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Valter Walker unfazed by own submission record in UFC, celebrates Fabricio Werdum as heavyweight GOAT

Published

3 months ago

on

Valter Walker unfazed by own submission record in UFC, celebrates Fabricio Werdum as heavyweight GOAT

Valter Walker joined Demian Maia as the only men to score five submissions in a row in the modern era of the UFC, but won't get too cocky about his accomplishments. Instead, he looks at another jiu-jitsu star as inspiration as he attempts to climb the heavyweight rankings.

Walter tapped out Junior Tafa, Don'Tale Mayes, Kennedy Nzechukwu, Louie Sutherland and Thomas Petersen in his past five bouts, tying Maia's five straight submissions between 2007 and 2009 against Ryan Jensen, Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, Nate Quarry and Chael Sonnen.

When asked about that record run after his recent victory at UFC Abu Dhabi, Walker didn't celebrate.

“For me, it's not about how many submissions you have, but who you submitted,†Walker told MMA Fighting. “You didn't mention his name, but I will. To me, the best of them all is [Fabricio] Werdum because it's about who Werdum submitted, not how many submissions he has. Werdum submitted Fedor Emelianenko, he submitted Cain Velasquez. So, to me, Werdum is the greatest heavyweight of all time.â€

Werdum, a former UFC heavyweight champion, won a third of his octagon victories by submission, tapping out Alexander Gustafsson, Walt Harris, Cain Velasquez and Rodrigo Nogueira. His overall MMA record also includes a triangle choke versus Emelianenko in Strikeforce and a kimura over Alistair Overeem in PRIDE.

“It would be an honor for me to match him, but I don't think I'm even close to his level,†Walker said. “I still have a long road ahead of me. I'm young, I'm 28 years old. Sure, I'm accomplishing some things, but I think when I'm 32 or 33, I'll be a completely different fighter from who I am today. I'm always chasing improvement, and I don't fool myself. I'm honest. I know I'm submitting a lot of guys, but they're guys who, honestly, don't really have big names yet, you know? It's an achievement, but it's not an achievement like Werdum's, for example. When I set a goal, I look at the very best. And to me, the best is Fabrício Werdum.â€

Walker earned a spot on the MMA Fighting Global Rankings prior to his latest Abu Dhabi finish, a division that has Tom Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich and Josh Hokit listed as the five best on the UFC roster right now. Walker isn't sure who he would need to tap out in order to compare to Werdum's finishes over Emelianenko and Velasquez.

“It's a different era, and that's what makes it complicated,†Walker said. “With this new generation, we'll only know in the future who will become the legends of today's MMA, so there's no way to know right now. I could become a legend, but I'm not one yet. I could become one, you know? So maybe some of the guys I've already submitted will eventually become legends, and then those submissions will carry more weight. But right now, I don't see anyone I could submit that would put me on the same level as those guys. There's just no way.

“I understand that I'm part of a new generation of heavyweights, but right now I don't see anyone in our division with the kind of legacy that compares to our Brazilian heavyweight heroes, our Brazilian legends. Right now, I don't see anyone in the heavyweight division who measures up to them.â€

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MMA

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

Published

11 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

13 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

23 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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