UFC 333 draws record crowd in Abu Dhabi as Volkanovski retains featherweight title

UFC 333: Alexander Volkanovski vs Movsar Evloev made history at Etihad Arena on Saturday night, recording the highest attendance and highest gate for a UFC event in Abu Dhabi to date, as thousands of fans packed the sold-out venue for two thrilling title fights.

UFC CEO Dana White highlighted the record-breaking success and international appeal of the event, while outlining his ambitions to continue bringing major UFC events to Abu Dhabi.

“Tonight was the highest attendance for a UFC event in Abu Dhabi history. Highest gate,” White said. “And over 50 per cent of the fans came from outside the UAE.”

“They spent money to come here, flights, hotel rooms, everything. You want to deliver. You want to have an event like we had tonight.”

“I plan to have lots of great events here in Abu Dhabi again.”

White also teased further plans, adding: “We’re working on an event right now that will be very unique and people from all over the world will want to come see. I already started to see renderings of what we could possibly do before I flew to Abu Dhabi. I look forward to announcing that soon.”

Inside the Octagon, Volkanovski retained his featherweight title with an impressive second-round TKO victory over previously unbeaten Movsar Evloev in the main event, handing the No. 1 contender the first defeat of his professional career.

Volkanovski stopped Evloev with punches at 4:54 of the second round. Reflecting on another memorable victory in the UAE capital, Volkanovski said: “Abu Dhabi is always great. This is my fifth time here in Abu Dhabi. I get treated so well over here. Everyone’s very hospitable and they show so much respect. I love it here.”

Volkanovski said he wants to keep stacking wins for as long as he can.

The 38-year-old has won three straight, with the first two by unanimous decision, after two losses in 2024 and 2023. His most recent win by stoppage had come in July 2023 with a third-round TKO of Yair Rodriguez.

“I’m choosing to do (fight), I don’t have to. I said if I didn’t take too much damage, we will probably keep going. So maybe we keep going,” Volkanovski added.

In the co-main event, Petr Yan successfully defended his bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili in the third meeting between the pair, earning a unanimous decision following a thrilling five-round contest. All three judges scored the bout 48-47 in Yan’s favour.

The victory marked another memorable Abu Dhabi moment for Yan, who first captured the bantamweight title against Jose Aldo in the UAE capital during UFC Fight Island in 2020.

Yan said: “I feel excellent. I’m still processing my win, but I feel great and happy to share this moment again in Abu Dhabi.

“For me, it was important to get this win for my team, for my family and for my supporters. Thank you so much to all the fans around the world for supporting me.”

Yan beat Dvalishvili last December to regain the title for the second time, having previously won it in July 2020 against Jose Aldo at UFC 251.

Elsewhere on the main card, Lone’er Kavanagh stopped Ramazan Temirov by first-round TKO while, Alexander Volkov earned a unanimous decision victory over Rizvan Kuniev.

Opening the main card, Aaron Pico needed just over a minute to TKO Losene Keita of Guinea in their featherweight fight. Pico (15-5 MMA) has won back-to- back fights, while Keita (17-3 MMA) has split his last four.

The event brought another memorable edition of Abu Dhabi Showdown Week to a close, further reinforcing the UAE capital’s position as a leading global destination for MMA and major international sporting events.