UFC 333 LIVE results: Volkanovski vs Evloev time, card and fight updates as Kavanagh wins and Dvalishvili stars

Petr Yan def. Merab Dvalishvili via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

And STILL! What a performance from the two-time champ.

Yan blocks a kick and jettisons a cross to the body. Now he’s beating up the lead leg of Merab. Jumping knee partially lands for Yan!

1:40 to go. Brutalllll left hook to the body by Yan. Another lashing body kick.

Right uppercut and left hook from Yan! Another hard body kick and Merab skips away. Now a one-two has him teetering back to the fence. A body kick has Merab stumbling now.

The final buzzer brings an eruption of noise from the crowd.

Yan SURELY just came back from two rounds down to retain his title…

Yan with a left hook to the body and an uppercut to the head. A spearing rear uppercut lands for Merab. He tries a sloppy single-leg and is punished for it.

A grazing uppercut tags him upstairs. Yan’s own nose is bloodied, mind.

He makes Merab miss wildly, though, with the Georgian stumbling off balance.

HARD body shot from Yan. Counter cross to the head. Kick to the body on the buzzer!

It’s surely 2-2 heading into the final round.

Okay, we have it 29-28 to Merab, heading into the championship rounds.

Bigggg left hook by Yan off the break!! Merab eats it well.

Merab’s takedown attempts have gotten less effective, though, as a single-leg shows now. Merab with two head kicks but neither lands clean.

Good one-two from Yan!! Now a body hook! Merab has three minutes left in this round and he doesn’t look comfortable.

He sees a head kick blocked and eats a piston jab. Now a left hook!

Yan is DIALING it UP. Merab’s nose is busted.

Yan with a big land and the crowd erupts, but Merab fires right back! The crowd made it sound like a bigger Yan moment than it was, I’d say.

Good jabs from Yan now, however. He’s pressing forward, he kicks low.

Another eruption of noise as Yan lands well, but AGAIN Merab comes back with punches and takedown attempts.

OH!! A body kick has Merab grimacing and covering up!! This has happened to Merab before, but opponents haven’t been able to capitalise!!

He has to survive 40 seconds in this round… Another body kick by Yan, and Merab grins.

But he’ll survive for now… Good round for Yan in the end!

Yan kicks low, then Merab does the same. An overhand grazes Merab. Yan swings a right hook and Merab ducks under, shooting for a double-leg.

It’s not there, but Merab soon tries again. He switches to a single, then a body lock. He’s RELENTLESS. Merab with a knee to the body off the break.

Yan is doing a better job of defending the takedowns now, but he NEEDS to start scoring more with his strikes.

Merab, by the way, is throwing low kicks and jabs Yan’s way as we speak.

Hard cross to the body by Yan.

Hard low kick by Merab after Yan stands once again.

The takedowns are obviously scoring BUT only to an extent; Merab is not keeping Yan down or dealing any damage on the mat.

Yan tries a combination upstairs and gets through with the final punch, a rear uppercut. Cross lands for Merab, then he fails with a single-leg.

The next single-leg works! He drivessss through Yan, who tips backwards onto the mat. Yan soon stands, but he eats a body kick right after.

I know this is how Merab fights but it’s still SO shocking to see this pace. He’s twitching all the time, too.

Merab with a ton of feints and a fair few punches early on, but none land. Yan with a couple of crisp crosses, though!

Now a good cross from Merab, exploding off the fence! Merab then goes for a single-leg and switches to a double, hauling Yan down. Again, however, Yan does very well getting up.

Now Merab takes the back and trips Yan – a very different takedown. Yan reverses well, though, rolling and taking the back of Merab! He chooses to stand, though, and let Merab do the same.

AGAIN Merab takes the back and tries to trip Yan, as the crowd boos. It takes a while, but eventually he drags down the ex-champ by the fence.

Oh! Merab with a good right hand early on. He then shoots for a single-leg but Yan scrambles free, evading the following up punches after crashing into the fence.

Now Merab has the back, but Yan is preventing a trip with his own foot. Yan spins free, and Merab kicks to the body.

Merab tries another single-leg and Yan is tipped to the side, and he grabs Yan’s leg to try to stabilise himself. Again he shimmies away and regroups. Yan misses with a jab and Merab lands a cross.

Such a fast pace from Merab, as we’re used to. Historically he’s sustained it well over five rounds, but he’s also 0-2 on takedowns so far, having gone 2-28 (or 29?) in their second fight.

Now he gets Yan down!! But the champ pops right back up. Merab sticks out his tongue. Bigggg level change and another takedown from Merab – boos from the crowd…