Volkanovski stops unbeaten Evloev to retain featherweight title at UFC 333

Alexander Volkanovski retained the UFC featherweight championship at UFC 333 on October 24, 2026, stopping previously unbeaten Movsar Evloev (20-1) at 4:54 of the second round. Volkanovski swarmed Evloev with punches, continuing his assault as the Russian dropped to his hands and knees before referee Marc Goddard intervened.

In the co-main event, Petr Yan settled his trilogy with Merab Dvalishvili, retaining the bantamweight title by unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 48-47 in his favour. Dvalishvili (21-6) came out aggressively, scoring multiple takedowns in the early rounds and keeping Yan under near-constant pressure. However, Yan (21-5) grew into the fight, stuffing takedowns and landing sharp punches and kicks to the head and body. A liver kick hurt Dvalishvili in the third round, and Yan’s takedown defence and crisp striking proved decisive as the challenger faded in the championship rounds.

In a flyweight bout, Lone’er Kavanagh (11-2) earned a first-round stoppage of Ramazonbek Temirov (20-4) with a counter left uppercut that sent the Uzbek stumbling backward. Kavanagh followed with punches to the head and body until Temirov collapsed at 4:28.

Heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov improved to 41-11 with a unanimous decision over Rizvan Kuniev (14-4-1, 1 NC), using his reach to attack from the outside across three rounds. Judges scored the fight 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for “Drago”, strengthening his case for a title shot.

Featherweight Aaron Pico (15-5) needed just 74 seconds to stop Losene Keita (17-3), staggering him with a right cross before finishing on the canvas with short punches.

Former light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes (17-5) continued his resurgence with a first-round stoppage of Azamat Murzakanov (16-2), landing a head kick and a straight left before follow-up punches prompted referee Mike Beltran to intervene at 2:40.

Unbeaten light heavyweight prospect Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev (11-0) remained perfect by finishing veteran Nikita Krylov (31-13) in the first round. After an unsuccessful choke attempt, Yakhyaev landed a knee to Krylov’s head against the cage, with follow-up punches prompting referee Jason Herzog to stop the fight at 2:38.