Alexander Volkanovski is still the UFC featherweight champion. He stopped Movsar Evloev at 4:54 of the second round in the main event of UFC 333 on Saturday 24 October at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, the first loss of Evloev’s career. In the co-main event Petr Yan kept the bantamweight title, beating Merab Dvalishvili 48-47 on all three cards in their trilogy fight. The main card started at 2:00 PM ET (18:00 GMT, 21:00 Riga) and streamed on Paramount+ in the US. Results, methods and times below are from UFC’s official UFC 333 event page. For the build-up, here are our Volkanovski vs Evloev preview and Yan vs Dvalishvili preview.
Volkanovski vs Evloev: six seconds from the bell
Evloev made it a real fight. He had his moments with his wrestling early, and UFC’s own recap has the two of them level going into the back half of round two. Then a clean right hand from Volkanovski made Evloev turn away as he backed out. Volkanovski chased him down, swarmed him, put him on the canvas and punched until the referee stepped in, with six seconds left in the round.
Volkanovski is now 29-4 and Evloev 20-1. The 38-year-old also took a Performance of the Night bonus. UFC says the win moves him past José Aldo for the most title-fight wins in featherweight history, and it was his 12th straight title fight.
What’s next at featherweight
Volkanovski already has a fight in mind, and it’s not at 145. At the post-fight press conference he said he’d take a superfight with lightweight champion Justin Gaethje as a retirement fight for both of them: “If they ever wanted to give me that opportunity, I would retire win or lose; then it’s vacant, so I’m not holding the division up.” Otherwise, he said, he’s taking it fight by fight.
Dana White didn’t rule it out. “When you’ve accomplished what he’s accomplished, there’s not much we’re going to say no to with him,” he told reporters. Nothing is booked.
Yan vs Dvalishvili 3: two rounds down, then three straight
Dvalishvili came out at a ferocious pace and shot for takedowns almost nonstop, which kept Yan’s hands busy and his offence quiet through the first two rounds. In the third Yan started landing, stinging Dvalishvili to the body, and he had more success again in the fourth. By the fifth he was the one dictating where the fight happened.
All three judges scored it 48-47, and all three gave Dvalishvili the first two rounds and Yan the last three. Yan told Daniel Cormier in the cage that his corner had it at 2-2 going into the fifth and told him he needed the last round. It was Fight of the Night, Yan is 21-5, and he now leads the series 2-1.
What’s next at bantamweight
Asked by Cormier about Song Yadong, Yan said he’d fight Song, “King Kong” or whoever the UFC puts in front of him. Dvalishvili said he can do better and gave Yan credit for the win. No opponent or date has been announced.
Kavanagh flattens Temirov late in round one
Lone’er Kavanagh and Ramazan Temirov, two top-10 flyweights, traded fairly evenly for more than three minutes. Then Kavanagh found an uppercut that froze Temirov on the spot, and the shots that followed ended it at 4:28 of the first round. Kavanagh, who beat Brandon Moreno on short notice in February, is 11-2 and took the other Performance of the Night bonus.
Volkov makes it three in a row
Alexander Volkov spent his 38th birthday beating Rizvan Kuniev on the cards (29-28, 30-27, 30-27). He was the sharper man early, controlled Kuniev in the clinch through two rounds, and spent the last 90 seconds of the third on his back hunting a submission. It’s Volkov’s third straight win and his 41st as a pro. UFC’s own recap notes that his only loss in his last eight is a split decision to champion Ciryl Gane, and puts him near the top of the list of contenders with the heavyweight title fight at UFC 334 coming.
Pico, Reyes and Yakhyaev end it early
Aaron Pico opened the main card with his first finish in the UFC. He timed a takedown on the first exchange, then dropped Losene Keita with a right hand flush on the chin and finished him on the mat at 1:14 of round one. It’s two wins in a row for Pico this year.
Dominick Reyes closed the prelims the same way. Azamat Murzakanov had just landed a clean left, but when they reset Reyes went high with a kick, hurt him and finished him with punches at 2:40 of the first. UFC counts five wins in six for Reyes, the only loss coming against champion Carlos Ulberg.
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev ate a big right hand from Nikita Krylov at the start, then snapped him down, attacked a D’Arce choke and dropped him with a knee as Krylov tried to stand. It was over at 2:38 of round one. Yakhyaev is 11-0 and 4-0 in the UFC.
The rest of the prelims
Abus Magomedov chopped at Cam Rowston’s lead leg until Rowston shot for a takedown, then caught him in a no-arm guillotine and put him to sleep at 1:44 of round one. He asked for Gregory Rodrigues next. Grant Dawson handed Nurullo Aliev his first loss on scores of 29-27 across the board; Aliev was docked a point in the first round for shots to the back of the head.
Colby Thicknesse also ended an unbeaten record, taking a split decision over Asaf Chopurov (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) for his third straight win. Abubakar Vagaev, up at middleweight after winning his UFC debut at welterweight earlier this year, beat Jacob Malkoun 29-28 on all three cards, and Daniel Santos edged Bolaji Oki by the same scores in a close featherweight fight. Kody Steele knocked out Noah Gugnon with an overhand right at 3:54 of the first, and Iasmin Lucindo opened the night with a 30-27 sweep of Nicolle Caliari, who had missed weight at 120.5 lb for the 116-lb strawweight fight and forfeited 30 percent of her purse to Lucindo.
UFC 333 full results
Results, methods, rounds and times as published by the UFC. Scorecards from UFC’s official scorecards page.
WinnerWAlexander Volkanovski
LoserLMovsar Evloev
WinnerWPetr Yan
LoserLMerab Dvalishvili
WinnerWLone'er Kavanagh
LoserLRamazan Temirov
WinnerWAlexander Volkov
LoserLRizvan Kuniev
WinnerWAaron Pico
LoserLLosene Keita
WinnerWDominick Reyes
LoserLAzamat Murzakanov
WinnerWAbdul Rakhman Yakhyaev
LoserLNikita Krylov
WinnerWAbus Magomedov
LoserLCam Rowston
WinnerWGrant Dawson
LoserLNurullo Aliev
WinnerWColby Thicknesse
LoserLAsaf Chopurov
WinnerWAbubakar Vagaev
LoserLJacob Malkoun
WinnerWDaniel Santos
LoserLBolaji Oki
WinnerWKody Steele
LoserLNoah Gugnon
WinnerWIasmin Lucindo
LoserLNicolle Caliari
