The UFC 333 fallout hit social media fast. The loudest post of the night came from a guy who never said who he was yelling at. Here’s what the fighters were saying, ordered by how much noise each post made.
Islam Makhachev
Makhachev went full trash-talk mode on X: “I just beat the guy who chased you around the Octagon for five rounds. Shut up and go train. You’re not on my level. See you soon . #maybe” The post doesn’t name its target, which somehow makes it meaner. It’s the transitive-property insult, the playground classic where I beat the guy who beat you, so sit down. My favorite part is the ending. He tells someone to shut up and promises to see them soon, then immediately hedges with a #maybe hashtag. That’s a man who knows exactly how negotiations work. It pulled more than 24,000 engagements, which made it the biggest post of the day by a mile.
Joshua Van
Van kept it short. He quoted the UFC’s announcement of his fight with Manel Kape at UFC 336 on Jan. 30, streaming on Paramount+, and let everyone know he’s back, punctuated with a pair of exclamation points. The promotion billed it in all caps as some fights just making sense, and for once the hype copy is right. Kape talks enough for three cards and Van seems happy to let his hands answer. Two exclamation points from Van is about the same as a 20-minute press conference rant from anybody else.
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Belal Muhammad
Belal watched the Yan and Merab fight and posted the most fighter-brained reaction possible: “He outlasted merabs cardio thats crazy”. He never says who he means. Given the rest of the timeline, it’s pretty clear which guy was standing across from Merab. When a former champion skips the highlights and goes straight to the gas tank, you know what impressed him. Merab’s cardio is the yardstick other fighters measure themselves against. Belal is basically saying someone ran a marathon next to the marathon guy and didn’t fall over.
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Matt Brown
The Immortal had one request: “Can wet just watch Yan and Merab fight once a month??” Yes, he typed wet where he meant we. No, I’m not fixing it, because the typo makes it better. You can picture him firing it off with his thumbs still shaking from the fight. Matchmakers won’t take him up on it, but if a veteran who’s seen everything wants a monthly subscription to one matchup, that tells you plenty about the fight.
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Kenny Florian
Florian went somewhere nobody expected. He admitted he knows next to nothing about cricket, Aussie rules football or rugby, then asked Australians whether Alexander Volkanovski belongs in the pantheon of Australia’s greatest athletes next to Rod Laver and Ian Thorpe. He answered his own question in the next breath: “Because from where I’m sitting, Volk has earned his place in that conversation.” Asking Australians to rank their sporting heroes is a great way to start a fight in the replies. Kenny clearly knew that, and he did it anyway. Respect.
Muhammad Mokaev
Mokaev dropped a five-word grenade: “What’s your thoughts on decision ?” He didn’t say which decision, didn’t say what he thought and didn’t add any context. That’s peak engagement-farming, and he’s welcome to it, because asking fight fans how they felt about the scorecards is the one question every one of them answers at full volume. The replies did his job for him.
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Sean O’Malley
Suga Sean brought up the rear in raw numbers but won on vowels: “PEEEEEETER YAAAAAAAN”. That’s a run of six E’s and seven A’s, typed by a guy who clearly loved what he watched. It’s the least analytical post on this list and also the most honest. Sometimes a fight is so good you can only scream a man’s name into the internet.
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Next up on the calendar is Van vs. Kape at UFC 336 on Jan. 30. As for Makhachev, whoever he was talking to knows exactly who they are. Whether that promise to see them soon holds up depends on the hashtag.
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