The UFC has added a new fight to the UFC 333 event in Abu Dhabi. In the middleweight division, Jacob Malkoun returns to the Octagon for the third time this year. The Australian fighter takes on Abubakar Vagaev. The fight takes place on October 24th in the Etihad Arena.
Multiple sources have confirmed the booking to Heavy.com after an initial report from Vestnik MMA. Neither Malkoun nor Vagaev is ranked in the division. Malkoun currently rides a three-fight winning streak, while Vagaev won his last four fights.
Riding The Momentum
Jacob Malkoun is a 31-year-old fighter from Australia who entered the UFC in 2020 with an undefeated record. He is one of the main training partners of former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Malkoun didn’t have a good start in the UFC, getting knocked out early in the first round by Phil Hawes. The Australian fighter bounced back with dominant wins over Abdul Razak Alhassan and AJ Dobson and got a step up in competition in 2022 against Brendan Allen. In a close fight, he lost via unanimous decision.
Malkoun won after that loss against Nick Maximov and looked to extend his streak to two wins when he took on Cody Brundage. Malkoun illegally landed an elbow to the back of Brundage’s head. Brundage couldn’t continue, and the fight was called a disqualification. Since that fight, Malkoun hasn’t lost anymore in the UFC. After defeating Andre Petroski by TKO in the second round, he won against the then-undefeated Torrez Finney and veteran Gerald Meerschaert. Malkoun now takes on Abubakar Vagaev and will try to make it four in a row in the Octagon.
Dark Horse
For Vagaev, it will be his sophomore fight in the UFC. The fighter from Russia signed with the UFC last year. The 33-year-old is one of former middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev’s training partners. Vagaev fought primarily for the WFCA (Akhmat) promotion, and later transitioned to the ACA following the merger between WFCA and ACB. Vagaev won the welterweight titles for both promotions.
He signed on a three-fight winning streak with the UFC earlier this year and was supposed to fight Magomedrasul Gasanov in his debut. Gasanov pulled out of the fight and was replaced by Saygid Izagakhmaev. In a tough match-up, Vagaev wrestled his way to a unanimous decision victory in his UFC debut. Now he goes up a weight class to take on Jacob Malkoun.
UFC 333 – Abu Dhabi (October 24th)
- Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev
- Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili
- Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Ramazan Temirov
- Alexander Volkov vs. Rizvan Kuniev
- Aaron Pico vs. Losene Keita
- Dominick Reyes vs. Azamat Murzakanov
- Abus Magomedov vs. Cam Rowston
- Nikita Krylov vs. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev
- Grant Dawson vs. Nurullo Aliev
- Abubakar Vagaev vs. Jacob Malkoun
UFC Adds Middleweight Bout to UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi