Alexander Volkanovski stops Movsar Evloev to defend featherweight belt at UFC 333

The latest UFC numbered event took place on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE, as UFC 333 went down with 14 fights on the card, including two title bouts.

With so many exciting fights that took place, there is a ton to talk about in the aftermath of the event.

Alexander Volkanovski stops Movsar Evloev

The headliner of UFC 333 saw UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski stop undefeated Russian Movsar Evloev in the second round to defend his belt at 145 lbs.

This fight was close on paper, but not in how it played out inside the Octagon, as Volkanovski showed everyone that he is one of the best MMA fighters of all time with a deadly knockout win that proved he is still on top of his game even at the ripe old age of 38.

For his next fight, the Aussie Volkanovski will likely face Jean Silva or perhaps the winner of the upcoming fight at UFC Qatar between top contenders Aljamain Sterling and Kevin Vallejos.

Petr Yan wins trilogy bout against Merab Dvalishvili

The co-main event of UFC 333 was an absolute barnburner between UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan and challenger Merab Dvalishvili. A five-round war saw Yan edge out a close but clear unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards to successfully defend his strap.

The Georgian Dvalishvili came out strong in this fight, winning the first two rounds and looking like he may pull off the upset. But the Russian Yan came back and won the final three rounds to score an amazing comeback and show that he is the best bantamweight on the planet with a win in this epic trilogy bout.

Next up for Yan is likely a rematch with long-time rival Sean O’Malley, who previously beat him back in October 2022 at UFC 280, though Song Yadong is also in contention for the title shot.

Lone’er Kavanagh scores violent KO win

Englishman Lone’er Kavanagh scored a violent first-round knockout over Ramazan Temirov of Uzbekistan to bounce back after losing by stoppage to Brandon Royval in his last bout.

Earlier this year, Kavanagh beat former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno to show he was a title contender at 125 lbs, but the loss to Royval proved to be a temporary setback.

After beating Temirov, who had won 12 fights in a row before suffering this defeat, Kavanagh put himself back on the shortlist of the top contenders at 125 lbs as he closes back in on another flyweight title shot.

Alexander Volkov scores huge heavyweight win

Heavyweight veteran Alexander Volkov scored a huge win when he defeated Rizvan Kuniev via unanimous decision on his 38th birthday to extend his win streak to three straight fights.

Volkov looked incredible in this all-Russian matchup, scoring a dominant victory in a performance that should absolutely get him a title shot in the UFC heavyweight division.

However, Volkov may have to wait and see who wins at UFC 335 between Sergei Pavlovich and Alex Pereira, because if someone in that fight scores a finish, they may get the title shot against the winner of the title fight at UFC 334 between champion Ciryl Gane and challenger Josh Hokit.

Aaron Pico scores first UFC knockout

Former Bellator MMA standout Aaron Pico entered the UFC with high expectations last year, but he lost his debut in the organization with a spinning back elbow KO against Lerone Murphy.

It has been a much better year for the wrestling/boxing standout, however, as Pico is now 2-0 in 2026 in the Octagon following his first-round KO win over Losene Keita at UFC 333.

This was Pico’s first knockout win in the UFC, and it was the type of win that he badly needed to show that he is one of the best featherweights in the sport and closing in on title contention.

Dominick Reyes turns back the clock

In 2020, many fans felt that Dominick Reyes defeated Jon Jones to win the UFC light heavyweight title, but he lost a narrow unanimous decision on the judges' scorecards.

Since that fight, Reyes had gone just 4-4, and he rode into UFC 333 as the betting underdog against Russia’s Murzakanov, who many expected to touch Reyes’s chin and knock him out.

But it was the opposite on Saturday, as Reyes caught Murzakanov with a high kick that rocked him and then finished him off with strikes for one of his best wins in many years.

The American Reyes called out a top-five opponent for his next fight, and given how amazing he looked against Murzakanov, there is a good chance that Reyes gets what he wants next.

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev emerges as light heavyweight contender

One of the top prospects in the UFC light heavyweight division is Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev, who elevated himself to contender status with a nasty first-round KO win over Nikita Krylov.

Turkey’s Yakhyaev is now 11-0 in his MMA career, including a 4-0 UFC record with four wins by stoppage. By taking out the veteran Ukrainian Krylov in such a devastating way, there is no doubt that Yakhyaev is going to get someone ranked in the top 10 for his next fight.

At age 25, don’t be surprised at all if Yakhyaev is one day a UFC light heavyweight champion.

Underrated Abus Magomedov gets another finish

In the middleweight division, veteran Abus Magomedov scored a highlight-reel finish when he tapped out Australia’s Cam Rowston in the first round with a nasty, airtight guillotine choke.

The Russian-German veteran Magomedov is now 6-3 in the UFC, with five of his wins coming by stoppage. He has won four of his last five fights, and all of his losses are to opponents ranked in the top 10, showing that he is a bit underrated in the UFC middleweight rankings.

For his next fight, Magomedov called out another top-10 ranked foe in Gregory Rodrigues, whom he used to train with. While it remains to be seen if the promotion will grant him that matchup, there is no doubt Magomedov is due for someone ranked in his next outing.

Colby Thicknesse pulls off major upset on prelims

On the early prelims, Australia’s Colby Thicknesse pulled off a major upset as a +450 underdog when he defeated UFC newcomer, the previously undefeated Georgian-Russian Asaf Chopurov.

While I and many others felt that Chopurov should have gotten the nod on the judges’ scorecards, the fact remains that this fight was too close to call, and when UFC Octagon announced Thicknesse as the winner, Chopurov only had himself to blame for the loss.

Don’t look now, but Thicknesse is 3-1 in the UFC, and the training partner of Volkanovski will likely get a hometown fight in Sydney when the Octagon heads back there next February.

Overall, UFC 333 was a phenomenal night of fights. Now, on to the next!