Yan-Merab 3 Headlines UFC 333 Trilogy History

We summarize the day's news in our own words. Full credit to the outlets below for the original reporting, click through to read their work:

• Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili joins UFC's rare list of trilogy bouts at UFC 333 (ESPN MMA)
• UFC claims Petr Yan is the promotion’s ‘Greatest Boxer’ in UFC 333 video tribute (MMA Mania)
• Merab Dvalishvili picks his next title defense before Petr Yan trilogy at #UFC333 (r/ufc)
• Video: UFC 333 'Countdown' for Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili 3 (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Merab Dvalishvili Outlines Song Yadong, Sean O’Malley Scenarios After UFC 333 (MiddleEasy)
• Robelis Despaigne Plans December Karate Combat Defense Under UFC Arrangement (MiddleEasy)
• Dricus du Plessis Targets Middleweight Belt Before Move To 205 (MiddleEasy)
• Dricus Du Plessis sets sights on becoming two-division champ: ‘I’m cutting 45 pounds’ (MMA Mania)
• Charles Oliveira: If the BMF belt is about going there and breaking each other up, ‘here’s the belt, take it somewhere else’ (r/MMA)
• Charles Oliveira: If the BMF belt is about rock ’em sock ’em robots, ‘take it somewhere else’ (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Charles Do Bronx points to advantage for clash with Diego Lopes at UFC 335: “Experience” (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Champion Volkanovski promises a "wild" performance against Evloev at UFC 333 (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Alexander Volkanovski plans to finish Movsar Evloev ‘in pretty wild fashion’ at UFC 333 (MMA Mania)
• Video: UFC 333 'Countdown' for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Alexander Volkanovski predicts 'wild' finish of 20-0 Movsar Evloev (Sherdog)
• Alexander Volkanovski predicts 'wild' finish of 20-0 Movsar Evloev (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Alexander Volkanovski explains double retirement idea vs. Justin Gaethje (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Colby Covington tops Arman Tsarykyan, Khamzat Chimaev in inaugural RAF crossover rankings (MMA Fighting)
• RAF debuts official men's crossover rankings lined with UFC fighters (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• OnlyFans star cashes in after mid-fight wardrobe malfunction goes viral at PFL Chicago (Bloody Elbow)

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA, episode 123 for October 19th, 2026. DUKE: Five days out from UFC 333 and the story everybody's circling is Petr Yan versus Merab Dvalishvili three.
NORA: UFC has had nineteen trilogies in its history, and this one slots right into that list.
DUKE: Nineteen trilogies, that's it? In this many years?
NORA: That's it. Trilogies are rare because most rivalries get settled in two.
DUKE: So Yan and Merab running it back a third time already puts this among the rarer rivalries the promotion's ever had.
NORA: And UFC's hyping Yan hard going in, they put out a tribute calling him the promotion's greatest boxer, with clips against Teruto Ishihara, Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber.
DUKE: Greatest boxer in company history is a big claim.
NORA: It's marketing, sure, but the chin and the hands are real, that's not invented.
DUKE: Meanwhile Merab's already looking past this fight.
NORA: Merab outlined his next title defense scenarios, Song Yadong if he regains the belt, and he's naming Sean O'Malley as who he expects Yan to fight if Yan wins.
DUKE: That's wild, calling your own hypothetical losses out loud.
NORA: It's also just Merab being Merab, he talks like he's already five fights ahead.
DUKE: Fans on X are buzzing about the trilogy angle too.
NORA: One post is literally just pointing out the number three keeps showing up, like it's fate at this point. Numerology aside, this is a legit three fight rivalry, and that's not nothing.
DUKE: Now on to the card news, and we've got a weird crossover note out of Karate Combat.
NORA: According to Asim Zaidi, Robelis Despaigne is planning a title defense December 5th in Miami, and it's happening under some kind of arrangement with the UFC.
DUKE: Wait, the UFC's letting one of their guys defend a belt somewhere else?
NORA: That's the reporting, Asim Zaidi laid out the date, and Ben Davis gave his understanding of how the UFC arrangement works.
DUKE: Despaigne is a UFC heavyweight.
NORA: So this is UFC essentially loaning him out for a crossover title fight, which tells you these promotional partnerships are only getting more tangled.
DUKE: Keep an eye on that one, it's a strange little wrinkle.
NORA: It is.
DUKE: Now on to the fighter news, and Dricus du Plessis is thinking bigger than one division.
NORA: Dricus du Plessis wants the middleweight belt back before he even considers a move up to light heavyweight.
DUKE: Dricus du Plessis lost that belt to Khamzat Chimaev.
NORA: Dricus du Plessis is talking about the toll of the cut, he said he's cutting forty five pounds just to make middleweight.
DUKE: Forty five pounds is brutal for anybody.
NORA: It explains why two-oh-five is even on his radar long term, but he's clear, regain the belt first, then talk about two divisions.
DUKE: Makes sense, you don't chase a second strap while you don't even have the first one anymore.
NORA: Exactly, priorities in order.
DUKE: Now on to the callouts, and Charles Oliveira's got some thoughts on the BMF belt.
NORA: Charles Oliveira heads into UFC 335 against Diego Lopes, and he's drawing a line on what the BMF belt is supposed to represent.
DUKE: What'd he actually say?
NORA: Quote, here's the belt, take it somewhere else, end quote, if it's just about two guys going in there to break each other up.
DUKE: So he doesn't want the BMF turned into some rock 'em sock 'em gimmick. So he's framing it as a fighter's belt, not a brawler's prop.
NORA: And heading into Lopes, Charles Oliveira's pointing to experience as his edge, two Brazilians, similar styles, but he's the veteran in the matchup.
DUKE: Lopes is dangerous though, that's a live threat to the belt either way.
NORA: It is, but Oliveira sounds like a guy who's already thought past the hype and into the gameplan.
DUKE: Sticking with UFC 333, Volkanovski is not shy about his own fight either.
NORA: Volkanovski's promising a, quote, wild, end quote, performance against Movsar Evloev, who is twenty and oh and has never lost professionally.
DUKE: Twenty and oh is scary on paper.
NORA: But Evloev's ten UFC wins are all by decision, he's a control fighter, spam the takedown, ride out rounds.
DUKE: And Volkanovski's saying he'll finish him in, quote, pretty wild fashion, end quote.
NORA: That's a bold line against an undefeated grinder nobody's finished.
DUKE: I like the confidence, but Evloev's never even been seriously tested on the feet.
NORA: Which is exactly why Volkanovski thinks this is his best chance, styles make fights, and Evloev's never faced power and footwork like this.
DUKE: If he pulls it off, that's a massive statement for the featherweight division.
NORA: It would be the first loss ever on Evloev's record, full stop.
DUKE: And Volkanovski's also floating a dream scenario down the road.
NORA: Volkanovski mentioned liking the idea of a final fight against Justin Gaethje, a kind of double retirement bout to close out both careers.
DUKE: That's a fun one to dream on, but Evloev first.
NORA: Way ahead of himself, but hey, it's a fun fight to float.
DUKE: Now on to the business side, and RAF just dropped its first ever crossover rankings.
NORA: Colby Covington sits at number two in the men's crossover pound-for-pound list, and he's 3-0 in the promotion, including wins over former UFC names.
DUKE: Who's chasing him? Interesting that a brand new promotion's rankings are already loaded with familiar UFC faces.
NORA: It shows how much crossover interest there is between these styles right now, this isn't some fringe sideshow anymore.
DUKE: Now on to around the sport, and this one's lighter.
NORA: Lucero Acosta lost that fight, a stoppage defeat in her PFL debut, but she's cashing in on the viral moment regardless.
DUKE: And she lost that fight, right?
NORA: She did, a stoppage defeat in her PFL debut, but she's cashing in on the viral moment regardless.
DUKE: Sport and spectacle, always tangled together.
NORA: Always.
DUKE: Modest meaning close.
NORA: Right, and that line's held steady, no real movement since we last checked it.
DUKE: Steady lines usually mean nobody's spooked by anything, no injury rumors shaking the market.
NORA: Exactly, book's comfortable where it's at.
DUKE: Looking ahead, UFC Fight Night brings Renato Moicano against Tom Nolan next Saturday the thirty first.
NORA: And the week after that, Sean Brady meets Gabriel Bonfim, according to the promotion's schedule.
DUKE: Two very different flavors of fight card, but both worth circling.
NORA: Definitely.
DUKE: That's gonna do it for us today.
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