UFC 333: Volkanovski vs. Evloev took place this past Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and was a success by all standards.
The event featured two world title bouts. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski put his title on the line against then undefeated contender Movsar Evloev in the main event. The co-main event featured a trilogy bout between bantamweight champion Petr Yan and former titleholder Merab Dvalishvili. It was the promotion’s 24th visit to Abu Dhabi and it set records.
“Tonight was the highest attendance for a UFC event in Abu Dhabi history, highest gate,” said UFC CEO Dana White during the event’s post-fight press conference. “We broke the arena record. We now hold four of the top five gates here at the arena. And over 50% of the fans came from outside UAE.”
Both champions retained their belts. Volkanovski handed Evloev his first career loss with a second-round TKO stoppage. It snapped the Russian’s 20-fight win streak. Yan defeated Dvalishvili via unanimous decision.
