Rarely in a calendar year for the UFC is there a single combination of title fights atop the card that showcased as much pound-for-pound greatness in a single night as UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi did last weekend. In the main event, 38-year-old Alexander Volkanoski appeared to cement the idea that he's the greatest featherweight in the sport's history as the two-time champion backed up his pre-fight prediction by stopping unbeaten Movsar Evloev inside of two rounds. Volkanovski, who has won three straight since suffering back-to-back stoppage losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, passed Brazilian legend Jose Aldo for the most featherweight title wins in UFC history while equaling Aldo's company mark for the most 145-pound title defenses.
And if it wasn't already apparent, Volkanovski reminded fans that they were watching truly one of the greatest mixed martial artists in history ply his craft amid a period in which he's redefining what longevity looks like in the lower weight divisions. event and UFC Fight Night is included with your subscription! Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year! The co-main event, on the other hand, produced P4P-worthy performances on both sides of the Octagon as two-time bantamweight titleholder Petr Yan defended his title in a five-round thriller of a trilogy bout against Merab Dvalishvili.
In a true "tale of two fights," Dvalishvili used his insane pace and spamming wrestling attack (which produced a new UFC record of 58 total takedown attempts) to sweep the first two rounds before the poise, pinpoint striking and cage IQ of Yan was able to rally to sweep the final three rounds and the decision. Dvalishvili, who turns 36 in January, appeared to be in the best cardiovascular shape of his career (which is truly saying something considering his all-time great motor) and he made enough adjustments to his entry points and shooting style to give Yan plenty of fits in the early going. "The Machine" was so good in defeat, in fact, that there's an argument to be made that he would've defeated any other 135-pounder in the world on this night.
For the second straight fight, the 33-year-old Yan proved that by making calm, championship adjustments midfight, he was able to neutralize the two parts of Dvalishvili's game (his cardio and wrestling) that overwhelmed every single elite fighter in the division until their rematch last December. Yan, who is in the midst of one of the sport's greatest comebacks after losing his title in 2020 and losing three of his next four fights immediately after, has only improved his well-rounded game in just about every aspect since his first title reign and has a strong case for consideration as the best and most accomplished bantamweight champion in UFC history. The two-division champion made history at UFC 330 in August when he broke Anderson Silva's record for consecutive wins inside the Octagon with 17 following a unanimous decision win over Ian Machado Garry.
The fight pushed the 35-year-old Makhachev to the limit, however, in his lone appearance in 2026 and he was criticized for telling UFC he wouldn't be ready for a January return, which created the need for a Carlos Prates-Michael Morales interim title bout at UFC 336 in Toronto. At 38, the two-time featherweight king made a respectable case for himself as fighter of the year in 2026 by packaging a January decision win over Diego Lopes in their rematch with an October return and a second-round TKO finish of unbeaten Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. Volkanovski improved to 15-1 in the UFC at 145 pounds and broke Jose Aldo's record for featherweight title wins (while equaling Aldo's mark for title defenses). 'THE GREAT' FOR A REASON 😤@AlexVolkanovski caps off #UFC333 with a title defense in dominant fashion! pic.twitter.com/kf2E89Dncv Some 10 months removed from winning back his 135-pound title in a rematch with Merab Dvalishvili, Yan squared off with "The Machine" for a third time at UFC 333 in October and delivered a thrilling performance in a unanimous decision win.
Yan, 33, fell behind in the opening rounds as Dvalishvili would go on to break his own record for takedown attempts in a single fight (58). But a surge over the final three rounds saw Yan repeatedly hurt his foe while outworking him to make a strong claim for the honor of greatest bantamweight in history. A title fight for the ages![ #UFC333 | LIVE on @paramountplus ] pic.twitter.com/AEHsOuyyYZ Still just 24, Van is quickly becoming one of the most well-rounded and battle-tested fighters on the planet.
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