by Photo Credit MMA Junkie
UFC 333 was live today from Abu Dabi and lived up to the big time hype coming into this one!
Before we get to the full recap, here are the UFC named bonuses.
Fight of the Night: Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Performance of the Night: Alexander Volkanovski
Performance of the Night: Lone’er Kavanagh
Finish bonus: Aaron Pico
Finish bonus: Dominick Reyes
Finish bonus: Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev
Finish bonus: Abus Magomedov
Finish bonus: Kody Steele
Main Card Recap
Petr Yan retained his UFC Bantamweight Championship with a thrilling 48-47 decision win over Merab Dvalishvili. Yan made myself and many fans a believer once again with one of the most thrilling fights of 2026. Yan wanted to finish Merab after a close decision the last time the two hooked up, but once again couldn’t do it. Yan did do enough on all 3 judges cards to take the victory and keep the belt. Merab looked unstoppable 11 months ago, but now has lost twice in a row to Yan.
UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski turned away undefeated contender Movsar Evloev with ease via second round knockout. The spotless record of Evloev was under question coming in due to level of competition he faced and the fact that he didn’t have a single UFC finish in his 10-fight UFC run. Volkanovski simply outclassed him and reminded everyone why he is the top featherweight in the world.
Both champions retained tonight and verified why they were seen as heavy favorites coming into one. Meanwhile, cross over star sensation picked up a huge knockout win over Losene Keita in just 1:14. Pico has struggled at times to get off to hot starts with a promotion, losing his MMA and Bellator debut in 2017 and then again losing his UFC debut to Lerone Murphy in August of 2025. Since then, he has two decisive wins and appears to be living up to hype once again.
Alexander Volkov continued his re-birth at UFC Heavyweight with his 3rd straight win and his 7th win in his last 8 fights. At 52 career fights and UFC title shots, Volkov has become a gatekeeper and not a contender at times, but if he continues this latest surge, he may just get that shot after all. Meanwhile, his opponent Rizvan Kuniev lost for the 2 time in his 5th UFC fight.
Lone’er Kavanagh didn’t need much time, just 4:28 to put away Ramazan Temirov via TKO. Kavanagh earns his 5th UFC win and stops a skid in which he had lost 2 of 3. This loss for Temirov is not common as it is only 4th career loss after coming into the fight a winner of 12 straight.
Undercard results can be found below.
- Dominick Reyes defeated Azamat Murzakanov via KO (head kick and punches) in Round 1 (2:40).
- Light Heavyweight: Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev defeated Nikita Krylov via KO (knee) in Round 1 (2:38).
- Middleweight: Abus Magomedov defeated Cam Rowston via Submission (guillotine choke) in Round 1 (1:44).
- Lightweight: Grant Dawson defeated Nurullo Aliev via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in Round 3 (5:00).
- Bantamweight: Colby Thicknesse defeated Asaf Chopurov via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) in Round 3 (5:00).
- Middleweight: Abubakar Vagaev defeated Jacob Malkoun via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in Round 3 (5:00).
- Featherweight: Daniel Santos defeated Bolaji Oki via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in Round 3 (5:00).
- Lightweight: Kody Steele defeated Noah Gugnon via KO (punches) in Round 1 (3:54).
- Catchweight (120.5 lb): Iasmin Lucindo defeated Nicolle Caliari via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in Round 3 (5:00).
