Alexander Volkanovski underlined his status as one of the all-time greats of MMA by emphatically defeating Movsar Evloev to retain his Featherweight Championship in the main event of UFC 333 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night.
After an evenly-matched first round, Volk took control in the second after a stunning straight left, ultimately forcing a referee’s stoppage with strikes on the ground near the fence just a few seconds before the bell – his sixth successful defence of the Featherweight belt, and a first career defeat for Evloev.
“He [Evloev] was undefeated for a reason. Nothing but respect for him. It feels good to get a finish again,” said ‘The Great’ after his triumph.
#AndStill 🏆 [ @AlexVolkanovski | #UFC333 | B2YB @Cryptocom ] https://t.co/pbHtWnr3q3
— UFC (@ufc) October 24, 2026
In the co-main event, Petr Yan retained his Bantamweight Championship with a come-from-behind unanimous decision win over former division king Merab Dvalishvili. The Russian found himself behind on the score cards after the first two rounds, with the challenger dominating thanks to his relentless offence.
However, Yan began to find his striking range in the third round, and by the fifth he was landing with authority and overhauled his opponent in the eyes of the judges, taking the fight 48-47 48-47 48-47 for a unanimous decision triumph.
“I was listening to my coach, he said it was 2-2.. you take this [fifth] round, you take the fight,” said Yan after the match, with the result putting him 2-1 up over Dvalishvili in their personal duel. “I needed to take all the time [in the first two rounds] for him to gas out and lose his power.”
NO MERCY @PetrYanUFC left it all inside the Octagon to defend his bantamweight title at #UFC333! [ LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] https://t.co/tKkbeTHWir
— UFC (@ufc) October 24, 2026
The remainder of the main card saw Lone’er Kavanagh record an impressive first-round stoppage of the dangerous Ramazan Temirov in the flyweight division; Alexander Volkov outclassed Rizvan Kuniev across three rounds of their heavyweight bout; and Aaron Pico made quick work of Losene Keita in the featherweight opener.
The UFC continues next weekend with a Fight Night in Lav Vegas, headlined by a lightweight bout between Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan.
UFC 333 – MAIN CARD RESULTS
Main event: Featherweight Championship: Alexander Volkanovski def. Movsar Evloev via TKO (punches), R2, 4:54
Co-main: Bantamweight Championship: Petr Yan def. Merab Dvalishvili via unanimous decision (48-47 48-47 48-47), R5, 5:00
Flyweight: Lone’er Kavanagh def. Ramazan Temirov via TKO (punches), R1, 4:28
Heavyweight: Alexander Volkov def. Rizvan Kuniev via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27), R3, 5:00
Featherweight: Aaron Pico def. Losene Keita via TKO (punches), R1, 1:14