UFC 333 ended with a bang on Saturday, as both kept their titles on the mat in two spectacular performances. Here are the biggest takeaways from the UFC’s latest visit to Abu Dhabi.
1. Let there be an end to all the arguments about who is the greatest thin of all time – it is officially Alexander Volkanovski.
He didn’t just beat another challenger. And threw the top of the invincible contender. second round At the age of 38 He also set a new UFC record for title fights in the division with nine, and made it look ugly. That’s right, my friends.
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Volkanovski has been in the UFC for 10 years now, but at UFC 333 he looked as good as he ever has. It’s not supposed to work like that. Especially in the lighter weight classes, fighters are supposed to hit a steep decline once they hit the mid-30s.
So how does Volkanovski seem to be adding new tricks to his bag here, when he also appears as the first athlete carved from marble? We have already seen the greats of the former age clean him up. Now begin to do the following.
If you expect to cut this guy down, and give his place to the bulls of the division, you will have a more comfortable time.
2. now it really feels like Petr Yan is the champ again
And this version of it is going to hit hard.
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Merab Dvalishvili’s plan for the last Saturday of this trilogy seemed quite straightforward. He wanted to overwhelm Yan with takedowns, whether he was successful or not, so that Yan playing defense would only force offense at his own expense.
Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili gave us an all-time classic trilogy.
(Jeff Bottari via Getty Images)
The first one was working two rounds. Dvalishvili has attempted 19 shots in those two previous shots, according to UFC official status. Five of them were believed. Over the next three rounds, he attempted 39 (!!!) more and failed. Meanwhile, Yan was adding new balls to Dvalishvili’s head with every minute he was allowed to knock in the right range.
By the end, there was doubt.
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Yan’s dominance delivered those final three rounds in terms of damage, and he shut down the best part of Dvalishvili’s game in the process. Yan was clearly the first to win in the previous command, but it also seemed like he might be one of the last fighters left in the division once he thought. This second Righteousness now proves: it was just more than that. No one doubts Yan is the champ again for real now.
(And no one is happier about that than Sean O’Malley).
3. Lone’er Kavanagh cooks with Gas, you guys
After going on his way to nine straight career wins, the old one made a bit of a loss in the UFC as the competition got tough and the lights got bright. That might have some jumping on the bandwagon (not that Brandon Royval’s submission loss is shameful), but my guess is that some will be pleased after Saturday’s reentry in the highlight reel knockout of Ramazan Temirov.
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Just 27 years old, Kavanagh has a lot to look forward to in the game. It’s still a bit of a work in progress, but it feels like the specter of a fighter is possible. But now that he’s back in the winning streak, he can expect to meet the upper echelon of the flying division soon. There are no easy night jobs to be found there.
4. OK, Alexander Volkov – we see you now
The press conference may not have gone exactly to purpose, but at least it managed to put him in the conversation. There are those who didn’t think the conversation would center on whether or not UFC CEO Dana White can recognize the top five heavyweights who have fought in the promotion over the past decade, but almost every public opinion at this point is good public opinion.
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Volkov has now won three straight, and with better work from the judges, he could easily sit on an eight-fight streak, which is almost unheard of these days. The thing is, though, it still works for recognition (or sometimes). He is also trying to get people to remember him outside of his fight week. It is important in a certain way, and even a deserted and uncultivated island of toys, since everyone has his own way to stand out.
Then it’s Volkov, quietly winning memorable decisions while peeking out more and more of his personality. We find ourselves now asking ourselves, does it make a vernacular work that the man of division has forgotten? After this Rizvan Kuniev will win, we will be exploring.
Is Alexander Volkov’s moment finally upon us?
(Jeff Bottari via Getty Images)
5. What will become of Movsar Evloev?
Don’t get me wrong, 20-1 is still a great career. Losing Volkanovski is definitely a sign that your career is hitting a dead end. But let’s not pretend that even so it is not a difficult time to fight for the first time, when deciding on a fighter in the UFC. The focus is now all on fighting and quick knockouts. This is what the UFC wants — and what it rewards. The rise of Evloev was often the opposite. But he wins, he wins, and at some point he’s beaten just about every other viable contender, making the title shot almost a foregone conclusion.
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Saturn’s fight was lost, and in such an emphatic way, a major blow to a fighter like Evloev. How did he ever shoot another, or chew while Volkanovski chewed? Five fighters were placed below him, and he beat four of them. The only outlier, Jean Silva, is someone the UFC would rather have kept away from him, since he’s absolutely the type of fighter the brass would want to challenge for a future title shot.
It’s a tough time to be a guy who sees a lot of scorecards, but not a lot of bonus results. And after losing his first shot at UFC gold, there will be no other warning for Evloev.