Volkanovski And Yan Kept Their Belts At UFC 333, And Their Next Opponents Already Made Themselves Known

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 24: Alexander Volkanovski of Australia punches Movsar Evloev of Russia in the UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 333 event at Etihad Arena on October 24, 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

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If there was a UFC featherweight championship belt for all-time greatness, Alexander Volkanovski added another gem to that fictional title. On Saturday in Abu Dhabi, Volkanovski successfully defended his 145-pound title scoring a second-round TKO victory over Movsar Evloev to put a stamp on an eventful UFC 333.

Volkanovski’s pressure set the tone as it appeared to shut down Evloev’s wrestling. Volk kept the fight standing despite a handful of takedown attempts from the challenger. In the second round, Volk dropped Evloev with an overhand right.

Moments later, he cut him with an uppercut, then dazed him with another left. Evloev went to the canvas, mostly covering up before he was hurt again from a ground-and-pound shot. Referee Marc Goddard tried to give Evloev a chance to make it out of the round, but the challenger covered up and offered no offense forcing the the former’s hand and the fight was stopped.

Top contender, Song Yadong was present for the fight and made it known he wants the next shot. However, Sean O’Malley also called Yan out, and he owns a victory over the champion. My gut tells me the UFC would prefer to give O’Malley a chance to win the title again.

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 24: Petr Yan of Russia punches Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia in the UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 333 event at Etihad Arena on October 24, 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

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Yan Survives Dvalishvili

In the co-main event, Petr Yan eeked out a close unanimous-decision win over Merab Dvalishvili in their trilogy fight, taking the series 2-1. Dvalishvili’s pace and wrestling earned him the first two rounds on all three judges scorecards.

Yan changed the momentum of the fight with a left kick to Dvalishvili’s midsection, which has proven to be the former champion’s weak point. Yan easily won the fourth frame, but the last round was really close. I scored it for Dvalishvili, but it could have gone either way. Officially, Yan got the nod and retained his championship in an instant classic.

Dvalishvili didn’t moan about the decision, but he has a strong argument that he won either the third and/or fourth rounds.

Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili 3 Fight Stats

Here’s how the numbers shook out over five rounds, per UFC Stats.

StatPetr YanMerab DvalishviliKnockdowns00Significant strikes128 of 228 (56%)131 of 363 (36%)Total strikes131 of 231159 of 396Takedowns0 of 15 of 58 (8%)Submission attempts00Reversals10Control time0:231:54RoundYan Sig. StrikesMerab Sig. StrikesMerab Takedowns16 of 118 of 401 of 10217 of 2823 of 674 of 9324 of 4431 of 780 of 13429 of 5729 of 850 of 15552 of 8840 of 930 of 11Target / PositionPetr YanMerab DvalishviliHead95 of 194100 of 298Body18 of 198 of 18Leg15 of 1523 of 47Distance115 of 210122 of 350Clinch11 of 169 of 13Ground2 of 20 of 0

UFC 333 Bonus Winners

After five of the first six fights of the event went the distance, the finishes begin with the mid-level prelims. Abus Magomedov’s masterful guillotine choke of Cam Rowston happened in the first two minutes of the fight. Four of the next five fights ended with finishes. Lone’er Kavanagh’s nasty combinations might have produced the most impressive finish of the night.

He dismantled the imposing Ramazan Temirov and the moment Mike Beltran stepped in to stop the fight, I knew Kavanagh was set to get one of the $100,000 performance bonuses. Who got the other the bonuses? Let’s take a look.

BonusFighterFightPerformance of the NightLone’er Kavanagh def. Ramazan Temirov, TKO, R1 4:28Performance of the NightAlexander Volkanovskidef. Movsar Evloev, TKO, R1 4:54Fight of the NightPetr Yan and Merab DvalshviliYan def. Dvalishvili (48-47x3)

Here is a look at all of the finishes from Abu Dhabi. Every fighter who won by a finish who didn’t get a performance bonus earned an additional $25,000.

UFC 333 Full Results

Weight ClassResultMethodFeatherweightAlexander Volkanovski (c) def. Movsar EvloevTKO (punches), R2 4:54BantamweightPetr Yan (c) def. Merab DvalishviliUD (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)FlyweightLone’er Kavanagh def. Ramazan TemirovTKO (punches), R1 4:28HeavyweightAlexander Volkov def. Rizvan KunievUD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)FeatherweightAaron Pico def. Losene KeitaTKO (punches), R1 1:14Light HeavyweightDominick Reyes def. Azamat MurzakanovKO (head kick and punches), R1 2:40Light HeavyweightAbdul Rakhman Yakhyaev def. Nikita KrylovKO (knee), R1 2:38MiddleweightAbus Magomedov def. Cam RowstonSub (guillotine choke), R1 1:44LightweightGrant Dawson def. Nurullo AlievUD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)BantamweightColby Thicknesse def. Asaf ChopurovSD (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)MiddleweightAbubakar Vagaev def. Jacob MalkounUD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)FeatherweightDaniel Santos def. Bolaji OkiUD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)LightweightKody Steele def. Noah GugnonKO (punches), R1 3:54Catchweight (120.5 lb)Iasmin Lucindo def. Nicolle CaliariUD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

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