UFC 333: Volkanovski vs. Evloev results, analysis

UFC 333 took place Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In the main event, Alexander Volkanovski defeated Movsar Evloev to retain the featherweight title. theScore's Nick Baldwin provided live results and analysis throughout the card.

📌 Jump to: Yan's UD | Kavanagh's TKO | Volkov's UD | Pico's TKO | Prelims | Early prelims

Volkanovski retains title

Alexander Volkanovski finished Movsar Evloev via TKO to retain the featherweight title in the main event. The ground-and-pound stoppage came at the 4:54 mark of the second round.

Volkanvoski handed Evloev the first loss of his career, with Evloev falling to 20-1.

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Yan beats Dvalishvili again

Petr Yan defeated Merab Dvalishvili via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) to retain the bantamweight title in their highly anticipated trilogy bout.

Yan has now scored back-to-back wins against Dvalishvili after reclaiming the title at UFC 323 last December.

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Kavanagh snipes Temirov

Lone'er Kavanagh gave Ramazan Temirov a taste of his own medicine.

Kavanagh finished Temirov with a devastating TKO at the 4:28 mark of the first round in a flyweight bout.

The 27-year-old Englishman rocked Temirov with an uppercut and dropped him with a flurry of punches. As Temirov tried to stand up, Kavanagh landed a pair of left hands that put Temirov down for good.

Kavanagh bounced back from a submission loss to Brandon Royval at UFC 329 in July. He broke out into flyweight title contention with a win over former two-time champion Brandon Moreno earlier this year. Kavanagh is now 4-2 in the Octagon.

Temirov, known as one of the top knockout artists in the division, fell to 3-1 in the UFC.

Volkov cruises past Kuniev

Alexander Volkov made his case for the next heavyweight title shot with a unanimous decision victory over Rizvan Kuniev. The judges scored the fight 29-28, 30-27, and 30-27.

Volkov controlled the distance and picked apart Kuniev over three rounds to win his third fight in a row. He even showed flashes of his grappling, getting Kuniev to the ground late in the third round and attempting a rear-naked choke before the final horn.

"What should I do to get a title shot?" Volkov said in his postfight interview, directing his message at UFC CEO Dana White.

The 38-year-old Russian's only loss in the last four-and-a-half years was a controversial split decision against current champion Ciryl Gane in December 2024. Gane, who was promoted to undisputed champion in September after Tom Aspinall vacated the title due to injury, is scheduled to face Josh Hokit at UFC 334 on Nov. 14 in New York.

Kuniev saw his two-fight winning streak end as the 34-year-old Russian fell to 2-2 in the Octagon.

Pico walks through Keita

Aaron Pico made it look easy in his third UFC bout against Losene Keita, dropping him with a left hand and then finishing him with ground-and-pound at the 1:14 mark of the first round.

Keita appeared to protest the referee stoppage, though he absorbed several punches while laying flat on his stomach.

Pico, a former Bellator and PFL contender, is now 2-1 in the UFC. He suffered a devastating knockout loss to Lerone Murphy in his debut in August 2025, but he rebounded with a decision win over Patricio "Pitbull" Freire at UFC 327 in April.

Following the victory, Pico, ranked No. 11 in the 145-pound division, expressed interest in a rematch with Murphy.

Keita, a highly touted prospect fighting out of Belgium, fell to 1-2 in the promotion.

Reyes crushes Murzakanov

Former light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes earned a huge win over Azamat Murzakanov, knocking him out at the 2:40 mark of the first round.

Reyes rocked Murzakanov with a high kick, dropped him with a left hand, and then finished him off with ground-and-pound.

After the win, Reyes, the No. 8-ranked contender, called out Paulo Costa and Khalil Rountree Jr.

Reyes has now won two in row and is 5-1 in his last six fights. His lone loss during that stretch came against current champion Carlos Ulberg in September 2025.

The 36-year-old's recent success has put a four-fight skid in the rearview mirror. Reyes went winless between 2020 and 2024, a slump that included three knockout losses, but he's fully back in title contention after a stunning career turnaround.

Murzakanov has lost two in a row, both via knockout. The 37-year-old Russian began his Octagon tenure with six straight wins before losing to Costa and now Reyes.

Yakhyaev TKOs Krylov

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev picked up the biggest win of his career, finishing veteran light heavyweight Nikita Krylov via TKO at the 2:38 mark of the first round.

Yakhyaev crumpled Krylov with a knee up against the fence, forcing referee Jason Herzog to step in.

Yakhyaev nearly submitted Krylov with a D'Arce choke earlier in the round, but he ultimately relied on his striking to get the job done.

The 25-year-old Turkey-based fighter has won four in a row to begin his UFC career, all via first-round finish. He remained undefeated as a professional at 12-0.

Krylov, a 34-year-old born in Ukraine, has lost two in a row and four of his last five.

Magomedov gets the submission

Middleweight Abus Magomedov made quick work of Cam Rowston, putting him to sleep with a guillotine choke at the 1:44 mark of the first round.

Magomedov jumped on the submission after Rowston went for a takedown, and he locked it in moments later.

The 36-year-old Russian is riding a two-fight winning streak and is 5-1 in his last six appearances. Three of his last five wins ended by submission.

Rowston, a 31-year-old Australian, suffered his first loss in the UFC, falling to 3-1.

Dawson outlasts Aliev

Grant Dawson delivered an impressive performance against the previously undefeated Nurullo Aliev, winning by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27).

Referee Marc Goddard deducted a point from Aliev in the first round due to illegal strikes to the back of Dawson's head.

Dawson did significantly more damage - using punches, kicks to the body, and elbows - in the second and third rounds to seal the victory. He also mixed in some takedowns and controlled Aliev on the ground. Dawson was much fresher than Aliev down the stretch.

With the victory, Dawson extended his winning streak to two. The 32-year-old is now 5-1 in his last six outings.

Aliev, 25, suffered his first professional loss, falling to 4-1 in the UFC and 12-1 overall.

Thicknesse spoils Chopurov's debut

Colby Thicknesse pulled off the upset against 5-1 betting favorite Asaf Chopurov, defeating him via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) in a bantamweight tilt.

Thicknesse, a 27-year-old Australian, won his third fight in a row, improving to 3-1 in the UFC.

Chopurov suffered his first career loss in what was his Octagon debut, falling to 11-1 as a pro.

Vagaev ekes out decision win

Abubakar Vagaev took home a unanimous decision victory over Jacob Malkoun in a middleweight bout. All three judges scored it 29-28 in his favor.

After being overwhelmed by Malkoun's jab in the first round, Vagaev applied pressure and edged out his opponent in what was a very competitive stand-up battle.

The 33-year-old Russian remained undefeated in the UFC, lifting his record to 2-0. He's now riding a five-fight winning streak overall.

Malkoun, a 31-year-old Australian, saw his three-fight winning streak come to an end.

Santos edges out Oki

Daniel Santos defeated Bolaji Oki via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in a featherweight bout.

It was a close fight, with little separating Santos and Oki in the first and third rounds. Santos clearly won the second, landing more damage on the feet in those five minutes.

The featherweights tagged each other with heavy punches in the final moments of the fight.

Santos, a 31-year-old Brazilian, bounced back from a knockout loss to Dooho Choi and is now 5-1 in his last six Octagon appearances.

Oki, a 30-year-old Belgian, is now riding a three-fight skid and is 2-4 in the promotion. This was his first fight at featherweight after dropping down from lightweight.

Steele lands the KO

Kody Steele delivered a vicious knockout in his lightweight bout against Noah Gugnon, crumpling his opponent with a right hand at the 3:54 mark of the first round.

Steele improved to 2-1 in the UFC with the victory. The 31-year-old signed with the promotion after an appearance on Dana White's Contender Series in 2024.

Gugnon, a 26-year-old Frenchman, fell to 1-1 in the Octagon after scoring a first-round submission victory in his debut in August.

Lucindo dominates Caliari

Iasmin Lucindo kicked off the card with a grueling performance against Nicolle Caliari, earning a unanimous decision victory in the strawweight bout. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 in Lucindo's favor.

Lucindo opened a cut on Caliari's face early in the fight and outgrappled her throughout the rest of it.

The 24-year-old Brazilian returned to the Octagon for the first time since August 2025. She's riding a two-fight winning streak and is 6-2 in the promotion.

Caliari, a 29-year-old from Brazil, fell to 1-3 in the UFC with the loss.

Prefight notes

Volkanovski is defending the featherweight championship for the second time since reclaiming the title last year. The 38-year-old Australian beat Diego Lopes by unanimous decision at UFC 325 in January, nine months after beating Lopes via the same result in a vacant title bout.

Volkanovski is one of the most accomplished featherweight champions - and fighters, period - in UFC history. His lone blemish in the 145-pound division came in February 2024 when Ilia Topuria knocked him out to become the new champion. But Topuria moved up to the lightweight division less than a year later, paving the way for Volkanovski to retake the throne.

Evloev finally gets his shot at UFC gold after beginning his Octagon career with 10 straight wins. The 32-year-old Russian, who's 20-0 as a professional, earned a crack at Volkanovski by beating Lerone Murphy via majority decision at UFC London in March.

In the UFC 333 co-main event, Petr Yan puts the bantamweight belt on the line in a trilogy bout against former champion Merab Dvalishvili.

Previewing UFC 333

• 4 biggest storylines ahead of UFC 333
• UFC 333 predictions: Will Volkanovski hand Evloev his 1st loss?

Full UFC 333 fight card

Main card (2 p.m. ET on Paramount+)

• Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev
• Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili
• Lone'er Kavanagh vs. Ramazan Temirov
• Alexander Volkov vs. Rizvan Kuniev
• Aaron Pico vs. Losene Keita

Preliminary card (12 p.m. ET on Paramount+)

• Azamat Murzakanov vs. Dominick Reyes
• Nikita Krylov vs. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev
• Abus Magomedov vs. Cam Rowston
• Grant Dawson vs. Nurullo Aliev

Early preliminary card (10 a.m. ET on Paramount+)

• Colby Thicknesse vs. Asaf Chopurov
• Abubakar Vagaev vs. Jacob Malkoun
• Bolaji Oki vs. Daniel Santos
• Kody Steele vs. Noah Gugnon
• Iasmin Lucindo vs. Nicolle Caliari

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