Alexander Volkanovski retained his title with a stoppage win over previously undefeated Movsar Evloev in the UFC 333 main event. In the co-main event, Petr Yan took a unanimous decision over Merab Dvalishvili to retain his bantamweight title. Volkanovski, 38, now faces questions over what comes next, with a Justin Gaethje superfight and an Ilia Topuria rematch among the options being discussed.
Alexander Volkanovski kept his featherweight title at UFC 333 on October 24, stopping previously unbeaten Movsar Evloev in the main event. Earlier on the card, Petr Yan retained the bantamweight belt with a unanimous decision over Merab Dvalishvili, as MMA Fighting reported.
Evloev entered the night 20-0 and ranked first at featherweight before taking his first professional loss, a second-round KO/TKO in a title fight. The 32-year-old Russian, who trains at American Top Team, is a volume wrestler, averaging 4.78 takedowns per 15 minutes and landing 3.91 significant strikes per minute at 47 percent accuracy. His most recent recorded fight before this one was a majority decision win over Lerone Murphy in March 2026.
Volkanovski, 38, now faces questions over his next step. A superfight with Justin Gaethje and a rematch with Ilia Topuria are both among the options being discussed.
Yan, 33, is 21-5 and the reigning bantamweight champion. The Russian, who fights out of Archangel Michael Club, lands 5.16 significant strikes per minute at 54 percent accuracy. Dvalishvili, 35, is 21-6 and ranked second pound-for-pound, with a takedown average of 5.97 per 15 minutes, well above Yan's 1.7. Neither fighter's grappling edge or striking accuracy decided the rubber match in Dvalishvili's favor.
Why it matters
- The result of the Yan-Dvalishvili trilogy is now 2-1 in Yan's favor. Dvalishvili won the first meeting by unanimous decision in March 2023, but Yan has taken the last two, both over five rounds and both by unanimous decision: December 2025 at UFC 323 and now UFC 333.
- Dvalishvili has lost back-to-back title fights, having won at UFC 320 in October 2025 before dropping the two Yan bouts.
- Volkanovski's win ends Evloev's unbeaten run and leaves the featherweight title picture open to a champion-versus-champion fight or a return to the Topuria rivalry.
- Yan's two straight wins over a fighter who out-wrestles him on paper show the gap between striking numbers and takedown rates did not settle the matchup.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
