redemption in Abdulla Dayakaev rematch at The Inner Circle 25

Published

3 months ago

August 4, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Superlek seeks redemption in Abdulla Dayakaev rematch at The Inner Circle 25

ONE Championship

A razor-thin defeat still needs an answer, and this Friday is when it finally comes for one of the sport's most respected veterans.

Superlek meets Abdulla Dayakaev in a bantamweight Muay Thai rematch at The Inner Circle 25 this Friday, August 7, inside Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium.

Their first meeting at The Inner Circle 14 this past May ended in a hotly debated split decision for Dayakaev. He dropped Superlek with a first-round right hand before absorbing a furious two-round comeback built on low kicks and clinch work. Two of the three judges sided with the Russian. However, the result left plenty of room for disagreement across the sport.

â€œMy plan went out the window early when I got caught by a solid punch,â€ Superlek said. â€œOnce I took that hit, I was forced to chase the fight and make up ground, but I barely remember most of what happened after that.

â€œI was planning to pace myself and fight calculated, not expecting to get caught like that, but I made a mistake and took the hit.â€

Superlek needs a statement in bantamweight rematch

Superlek now carries an uncharacteristic three-fight losing skid into Friday. He lost his bantamweight Muay Thai title for missing weight and dropped a loss to Yuki Yoza in kickboxing. His ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title remains the only gold he still holds. It's a rare stretch of adversity for a fighter with more than 170 professional bouts to his name.

A win over Dayakaev would go a long way toward restoring his place in the bantamweight title conversation. He built his training camp around correcting the tactical lapses that opened the door for Dayakaev the first time around.

â€œThis fight will definitely not end the same way,â€ he said. â€œI am 100 percent confident that I will avenge my loss and beat Abdulla this time.

â€œOur first fight was great, but this one will be completely different. You said your goal is to knock me out, but I have the weapons to knock you out too, and I promise you, I'm not going down!â€

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

MMA

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

Published

11 hours ago

October 24, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

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 â€œnightmareâ€ 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.

â€œI think it just doesn't end well for him,â€ Volkanovski said in a
pre-fight interview. â€œI 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 doesâ€¦ 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 thatâ€¦
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.

“I am a nightmare matchup for him.” Champ
Alexander
Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) details why he’ll be the first
one to defeat Movsar
Evloev and what it will mean for his legacy. @VisitAbuDhabi |
@InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi | @ParamountPlus
https://t.co/IckD8pQ9EY

â€” UFC News (@UFCNews)
October 21, 2026

MMA

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

Published

13 hours ago

October 24, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

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.

â€œHe's a great figher,â€ Volkanovski said after his latest title defefnse. â€œHe 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.

â€œI'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.

â€œIt was a terrible fight,â€ Evloev said. â€œHe'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.