UFC 333 Live Updates, Highlights and Results

UFC's head honcho doesn't hold back against the organization's reigning welterweight champion.

UFC 333 was an incredible card. It may not have featured as many finishes as recent cards in Edmonton, Sacramento, and Belgrade, but it featured much more competitive matchmaking, which resulted in a night of very high-level MMA.

Here are three big takeaways from the card.

Volkanovski is one of the GOATs

Australia's Alexander Volkanovski has long been mentioned in debates about the greatest featherweights of all time, alongside the likes of Max Holloway, Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor, and Ilia Topuria. After he knocked out the formerly unbeaten Movsar Evloev in the UFC 333 main event, there is no more debating his status as the best featherweight of all time—especially considering his wins over Holloway and Aldo. More importantly, it's now abundantly clear that he is one of the greatest fighters in MMA history, regardless of weight class. He should be mentioned in the same conversations as the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, and Anderson Silva. He really is that good. He is well rounded, he is intelligent, he is powerful, he is a finisher—and he's still winning fights against elite contenders at 38 years old! Hats off to "The Great!"

Yan Can't Be Denied

Unlike the UFC featherweight division, there is still a small amount of room for debate about the best bantamweight in the promotion's history. Merab Dvalishvili is of course in the mix. Dominick Cruz is also in the conversation. Even the likes of Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw deserve mention. Yet after Petr Yan weathered some early adversity to pummel Dvalishvili to a second-straight decision win in the UFC 333 co-main event, one thing is very clear: he is the best bantamweight alive right now. It's not Dvalishvili, it's not Sean O'Malley, it's not Song Yadong or Payton Talbott or anybody else. Yan is the king, and unless he starts showing major signs of decline, nobody is touching him right now.

Yakhyaev is the Best Light Heavyweight Prospect Since Jones

The light heavyweight division is a little low on elite talent at the moment, but there has been a pretty constant stream of new fighters making waves in the division over the last half-decade or so, from Carlos Ulberg, to Alex Pereira to Jiri Prochazka. That said, nobody has ever immediately announced themselves in the division like the great Jon "Bones" Jones once did—until now. On the UFC 333 undercard, Turkey's Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev picked up his fourth straight UFC win, and fourth in the first round, this time at the expense of a very credible and very experienced Nikita Krylov. He's now 11-0 overall, with just one of his pro fights reaching the scorecards, and none escaping the second round. This is not to say he'll ever achieve what Jones did. That would be foolish to suggest at this stage of his career. In terms of early momentum, though, it's hard to recall a light heavyweight who has shown this much promise since Bones arrived in the late 2000s.

Appreciate the fact that you are witnessing greatness in real time, ladies and gentleman.

Alexander Volkanovski is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, and at 38 years old, he proved that once again in the UFC 333 main event, stopping the formerly unbeaten Movsar Evloev in less than two rounds.

Evloev had his moments in round one, to be sure. He quickly got to work with his patented takedowns, and had some success in doing so. Slowly but surely, though, "The Great" Volkanovski began to implement his game, and land hard shots on the feet.

Before the second round was up, he landed a crackling uppercut and left hand that badly hurt Evloev. As the challenger turned away in distress, the champion finished things off with ground and pound.

"He's a great fighter," Volkanovski (29-4) said in his post-fight interview. "He was undefeated for a reason, but I'm the right bloke for that job."

"It feels good to get a finish. I promised the missus a quick one so she wasn't stressing on the sidelines."

Evloev, now 20-1, was humble in defeat.

"He's like great wine," he said of the aging champ. "Better, stronger with age.

"Better to lose to a guy like him."

Hats off to Volkanovski. What a legend.

After 13 (mostly) thrilling fights, it's time for the main event of the evening: a featherweight title fight between iconic champion Alexander "The Great" Volkanovski and undefeated Russian challenger Movsar Evloev.

Australia's Volkanovski (28-4) is currently in the midsts of his second reign as featherweight king, which began with a decision win over Diego Lopes. He has defended the belt once since winning it again, also against Lopes by decision. He has beaten many of the best featherweights in UFC history, including Max Holloway (three times) and Jose Aldo. 

Evloev (20-0) has been extremely dominant since joining the UFC, winning all 10 of his Octagon appearances, including a recent win over Lerone Murphy, and defeats of Arnold Allen and Aljamain Sterling. However, he has yet to finish a fight since joining the promotion, which is the biggest point against him. 

This is a very compelling matchup between an experienced legend who can do everything very well, and a much younger specialist with a ton of momentum behind him. 

Let's see how it goes.

After a ridiculous 75 minutes in the Octagon together, Petr Yan has come out on top in his incredible UFC rivalry with Merab Dvalishvili. He won their third and presumably final fight by unanimous decision after five rounds of elite MMA action.

Dvalishvili came out firing in their trilogy, completing multiple takedowns through round and two. Slowly but surely, however, Yan began to take control of the fight with his takedown defense and striking, and by the time we reached the championship rounds, he was hurting his challenger badly with shots to the body and head, over and over. By round five, it was arguably still anyone's fight, but Yan didn't let the win slip through his fingers, and punished his opponent with his striking for five more minutes.

There was no debating the outcome. And still!

In victory, Yan is now 21-5 overall, with wins in his last five fights. He might be the best bantamweight ever, but he is certainly the most well-rounded.

He seems to open to fighting anyone in his next title defense.

"Give me Song Yadong, give me King Kong, give me anybody," he said in his post-fight interview. "Give me anybody!"

In defeat, Dvalishvili falls to 21-6. He's now riding back-to-back losses, both to Yan. Regardless, he's one of the best fighters in bantamweight history—maybe the best outright—and should still be able to beat just about anyone he encounters in the Octagon.

This fight is arguably 2-2 heading into the fifth round. Dvalishvili started strong but Yan has surged back in a major way.

This is a nail biter, and the highest level of MMA.

We're now three rounds into Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili's anticipated bantamweight title trilogy fight, and the latter is clearly well ahead at this point. He's been attempting takedowns at a frenetic pace, and completing many of them. He's also landed a lot on the feet. That said, Yan landed some huge punches in the last minutes of round three, visibly rattling his challenger in the final minutes. He's not out of this fight yet by any stretch.

Time for the championship rounds. This is still anyone's fight!

We've reached the co-main event of the evening: a championship trilogy fight between reigning bantamweight champ Petr Yan, and former champ Merab Dvalishvili. 

Dvalishvili (21-5), from Georgia, won the pair's first encounter by decision, with a dominant wrestling assault. However, after winning the bantamweight belt, and defending it three times in 12 months, he lost the title to Yan (20-5) by decision late last year. It was the Russian's takedown defense and slick striking that won him the rematch and the belt. 

Yan and Dvalishvili, inarguably two of the best bantamweights in UFC history, will now look to settle their score once and for all, with the belt once again on the line. 

Fans and pundits alike are divided on how this one will end, but most agree it will be a very good and very high-level fight. 

It should be underway in a few minutes. Let's get to it. 

The UFC just announced two massive title fights for their January 30 stop in Toronto.

One will pair flyweight king Joshua Van against top contender Manel Kape.

The other will see top welterweight contenders Michael Morales and Carlos Prates collide for the interim welterweight title, as reigning champ Islam Makhachev waits on the sidelines.

That's one heck of a way to kick off 2027!

There are a lot of people out there who suspected Ramazan Temirov would knock Lone'er Kavanagh out cold, and possibly quite early in their main card flyweight fight.

Kavanagh had very different ideas.

While Temirov definitely gave Kavanagh a few early scares, it was quickly apparent that the Englishman was the faster and more technical striker in the cage. Those advantages paid off big time. As the first round wore down, Kavanagh cracked an oncoming Temirov with a sizzling uppercut. The win visibly hurt the Uzbek fighter, and Kavanagh didn't relent. A few lightning-quick follow-up strikes later, and the referee had no choice but to call the whole thing off.

"I have an amazing team behind me and worked hard day in, day out to get these results," he said in his post-fight interview. "We got it done."

In victory, Kavanagh improves to 11-2, and rebounds from a tough loss to Brandon Royval. He's now 2-2 in his last four fights, and remains one of his division's brightest young talents.

There is no question this is a very tough loss for Temirov, who might have locked up a No. 1 contender fight in victory. However, he still has time to improve, and still sports a pretty nice looking record, at 20-4 overall.

The middle bout of the UFC 333 main card will be a clash of top-ranked flyweight contenders, with England's Lone'er Kavanagh taking on Uzbekistan's Ramazan Temirov. 

Kavanagh (10-2) came into the UFC with a lot of hype, but after tough losses to Brandon Royval and Charles Johnson in his last three fights, has some rebuilding to do. 

Temirov (20-3) joined the UFC in 2024, following an exciting run in the Rizin ring. While his time with the UFC was interrupted by a banned-substance suspension, he has won all three of his fights in the Octagon, most recently mauling former title challenger Steve Erceg to a first-round stoppage. With 12 straight wins behind him, momentum is definitely on his side, but Kavanagh needs a win badly, and will have other ideas. 

This one should be good.

After three rounds of tense heavyweight action, Alexander Volkov is the winner by unanimous decision. As he often does, the towering Russian veteran used his jab and kicks to sting his opponent at range, and stay out of serious danger himself. While that was the main factor in his victory, he also scored big with a couple of rear-naked choke attempts in round three. Those really put a stamp on things for him.

It was a great performance overall, and a pretty nice way to celebrate his 38th birthday, which is today. 

The decision win pushes Volkov's overall record to 41-11 overall, and brings him onto a three-fight streak. It remains to be seen if he will fight the winner of the upcoming Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit title fight, but he certainly deserves the shot.

In defeat, Kuniev slips to 15-4-1 overall, and 2-2 in the UFC. That said, he performed fairly well against a tricky and experienced opponent, and still seems to have a bright future in the UFC. 

The second bout of the UFC 333 main card will be an all-Russian heavyweight showdown pitting top contender Alexander Volkov against Rizvan Kuniev. 

Volkov (40-11) has been on fire lately, with recent wins over Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Jailton Almeida. He also arguably deserved to beat Ciryl Gane in their recent rematch, despite how the judges scored it. While a UFC title shot has eluded him thus far, the former Bellator champ will look to change that with a big win in Abu Dhabi.

His opponent Kuniev (15-3-1) has gone 2-1 in the UFC, losing his debut against Curtis Blaydes before rebounding with wins over Almeida and Tyrell Fortune. 

This is a big one at heavyweight, and the winner could conceivably fight the winner of next month's Gane vs. Josh Hokit title fight. 

It should be underway in minutes.

Anyone worrying Losene Keita's power would be too much for Aaron Pico at UFC 333 got a big surprise when their fight actually began. Just seconds into the first round of their featherweight fight, Pico landed a massive shot of his own that badly hurt his opponent. A few follow-up shots on the ground later, and the referee was intervening.

It was over in less than a minute and a half.

With the TKO win, Pico is now 15-5 overall. He's now won two-straight fights in the UFC, and has put some good distance between himself and a knockout loss to Lerone Murphy in his UFC debut.

"It feels amazing," he said in his post-fight interview, before calling for a rematch with Murphy.

In defeat, Keita falls to 17-3, and 1-2 in the UFC. It seems like he may need to amass some more experience against lower-level fighters before he gets another crack at somebody of Pico's caliber.

After a trio of quick finishes to conclude the UFC 333 undercard, it's almost time for the main card. It begins at 2:00 pm ET—just under 10 minutes from now.

The main card will kick off with a very exciting featherweight clash between former Bellator star Aaron Pico and fast-rising prospect Losene Keita. 

At his best, Pico (14-5) is one of the most talented and technical fighters in MMA, with world-class wrestling and boxing in his toolkit. While he has struggled immensely with consistency throughout his career, he is riding an impressive decision win over fellow Bellator veteran Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, which provided a strong indication that his best years are still to come. 

Keita (17-2), who replaces the injured Arnold Allen against Pico, suffered a tough decision loss to Nathaniel Wood in his UFC debut, but recently rebounded from that setback with a vicious knockout of Muhammad Naimov. He has proven throughout his career that he has serious firepower and finishing instincts.

This should be a good one, and it could be over quick. 

Dominick Reyes had to deal with some early aggression from Azamat Murzakanov in their undercard light heavyweight scrap, but ultimately turned the tables before the first round was over, wobbling his Russian opponent with a head kick before dropping him and finishing him with punches.

The first round win, which ranks among the best of Reyes' career, separates him from a forgettable decision win over Johnny Walker, and a knockout loss to reigning champ Carlos Ulberg—two performances he'd probably rather forget. He's now 17-5 overall, and despite being counted out earlier in his career, remains one of his division's top contenders.

"I knew he was hurt, and I just stepped in and finished the fight," he said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. "I'm a finisher, that's what I do."

He then called for a fight with Paulo Costa or Khalil Rountree Jr. next. Those are both great ideas for him.

In defeat, Murzakanov is now 16-2 overall, with losses in his last two fights. He'll need to make some adjustments to get back in the win column, but at 37, is definitely short on time.

The final bout of the undercard is up next. It will be contested at light heavyweight, with former title challenger Dominick Reyes taking on Azamat Murzakanov. 

Reyes (16-5) famously pushed Jon Jones to the absolute limit in a title fight back in 2020. While that began a very ugly string of losses for him, he's now a much more positive 4-1 in his last five, most recently beating Johnny Walker by decision in a definite snoozer. 

Until recently, Murzakanov (16-1) was one of the top contenders at 205 pounds. In his last fight, however, the Russian experienced a shock stoppage loss to career middleweight Paulo Costa, which derailed his progress.  

Interestingly Murzakanov is actually a year older than Reyes, at 37, but both guys will want to make this fight count, as their remaining time in the sport is quickly diminishing. 

If the light heavyweight division's top contenders weren't paying close attention to Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev before, they certainly are now.

On the UFC 333 undercard, the undefeated Turkish prospect improved to 11-0 overall and 4-0 in the Octagon with a quick stoppage of longtime contender Nikita Krylov. His attack started with a very tight guillotine attempt, and finished moments later with a knee that put his opponent out. It took less than three minutes. This is the ninth first-round finish on his record, and his 10th finish overall. At this point, he's clearly ready to be matched up with the division's top fighters—guys well inside the top 15. If he gets his way, it'll be a fight with someone inside the top 5 next, as he told commentator Daniel Cormier.

In defeat, Krylov is now 31-13 overall, and just 1-4 in his last five. His days as a top fighter seem to be over.

Turkey's Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev is one of the best light heavyweight prospects we've seen in years. The 25-year-old is unbeaten at 10-0, and has so far looked unstoppable in the UFC, finishing three straight fights in less than four minutes combined. In fact, only two of his 10 pro fights have left the first round, and only one has reached the scorecards. 

Up next, this extremely compelling prospect will take the toughest test of his career by far in the form of Nikita Krylov. 

Krylov (31-12) has been hovering around the light heavyweight top-15 for years. However, he's now just 1-3 in his last four fights, and most recently suffered a stoppage loss at the hands of former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker. 

This a big one for both men. Let's see who rises to the occasion. 

Abus Magomedov did not need much time to deal with Cam Rowston. After chewing up his opponent's leg with calf kicks, he countered a Rowston takedown with a deep guillotine choke. Rowston attempted to squirm out of it, but before long, he was asleep—and Magomedov was flexing with his free arm.

Talk about a dominant performance.

In victory, the German is now 30-7-1 overall, with two-straight submission wins behind him. He arguably should have been fighting higher-ranked opposition tonight, but certainly should be from here.

If he gets his way, it will be a fight with Brazil's Gregory "Robocop" Rodrigues next.

Rowston is now 15-4 overall. This is first loss in four UFC fights.

Next up, we'll head to the middleweight division for a fight between Abus Magomedov and Cam Rowston. 

Germany's Magomedov (29-7-1), who was born in Russia, is extremely experienced against high-level UFC middleweights, and is currently fresh off a first-round submission win over a fellow veteran in Michal Oleksiejczuk. 

Rowstown, from Australia, has won seven straight fights, including three in the Octagon. His most recent victory was a decision against Robert Bryczek. 

Grant Dawson had to weather some early adversity in his lightweight fight with Nurullo Aliev. However, after Aliev had a point deducted for landing illegal strikes to the back of the head, Dawson began to take control of the fight with his grappling and aggression on the feet. By round two, Aliev was already visibly fatigued, and by the third, he seemed to have fallen apart completely.

With the point deduction, there could be no other result than a unanimous decision for Dawson after three rounds.

In victory, Dawson is now 25-3-1, with wins in his last two fights.

Aliev is now 12-1, and will need to take a serious look at his game in defeat. His cardio was very poor, and he did not seem to have much will to win when his gas tank began dwindling.

MMA referees have really been cracking down on fouls lately. That trend continued early in this ongoing lightweight scrap between Grant Dawson and Nurullo Aliev, when the latter landed a slew of punches to the back of his opponent's head.

A very stern Marc Goddard took a point without a second thought.

Here are the scorecards for that razor close and highly contentious Colby Thickness vs. Asaf Chopurov fight, for anyone who is interested.

It's now time for a high-stakes lightweight clash, with veteran contender Grant Dawson looking to slow the rise of the unbeaten Nurullo Aliev.

Dawson (24-3-1), who is visiting Abu Dhabi from the USA, is fresh off a submission win over Mateusz Rebecki, which seperated him from a tough knockout loss to Manuel Torres.

Tajikistan's Aliev (12-0) has won four straight fights in the UFC, all by decision. 

Anybody who thought undefeated bantamweight prospect Asaf Chopurov would walk through Colby Thicknesse in Abu Dhabi was sorely mistaken. Despite being the biggest favorite on the card, the Russian suffered the first loss of his career with a split-decision defeat. There will undoubtedly be quite a bit of debate about that verdict, but there's no question the Aussie fought a great fight, and won the second round at the very least.

In victory, Thickness is now 10-1 overall, with decision victories in his last three fights. His lone Octagon loss came against Aleksandre Topuria, older brother of Ilia Topuria.

Chopurov is now 11-1, and will have to wait for his first UFC win.

Up next is the first of two bantamweight fights on tonight's bill—the second being the co-main event title fight.

This one will pit Australia's Colby Thicknesse (9-1) against Russia's Asaf Chopurov, who is unbeaten at 11-0. 

Thicknesse, who trains with headliner Alexander Volkanovski, has won back-to-back decisions since a decision loss to Aleksandre Topuria in his UFC debut. 

Chopurov, a former UAE Warriors champ who recently knocked out former ONE Championship contender Reece McLaren, will be making his UFC debut. His run in pro MMA was preceded by an impressive 34-1 amateur career.

Abubakar Vagaev is now 2-0 in the UFC, following a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Jacob Malkoun in Abu Dhabi. It was a very close fight, but the Russian clearly landed the harder punches, and also completed six takedowns—though he wasn't able to do much with them.

His overall record now stands at a very impressive 26-4. His win over Malkoun proves he can hang in the middleweight division, but his intention seems to be to drop back down to welterweight from here.

In defeat, Malkoun is now 10-4 overall. This is his first loss in four fights. He seemed to injure his shoulder at the end of round one, so he may need some time to recover before making his return.

It's now time for a middleweight clash between Jacob Malkoun and Abubakar Vagaev. 

Malkoun (10-3), from Australia, was a bit hot and cold in the early days of his UFC run, but has now won three straight fights, most recently picking up a decision win over the recently retired Gerald Meerschaert. 

Russia's Vagaev (25-4) is a former ACA champ who recently made his debut with an impressive decision defeat of Saygid Izagakhmaev at welterweight. He's won four straight fights. 

Daniel Santos and Bolaji Oki's undercard featherweight clash was very competitive, with the outcome seemingly up in the air after the third and final round ended. In the end, however, the judges sided with Santos, likely on the strength of a slightly higher striking volume and a particularly strong third round.

In victory, the Brazilian is now 14-3 overall, and back in the win column after a tough loss to Doo Ho Choi.

He dedicated his victory to his late teammate, Alan Nascimento.

In defeat, Oki falls to a rough 10-5. He's now on a three-fight skid, and will likely have a hard time stomaching this one, given that it was his first fight at featherweight.

The next fight on the bill will be a featherweight clash, with Brazil's Daniel Santos taking on Bolaji Oki of Belgium.

Santos (13-3) is riding a May stoppage loss to Doo Ho Choi, which brought his UFC record to 4-2. 

Oki (10-4) has lost two in a row by stoppage. He's 3-2 as a member of the UFC roster. 

Neither fighter has really asserted themself as a serious prospect just yet, but that could change with a decisive victory in Abu Dhabi.

As expected, Kody Steele and  Noah Gugnon got off to a fast start in their lightweight clash, winging fight-ending punches and elbows at each other from the opening bell. While Gugnon briefly appeared to be pulling ahead, Steele quickly turned the tables on him, first hurting him on the feet, then taking him down, then knocking him out with a massive right hand once they were standing again.

The first-round KO brings Steele to 9-1 overall, and 2-1 in the UFC, with wins in his last two appearances.

"I can do that to anybody bro," he told Daniel Cormier in his post-fight interview.

Gugnon falls to 10-3 in defeat. He's now 1-1 in the UFC, but at 26, has lots of time to rebound.

Next up, we've got a compelling lightweight scrap between France's Noah Gugnon and American Kody Steele. 

Gugnon (10-2) recently submitted Miloš Janičić in his UFC debut, which brought his current win streak to six. 

Steele (8-1) was last in action in May, when he submitted Dom Mar Fan. That victory separated him from a loss to Rongzhu in his UFC debut. 

Iasmin Lucindo was a few steps ahead of her fellow Brazilian Nicolle Caliari throughout their three-round catchweight clash. She landed more takedowns, landed the harder shots—including one that opened an absolutely grisly cut—and was generally in control of the matchup for the duration.

All three judges scored all three rounds in her favor.

In victory, Lucindo is now 19-6, with decision wins in her last two fights. She's currently sitting at 6-2 as a member of the UFC roster.

Caliari is now 9-5 overall, and a tough 1-3 in her last four fights. After her fairly grievous weight-miss, she might be sent packing by the promotion.

The UFC 333 prelims are officially underway.

Our first fight of the night will be a 120.5-pound catchweight between Iasmin Lucindo and Nicolle Caliari, both from Brazil. The fight was originally set to be contested in the 115-pound strawweight division, but Caliari missed weight. 

Lucindo (18-6) will look to build on the momentum of a decision win over Angela Hill, which separated her from a decision loss to Amanda Lemos. She's also beaten former contenders like Marina Rodriguez and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. 

Caliari (9-4) is riding a submission win over Shauna Bannon. She lost her two most recent fights before that. 

The UFC 333 undercard will kick off in about 10 minutes, so hopefully everyone has clambered out of bed and gotten their day started.

Here's what's on deck for this morning and afternoon.

It should be a great card. Unlike a lot of recent UFC cards, there do not appear to be many glaring mismatches on the bill, which means we may not get as many finishes as we have been lately, but we should get more competitive fights.

It's almost time!