Volkanovski did it again. The 38-year-old featherweight champ finished Movsar Evloev with a knockout at 4:54 of the second round at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, defending his title for the second time this year.
Evloev came in undefeated and hungry. He didn't get out of the second round.
This was pure Volkanovski. He's still performing at an elite level well into his late thirties, something most fighters can't claim. The Russian-born Australian has become a rare breed in MMA: a dominant champion who gets better with age instead of worse. Two title defenses in one calendar year shows the pace he's keeping.
What matters now is what comes next. Volkanovski made clear after the fight that he wants to keep going. At 38, most fighters think about retirement. He's thinking about more. That's either confidence bordering on recklessness or the sign of someone who genuinely believes he's got several more runs left in him.
The featherweight division will need to sort out who gets the next shot. Volkanovski has already beaten most of the contenders. That's the problem champions at his level always face. He's running out of people to fight.