Opinion: UFC 333 could reshape featherweight, bantamweight GOAT debates

With two UFC 333 title fights on tap, Alexander Volkanovski, Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili have more than championship gold at stake. Their places in MMA history could be on the line. | 📷: UFC/Paramount


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For all the complaints about Ultimate Fighting Championship cards since the Paramount deal took effect, there will be no grumbling about UFC 333 from me. With two title fights at the top, at least two other bouts likely to shape their divisions’ championship pictures over the next year and several prospects who could eventually join those conversations, there’s plenty to be excited about.

However, even with the two championship bouts commanding most of the attention, I don’t believe their historical stakes are receiving enough weight. Those implications aren’t being ignored, but they feel like an afterthought in the UFC’s promotion. Perhaps that’s because the fighters whose legacies are at stake don’t command attention quite like Max Holloway or Sean O'Malley. Whatever the reason, these shouldn’t be treated as routine title fights. Both could strengthen a winner’s claim to being his division’s greatest of all time.

Alexander Volkanovski's UFC 333 title defense could strengthen his featherweight GOAT case

Despite headlining, the featherweight contest feels like the smaller of the two. There are several reasons for that. Movsar Evloev has finally received a title opportunity after 10 UFC victories, all by decision. His style has attracted criticism, and the wait has fueled debate about how much entertainment value influences matchmaking. Meanwhile, reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski feels more like a placeholder than the division’s unquestioned leader. His stretch of three losses in four appearances wasn’t that long ago, and two uneventful fights with Diego Lopes have followed.

Before I undermine my argument any further, two of those three losses came at lightweight against Islam Makhachev. The third was against Ilia Topuria, who later became lightweight champion. That featherweight defeat cost Volkanovski his belt and remains the main reason his current reign feels incomplete. It’s harder to get excited about a champion’s return to the throne when he didn’t reclaim it from the man who dethroned him.

Still, Volkanovski has lost only once at 145 pounds. That’s fewer featherweight defeats than either Holloway or Jose Aldo, the other leading candidates for the division’s greatest fighter. Topuria holds a victory over him, but he lacks Volkanovski’s sustained record against elite featherweights. Conor McGregor’s victory over Aldo doesn’t automatically place him above the Brazilian in the division’s historical hierarchy. Aldo’s extended success carries more weight. The same principle benefits Volkanovski.

Volkanovski could surpass Jose Aldo's UFC featherweight title-fight record

If Volkanovski beats the undefeated Evloev at 38, his case becomes difficult to dismiss. He would reach nine UFC featherweight title-fight victories, breaking his tie with Aldo, at an age when most fighters in the division have declined. Add three victories over Holloway, and the argument becomes stronger still.

Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili 3 could reshape the bantamweight GOAT debate

Bantamweight’s historical hierarchy could also shift, though the stakes are more evenly distributed between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili. Evloev would still have much to prove after winning the championship. Yan and Dvalishvili have already assembled substantial legacies. Their trilogy winner could emerge with a credible claim to the division’s top historical spot.

That may sound ambitious. Dvalishvili won 14 consecutive fights, including three successful title defenses. Yan is in his second reign as undisputed bantamweight champion but has yet to make a successful defense. He also endured a stretch of four losses in five appearances. A closer look, however, reveals more nuance than those results alone suggest.

Yan first lost his championship to Aljamain Sterling by disqualification after landing an illegal knee to his grounded opponent. Yan had taken control before that costly mistake, but the foul and resulting loss were his responsibility. After beating Cory Sandhagen for the interim title, he lost a split decision to Sterling in their rematch. That result was debated, though a majority of the media scores compiled by MMA Decisions favored Sterling. Yan’s subsequent split-decision loss to O’Malley drew considerably broader disagreement: Only one of the 26 media scorers listed by MMA Decisions favored O’Malley.

Yan’s case would be less clear-cut than Dvalishvili’s even with another victory. Still, winning their trilogy would give him a significant argument, particularly for those who believe his record understates his performances. Avenging the O’Malley defeat would strengthen it further. Given O’Malley’s popularity and the UFC’s apparent enthusiasm for promoting him, that rematch seems a plausible next step if Yan retains the belt.

Merab Dvalishvili could tie T.J. Dillashaw's UFC bantamweight title-fight record

Beating Dvalishvili again won’t be easy. Yan’s performance in their rematch was excellent, but Dvalishvili was attempting an unprecedented fourth successful UFC title defense in a calendar year. It’s reasonable to wonder whether that schedule affected him, though we can’t know how much. After more than 10 months between appearances, he could return refreshed. A victory would give him five UFC bantamweight title-fight wins, tying T.J. Dillashaw’s divisional record. Perhaps I shouldn’t minimize Evloev’s stakes, either. He remains undefeated and could begin a lengthy championship reign. A loss would leave his next opportunity uncertain, particularly given how long he waited for this one. An immediate rematch would likely require an unusually compelling first encounter, but predicting that he would never receive another title shot goes too far. He isn’t yet a central figure in the division’s greatest-of-all-time debate. He could become one over the next few years, and UFC 333 offers the starting point. For the other three title fighters, Saturday could provide some of the strongest evidence yet for their places in history.