This is the UFC 333 live blog of Alexander Volkov vs. Rizvan Kuniev, the main card of Saturday’s heavyweight bout at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The pit matchup pits the two top 10 contenders against each other, with Volkov at No. 4 and Kuniev at No. 9 in the MMA Fighting Global rankings.
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Volkov (40-11) made a strong case for a title shot with back-to-back wins over Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Jailton Almeida to make it six wins in his past seven fights. His only loss in that stretch was a controversial split decision loss to Cyril Gane, who set to defend his recently lifted title against Josh Hokit at UFC 334 on Nov. 14. Can Volkov finally get a chance at the championship if Kuniev passes?
In just three UFC appearances, Kuniev (14-3-1, 1 NC) has broken out of the middle of the pack, earning wins over Almeida and Tyrell Fortune. Outside of a split decision loss to Curtis Blaydes in his UFC debut, Kuniev has been nearly unbeaten since 2017, despite his career at PFL 2023. Haunted by a positive drug test, Kuniev looks to shake up the ranks and break into the top 5 with Volkov’s tie.
Check out the UFC 333 live blog for Alexander Volkov below Rizvan Kuniev vs.
The beginning
Ok, we’re now on a four-fight hitting streak following Aaron Pic’s incredible showing — and it’s all in the first round. Are the boys becoming big soon in Abu Dhabi? We are watching you guys, Volkov and Kuniev.
These two Russian heavyweights have trained together in the past and the tension has heated up in talks over the past few days, so this could be explosive.