Alexander Volkanovski made a stunning confession after successfully defending his UFC featherweight title against Movsar Evloev in dominant fashion.

Volkanovski produced a masterful performance in Abu Dhabi to defeat Evloev in the main-event of UFC 333 on Saturday.

Evloev, who entered UFC 333 without tasting defeat in his MMA career, enjoyed success in the first round as he secured a takedown. But Volkanovski showed his class, tagging his opponent before landing a series of unanswered strikes from top position to claim his 29th career win in the second round.

He passed Jose Aldo for the most title fight wins in UFC featherweight history and immediately set his sights on a world-class opponent for a super-fight.

Alexander Volkanovski Was Sick Before UFC 333

Volkanovski's victory over Evloev is one of the biggest wins of his storied career, given the Russian fighter had never been beaten before UFC 333.

And his stellar victory over Evloev was even more impressive considering the Australian legend was battling an illness prior to stepping inside the famed Octagon.

Asked to address how sick he was on the morning of UFC 333, he replied: "Ah, good enough to get out there and get it done. I mean, yeah, it's all good. It's a part of the game. A part of the challenges that I like anyway. Like, it was funny. I started getting sick; I was like, 'It would've been too easy if I wasn't sick'."

Volkanovski added: "No matter what hurdles are in front of me, or what challenges come my way, I'm at a stage of my career that this sh*t excites me. When I get injuries, and I've gotta fight through them, I don't know why, but it makes the story better. I'll save them for documentaries."

Why Alexander Volkanovski Refused to Take Medication

It's unclear what made Volkanovski fall ill before his UFC featherweight title clash against Evloev or how long he was dealing with an illness.

But the 38-year-old refused to take any medication for his illness because he didn't want a 'sporting advantage' over his foe.

That's according to Oscar Willis, who was in Abu Dhabi for UFC 333.

On X, he wrote: "Alexander Volkanovski was very sick this morning, and refused to take medication (even ibuprofen) because he felt in some way it would be giving him a sporting advantage."

Volkanovski has now won three fights in a row since losing to Ilia Topuria in February 2024. He has a pair of victories over Diego Lopes and, of course, a win over Evloev.