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)
Zuffa LLCYan 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.
| Stat | Petr Yan | Merab Dvalishvili |
|---|---|---|
| Knockdowns | 0 | 0 |
| Significant strikes | 128 of 228 (56%) | 131 of 363 (36%) |
| Total strikes | 131 of 231 | 159 of 396 |
| Takedowns | 0 of 1 | 5 of 58 (8%) |
| Submission attempts | 0 | 0 |
| Reversals | 1 | 0 |
| Control time | 0:23 | 1:54 |
| Round | Yan Sig. Strikes | Merab Sig. Strikes | Merab Takedowns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 of 11 | 8 of 40 | 1 of 10 |
| 2 | 17 of 28 | 23 of 67 | 4 of 9 |
| 3 | 24 of 44 | 31 of 78 | 0 of 13 |
| 4 | 29 of 57 | 29 of 85 | 0 of 15 |
| 5 | 52 of 88 | 40 of 93 | 0 of 11 |
| Target / Position | Petr Yan | Merab Dvalishvili |
|---|---|---|
| Head | 95 of 194 | 100 of 298 |
| Body | 18 of 19 | 8 of 18 |
| Leg | 15 of 15 | 23 of 47 |
| Distance | 115 of 210 | 122 of 350 |
| Clinch | 11 of 16 | 9 of 13 |
| Ground | 2 of 2 | 0 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.
| Bonus | Fighter | Fight |
|---|---|---|
| Performance of the Night | Lone’er Kavanagh | def. Ramazan Temirov, TKO, R1 4:28 |
| Performance of the Night | Alexander Volkanovski | def. Movsar Evloev, TKO, R1 4:54 |
| Fight of the Night | Petr Yan and Merab Dvalshvili | Yan 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 Class | Result | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Featherweight | Alexander Volkanovski (c) def. Movsar Evloev | TKO (punches), R2 4:54 |
| Bantamweight | Petr Yan (c) def. Merab Dvalishvili | UD (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) |
| Flyweight | Lone’er Kavanagh def. Ramazan Temirov | TKO (punches), R1 4:28 |
| Heavyweight | Alexander Volkov def. Rizvan Kuniev | UD (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) |
| Featherweight | Aaron Pico def. Losene Keita | TKO (punches), R1 1:14 |
| Light Heavyweight | Dominick Reyes def. Azamat Murzakanov | KO (head kick and punches), R1 2:40 |
| Light Heavyweight | Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev def. Nikita Krylov | KO (knee), R1 2:38 |
| Middleweight | Abus Magomedov def. Cam Rowston | Sub (guillotine choke), R1 1:44 |
| Lightweight | Grant Dawson def. Nurullo Aliev | UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) |
| Bantamweight | Colby Thicknesse def. Asaf Chopurov | SD (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) |
| Middleweight | Abubakar Vagaev def. Jacob Malkoun | UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) |
| Featherweight | Daniel Santos def. Bolaji Oki | UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) |
| Lightweight | Kody Steele def. Noah Gugnon | KO (punches), R1 3:54 |
| Catchweight (120.5 lb) | Iasmin Lucindo def. Nicolle Caliari | UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) |
This article was originally published on Forbes.com