Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili will square off for the men’s bantamweight championship in the UFC’s 20th trilogy bout in the co-main event at UFC 333. ESPN IllustrationJeff WagenheimOct 19, 2026, 09:45 AM ETMultiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsWhen men’s bantamweight champion Petr Yan and former champion Merab Dvalishvili fight in the UFC 333 co-main event on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, it will be their third meeting, completing the promotion’s 20th trilogy.This weekend’s headliners, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and undefeated challenger Movsar Evloev, will square off for the first time, but Volkanovski has already been part of a UFC trilogy. His threepeat with Max Holloway several years ago played out far differently from what will unfold in the UFC 333 co-main. That’s guaranteed. (Read on to find out why.)How fitting is it that Saturday’s event is numbered 333, a coincidental acknowledgment that when the UFC deals out three of a kind, the fans end up with a winning hand. Usually.Trilogies come in all shapes with all sizes.
Many of the sport’s biggest stars have been in one or more, yet at least one UFC three-fight series featured competitors newer fans probably haven’t heard of. Some trilogies have had championship-level stakes in each fight, while others have been driven by nothing but a scornful rivalry that makes the fights feel no less consequential. A few trilogies have been one-sided and a couple have concluded without establishing who’s better. We did the math.Other MMA organizations have staged trilogies, and some have played out across multiple promotions, but this list sticks to the 19 all-UFC trilogies to date and sorts them by similarities and distinguishing factors.Passing the torchTrilogies in which the winner of the first fight was at the top of the sport, and by the third meeting the opponent was MMA’s top fighterChuck Liddell vs.
Randy CoutureResults:UFC 43, June 6, 2003: Couture def. Liddell (TKO3) for interim light heavyweight titleUFC 52, April 16, 2005: Liddell def. Couture (KO1) for light heavyweight titleUFC 57, Feb. 4, 2006: Liddell def. Couture (KO2) for light heavyweight titleNotable: In the lead-up to their second meeting, Liddell and Couture coached against each other on the inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the reality show UFC CEO Dana White often credits with keeping the UFC in business.
Through their TV appearances and contrasting fighting styles and personalities, Liddell and Couture helped catapult MMA toward the sports mainstream. Couture is one of just three fighters (along with Tito Ortiz and Matt Hughes) to compete in two UFC trilogies — this one and a trio of fights with Vitor Belfort.Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt HughesResults:UFC 50, Oct. 22, 2004: Hughes def. St-Pierre (Sub1) for welterweight titleUFC 65, Nov. 18, 2006: St-Pierre def.
Hughes (TKO2) for welterweight titleUFC 79, Dec. 29, 2007: St-Pierre def. Hughes (Sub2) for interim welterweight titleNotable: This is the only UFC trilogy to feature multiple submission finishes. Hughes won by armbar at UFC 50, and St-Pierre ended the trilogy at UFC 79 by submitting Hughes, also by armbar. When the fighters were standing, though, GSP dominated.
In their second meeting, he outstruck Hughes 49-10 with two knockdowns. In the third fight, it was 97-10.A stunning start … and finishTrilogies that began with a shocking KO upset, followed by the KO victim scoring two dominant winsCain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos SantosResults:UFC on Fox, Nov. 12, 2011: Dos Santos def. Velasquez (KO1) for heavyweight titleUFC 155, Dec. 29, 2012: Velasquez def.
Dos Santos (UD) for heavyweight titleUFC 166, Oct. 19, 2013: Velasquez def. Dos Santos (TKO5) for heavyweight titleNotable: The first fight lasted barely a minute, as Dos Santos essentially won by one-punch knockout. The rematch and trilogy fight dramatically swung the other way. Velasquez battered JDS for the full 25 minutes of their second meeting, as reflected by one judge awarding him two 10-8 rounds.
Velasquez became the first UFC fighter to reach triple-figure significant strikes (111) and double-figure takedowns (11) in a single fight.Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel CormierResults:UFC 226, July 7, 2018: Cormier def. Miocic (KO1) for heavyweight titleUFC 241, Aug. 17, 2019: Miocic def. Cormier (TKO4) for heavyweight titleUFC 252, Aug. 15, 2020: Miocic def.
Cormier (UD) for heavyweight titleNotable: Cormier was light heavyweight champion when he first faced Miocic, and by crushing the heavyweight king with an uppercut, Cormier became the second UFC champ to reign in two weight classes simultaneously. Miocic bounced back in the next two fights, and his victory in the third meeting tied him with Couture for the most UFC heavyweight title-fight wins, with six.Back and forth (and back)Trilogies in which the winner of the first fight lost the second, then won the third — a rarityRandy Couture vs. Vitor BelfortResults:UFC 15, Oct. 17, 1997: Couture def. Belfort (TKO1)UFC 46, Jan. 31, 2004: Belfort def.
Couture (TKO1) for light heavyweight titleUFC 49, Aug. 21, 2004: Couture def. Belfort (TKO3) for light heavyweight titleNotable: Entering the first fight, Belfort was 20 years old and 4-0 as a pro — all knockouts of a minute, 17 seconds or faster. But Couture, 34, stopped his momentum cold. When they met again six years later, Belfort won in 49 seconds after his glove scraped Couture’s eye, causing a corneal abrasion that prompted the cageside doctor to stop the fight.
In the third fight, Couture brutalized Belfort for three rounds before that event’s doctor had seen enough. This is the only UFC trilogy in which two fights ended by doctor’s stoppage.BJ Penn vs. Matt HughesResults:UFC 46, Jan. 31, 2004: Penn def. Hughes (Sub1) for welterweight titleUFC 63, Sept. 23, 2006: Hughes def.
Penn (TKO3) for welterweight titleUFC 123, Nov. 20, 2010: Penn def. Hughes (KO1)Notable: After two unsuccessful bids for the lightweight championship, Penn moved up to welterweight and won the belt in a stunning upset, ending Hughes’ two-year reign and 13-fight winning streak. After Hughes won the rematch to even the score, Penn completed the trilogy in style, knocking out Hughes in 21 seconds — the fastest finish in a UFC trilogy.You’re just flexing nowTrilogies that ended in a 3-0 sweepTito Ortiz vs. Ken ShamrockResults:UFC 40, Nov. 12, 2002: Ortiz def.
Shamrock (TKO3) for light heavyweight titleUFC 61, July 8, 2006: Ortiz def. Shamrock (TKO1)UFC Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3, Oct. 10, 2006: Ortiz def. Shamrock (TKO1)Notable: This trilogy is unmatched in its bitter animosity, for sure, and maybe even in one-sidedness.
The feud grew out of the brash Ortiz defeating fighters from Shamrock’s highly regarded Lion’s Den gym, then mocking that team with vulgar gestures and custom T-shirts. Ortiz and Shamrock finally met at UFC 40 amid much anticipation, and the heated buildup drove a pay-per-view buy rate double what the UFC had ever seen.Frankie Edgar vs. BJ PennResults:UFC 112, April 10, 2010: Edgar def. Penn (UD) for lightweight titleUFC 118, Aug. 28, 2010: Edgar def.
Penn (UD) for lightweight titleThe Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale, July 6, 2014: Edgar def. Penn (TKO3)Notable: Penn, who had not lost a lightweight bout in eight years, was a near 8-1 betting favorite in the first fight. Even after Edgar pulled off a narrow upset, he was still the underdog entering the rematch. He won that one more clearly with three 50-45 scorecards, then completed the trilogy with a knockout.
Of the UFC’s 19 trilogies, 11 have ended with a finish in the third fight. But only two — both involving Edgar — ended with a finish after two consecutive decisions. The other was Edgar’s series with Gray Maynard.Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max HollowayResults:UFC 245, Dec. 14, 2019: Volkanovski def.
Holloway (UD) for featherweight titleUFC 251, July 11, 2020: Volkanovski def. Holloway (SD) for featherweight titleUFC 276, July 2, 2022: Volkanovski def.
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