Paddy Pimblett has a harsh review for Movsar Evloev's disappointing UFC 333 performance.
Evloev challenged Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title in this past Saturday's main event in Abu Dhabi but failed to make it out of the second round as Volkanovski put him away with a flurry of strikes with just six seconds remaining in the period. It was the first loss of Evloev's career, dropping him to 20-1, and he praised Volkanovski afterwards in his post-fight interview.
As pleasant as Evloev's attitude is, Pimblett wasn't impressed with the challenger failing to gut it out and make it to the next round.
"Evloev Quit There, For Me"
"He's hurt, he cut him there, he's bleeding," Pimblett said in a live reaction video to the fight. "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."
Pimblett Predicted the Outcome
On his path to the title shot, Evloev developed a reputation for grinding out wins with his relentless wrestling, going 10-0 in the UFC with all of his victories by decision. He defeated fellow contenders Lerone Murphy, Aljamain Sterling, Arnold Allen, and Diego Lopes to earn his opportunity, with Volkanovski himself frequently campaigning for Evloev to be granted the opportunity.
Pimblett correctly predicted that Evloev would struggle to dominate the fight with his grappling and that Volkanovski's standup would prove to be the difference.
"Evloev's route to victory is takedown and control, but it's very hard to do that to Volkanovski, so he might be forced to strike with him and I think Volk's a much better striker."
