Alexander Volkanovski silenced his doubters in the main event of UFC 333, held last Saturday, the 24th, at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. At 38, the Australian knocked out Russia’s Movsar Evloev at 4:54 of the second round, kept the featherweight belt and handed the challenger the first loss of a career that stood at 20 wins. The performance also earned the champion a Performance of the Night bonus.
The opening was cautious and wrestling-heavy. Volkanovski scored with volume in the first minutes, but surprised by looking for the clinch midway through the round, which opened the door for Evloev to shoot for takedowns. The Russian got the champion down a few times, but couldn’t keep him there. In the second round, the Australian defended a shot, ended up on top and, back on the feet, began landing hooks and straights with increasing accuracy.
In the final minute, a left hook followed by a right straight rocked Evloev, who went down and absorbed a heavy flurry of strikes. With the Russian unable to respond, the referee stopped the fight with six seconds left in the round. It was Volkanovski’s first stoppage win since his knockout of Yair Rodríguez at UFC 290 in July 2023, the fight that unified the featherweight belts.
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI TIES JOSÉ ALDO IN TITLE DEFENSES AND PASSES THE BRAZILIAN IN TITLE-FIGHT WINS
The result puts the Australian in territory that, until recently, belonged only to José Aldo. Across his two reigns, Volkanovski now has seven successful featherweight title defenses, the same number as the Brazilian, and nine wins in title fights in the division, a UFC record for the weight class. It was his second defense since regaining the belt and his third straight title-fight win, all against top-ranked names.
The win also reignites the debate over his place among the greatest in MMA history. Among the most notable setbacks of the Australian’s career are his two losses to Islam Makhachev, now the welterweight champion, in bids for the lightweight belt. In his own division, however, Volkanovski still has no equal, and the question now is who gets the next shot at dethroning him.
A BREATHTAKING TRILOGY: PETR YAN RALLIES, BEATS MERAB DVALISHVILI ON THE SCORECARDS AND REMAINS BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPION
In the co-main event, Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili put on the best of their three fights and took home Fight of the Night honors. The Georgian set a frantic pace in the first two rounds, with volume on the feet and a barrage of takedown attempts. The Russian, the bantamweight champion, held off the pressure, went to the body and turned the fight around starting in the third round, when a shot to the midsection clearly hurt Dvalishvili.
From then on, Yan defended the shots and punished the challenger on the way out with straights, hooks and uppercuts. In the fifth round, he even faked a takedown just to throw him off before going back to striking, landing uppercuts and even a flying knee. All three judges scored it 48-47 for the Russian, who made his first title defense and closed out one of the division’s most intense rivalries with his hand raised.
The rest of the main card ended early. Britain’s Lone’er Kavanagh knocked out Uzbekistan’s Ramazan Temirov with a counter uppercut at 4:28 of the first round and also earned a Performance of the Night bonus. Aaron Pico needed just 1:14 to drop and knock out Belgium’s Losene Keita, and veteran Alexander Volkov beat Rizvan Kuniev by unanimous decision at heavyweight.
DANIEL WILLYCAT AND IASMIN LUCINDO SECURE A WINNING NIGHT FOR BRAZIL ON THE PRELIMS
Both Brazilians on the card came out on top. Daniel Willycat faced Belgium’s Bolaji Oki in a close fight, controlled the first two rounds with quick in-and-out movement at close range, nearly locked in a guillotine and landed a knee to his opponent’s face. Even while tired down the stretch, when Oki came on and took him down, the Brazilian secured the unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three scorecards.
In an all-Brazilian strawweight bout, Ceará native Iasmin Lucindo beat Paraná’s Nicolle Caliari by unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three cards. Caliari suffered a cut over her eye early on, and Iasmin used the grappling exchanges to get on top and attack the wound with ground and pound, controlling her opponent on the mat for most of the three rounds.
At light heavyweight, the prelims delivered two memorable knockouts. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev, unbeaten in 11 fights, hurt Ukraine’s Nikita Krylov with a takedown and finished it with a knee at 2:38. Soon after, Dominick Reyes rocked Russia’s Azamat Murzakanov with a head kick and closed the show with a left straight at 2:40. Germany’s Abus Magomedov submitted Cam Rowston with a guillotine in 1:44.
The opening bout of UFC 333 ended with Iasmin Lucindo’s hand raised in the all-Brazilian matchup. To follow what’s next for Volkanovski, Yan and the Brazilians in the Octagon, The Mat Nation’s MMA section brings together news from the UFC and the biggest events in the world.
FULL RESULTS FROM UFC 333:
MAIN CARD
Alexander Volkanovski def. Movsar Evloev by TKO at 4:54 of R2 (featherweight title)
Petr Yan def. Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) (bantamweight title)
Lone’er Kavanagh def. Ramazan Temirov by KO at 4:28 of R1
Alexander Volkov def. Rizvan Kuniev by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Aaron Pico def. Losene Keita by KO at 1:14 of R1
PRELIMINARY CARD
Dominick Reyes def. Azamat Murzakanov by KO at 2:40 of R1
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev def. Nikita Krylov by TKO at 2:38 of R1
Abus Magomedov def. Cam Rowston by submission at 1:44 of R1
Grant Dawson def. Nurullo Aliev by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Colby Thicknesse def. Asaf Chopurov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Abubakar Vagaev def. Jacob Malkoun by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Daniel Willycat def. Bolaji Oki by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Kody Steele def. Noah Gugnon by KO at 3:54 of R1
Iasmin Lucindo def. Nicolle Caliari by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
