Alexander Volkanovski has beaten Max Holloway twice, but he has never faced anyone quite like Movsar Evloev, a 20-0 wrestler who wins most of his fights by grinding out decisions. That's the main event at UFC 333 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, on Saturday, October 24, and the co-main is Petr Yan against Merab Dvalishvili for a third time, with Yan's bantamweight belt on the line. I find both title fights hard to call.
Volkanovski at 38
Volkanovski (28-4) turned 38 in September and is in his second reign at 145 pounds. He won the vacant belt by beating Diego Lopes at UFC 314 in April 2025, then beat Lopes again on a unanimous decision in Sydney in February 2026. Across two reigns he has six title defences, including the two Holloway wins plus Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung and Yair Rodriguez. His three losses since 2023 all came against elite opposition: Islam Makhachev twice up at lightweight, and Ilia Topuria.
His takedown defence, cardio and fight IQ still look elite to me. The Lopes rematch showed he can win the long, ugly rounds as well as the pretty ones. What nobody can tell you is when 38 stops being fine.
Evloev has never lost
Evloev is 32 and unbeaten in 20 professional fights, and he hasn't done it with highlight-reel finishes. Thirteen of those wins are decisions, built on wrestling and steady volume. His recent run reads like a contender's CV, though: Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, Arnold Allen, Aljamain Sterling and, in March 2026 in London, Lerone Murphy on a majority decision.
This is the hardest style test Volkanovski has had at featherweight. Evloev will shoot early and keep shooting for 25 minutes, and he has beaten everyone put in front of him.
Yan and Dvalishvili, round three
The trilogy is level at 1-1. Dvalishvili won a lopsided decision in March 2023. Yan reversed it at UFC 323 in December 2025, taking the bantamweight title on a unanimous decision in a fight several outlets named the upset of the year. Yan comes in at 20-5.
The Georgian's pace and takedown volume made him champion in the first place, and he has had ten months to work out what went wrong in the rematch. Yan, meanwhile, now has the confidence of a man who has already solved the problem once.
UFC 333 start times
The card runs in three parts. Some feeds list the event at 00:00 UTC on October 24, but the official UFC schedule has it later on Saturday, with the main card at 2:00 p.m. ET.
| Segment | UTC | Abu Dhabi | ET / PT | UK (BST) | India (IST) | Sydney (AEDT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early prelims | 14:00 Sat | 6:00 p.m. | 10:00 a.m. / 7:00 a.m. | 3:00 p.m. | 7:30 p.m. | 1:00 a.m. Sun |
| Prelims | 16:00 Sat | 8:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. / 9:00 a.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 3:00 a.m. Sun |
| Main card | 18:00 Sat | 10:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. / 11:00 a.m. | 7:00 p.m. | 11:30 p.m. | 5:00 a.m. Sun |
Main event walkouts usually come two to three hours into the main card, so don't panic if Volkanovski isn't out by 3 p.m. ET. UK clocks go back at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, after the event has finished, so the BST times stand.
The card
Main card
| Weight class | Bout |
|---|---|
| Featherweight title | Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Movsar Evloev |
| Bantamweight title | Petr Yan (c) vs. Merab Dvalishvili |
| Flyweight | Lone'er Kavanagh vs. Ramazan Temirov |
| Heavyweight | Alexander Volkov vs. Rizvan Kuniev |
| Featherweight | Aaron Pico vs. Losene Keita |
Prelims
| Weight class | Bout |
|---|---|
| Light heavyweight | Azamat Murzakanov vs. Dominick Reyes |
| Light heavyweight | Nikita Krylov vs. Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev |
| Middleweight | Abus Magomedov vs. Cam Rowston |
| Lightweight | Grant Dawson vs. Nurullo Aliev |
The early prelims include Jacob Malkoun vs. Abubakar Vagaev, Colby Thicknesse vs. Asaf Chopurov, Bolaji Oki vs. Daniel Santos, Iasmin Lucindo vs. Nicolle Caliari and Kody Steele vs. Noah Gugnon, though the exact running order wasn't fixed when we wrote this. There's already been one late change: Losene Keita replaced the injured Arnold Allen against Aaron Pico on October 7.
Worth turning on early for
If you only watch the main card you'll miss some of the best stuff. The prelims are full of light heavyweights who can end it with one shot. Dominick Reyes, a former title challenger, meets Azamat Murzakanov, and neither of them is there to win on points. Nikita Krylov, one of the division's most experienced finishers, takes on Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev. Then Grant Dawson brings his wrestling against Nurullo Aliev at lightweight, which might be the most technical fight of the afternoon. Tune in at noon ET (5:00 p.m. UK) and you'll catch all three.
On the main card, Pico gets a short-notice opponent, Volkov is trying to stay in heavyweight contention against Kuniev, and Kavanagh vs. Temirov should be a fast flyweight fight.
Where to watch
In the US, UFC numbered events now stream on Paramount+, which has the main card and prelims, with the early prelims also on UFC Fight Pass. In Australia the main card is pay-per-view through Kayo and Foxtel (via Main Event). Elsewhere, rights are sold country by country, and the event page on UFC.com shows the broadcaster for your region.
We're showing the whole card, early prelims included, free in HD with no registration on the UFC streams page. Spanish-speaking fans can use UFC en vivo.
Picks
Volkanovski vs. Evloev is the one I keep going back and forth on. Evloev wins rounds by being on top, and Volkanovski's whole game depends on staying upright and making people pay for trying. I lean Volkanovski by decision, but Evloev on the scorecards wouldn't shock anyone, least of all me.
Yan by decision in another close one. He's figured out the pressure, though Dvalishvili's work rate keeps him in every fight.
Further down, Pico should handle a late replacement, Volkov can use his reach to outpoint Kuniev, and Kavanagh in a split-decision coin flip. If you're making a full Saturday of UFC 333 and boxing, the Navarrete vs Foster unification follows that night in San Antonio on our boxing streams hub.
