It’s undisputed against undefeated as Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight title against Movsar Evloev in the main event of UFC 333 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

A second title is on the line in the co-headliner, where we’ll finally find out who is the better man and the premier bantamweight on the planet as champion Petr Yan faces former king Merab Dvalishvili for the third time.

Three more exciting fights fill the main card: top-10 heavyweights Alexander Volkov and Rizvan Kuniev collide, Lone’er Kavanagh clashes with Ramazan Temirov in a flyweight affair and Aaron Pico and Losene Keita lock horns at featherweight.

ALSO READ: Top Five UFC Fights To Look Forward To In November

MAIN CARD:

Saturday, October 24, 8:00 AM SAST

Alexander Volkanovski (1.89) vs Movsar Evloev (1.92) (Featherweight Championship)

Mixed martial arts royalty returns to the Octagon to defend his 145-pound crown against another young and hungry challenger in Saturday’s main event.

Volkanovski (28-4) is one of the best fighters in UFC history. He’s a two-time featherweight champion who, during his 10-year campaign in the promotion, has only lost once at 145 pounds.

After being knocked out by Ilia Topuria in February 2024, many suggested Volkanovski had lost his edge and had started his slide to purgatory. However, after Topuria vacated the title to move up to lightweight, “The Great” proved the doubters wrong with a typically tactical and technical masterclass against Diego Lopes to return to the top of the mountain last April. 

Already considered by many as the greatest 145-pounder of all time, the victory saw Volkanovski add to his legacy by not only becoming a two-time champion but also the first fighter under 155 pounds to win a UFC title over the age of 35.

The Australian icon produced a repeat performance in the rematch against the dangerous Lopes at the start of the year, and at 38, he remains a Rubik’s Cube-like puzzle to solve.

Meanwhile, Evloev earned his first crack at the gold after winning a title eliminator by majority decision against Lerone Murphy at UFC London in March.

Both men were unbeaten going into the main event meeting with Evloev coming out on top, extending his record to a perfect 20-0 and solidifying himself as the No. 1 contender.  

Evloev might not be the most exciting fighter, with all 10 of his Octagon wins coming by decision, but he’s a master at imposing his style on his opponent.

A wrestling-heavy tornado of perpetual motion, he holds a victory over Lopes and has defeated a former champion in Aljamain Sterling.

Even at 38, Volkanovski’s legendary endless gas tank still holds up. His Einstein-esque fight IQ, tactical prowess and elite movement are what’s made him almost unstoppable at featherweight.

He’s a master of playing the long game, having gone the full 25 minutes six times, including when he moved up to challenge lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

While he lost on the scorecards, he showed in that first superfight against Makhachev that he can defend takedowns against a bigger and more powerful wrestler than Evloev and maintain a ridiculously high pace for the full fight.

He should do exactly that and use his smarts, footwork and experience to bounce Evloev from the ranks of the unbeaten and retain the title.

Prediction: Volkanovski by decision.

Best Bet: Volkanovski at 1.89.

Alternative Bet: Volkanovski by decision at 2.47.

Petr Yan (1.63) vs Merab Dvalishvili (2.40) (Bantamweight Championship)

Trilogies are special, and this one between bantamweight greats is no exception. 

Dvalishvili (21-5) won their first, non-title bout by unanimous decision in March 2023 and went on to become a dominant champion. So dominant, in fact, that he looked unbeatable.

Enter his old foe Yan (20-5). The former ruler of the division rebuilt himself and worked his way back into title contention, but was given little to no chance in the rematch against Dvalishvili at UFC 323 last December.

“No Mercy” shocked the world, fighting a perfect fight to end Dvalishvili’s reign by unanimous decision and become a two-time champion. With the series square at 1-1, they’ll settle the score on Saturday night.

One of the best pure boxers in the UFC, Yan is a slow poison type of fighter with seven knockouts to his name. Dvalishvili, on the other hand, is a relentless wrestler who usually overwhelms opponents with his superhuman cardio. Neither man has ever been finished.

Yan has won four fights in a row and is confident he can repeat his masterful performance from his last meeting with “The Machine.” The 31-year-old deserves all the credit in the world for the unbelievable way he kept the fight on the feet.

Dvalishvili has made taking down opponents, including former Olympic gold medallist wrestler and two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo, look easy.

However, Yan stuffed 27 of Dvalishvili’s 29 takedown attempts in December and punished him on the feet to reclaim the title and snap the Georgian juggernaut’s bantamweight record 12-fight win streak.

Two things can be true at the same time, though. Yes, Yan was phenomenal, but at the same time, Dvalishvili was the flattest he had ever been. The 35-year-old attempted to become the first fighter in UFC history to successfully defend a title four times in one year in the Yan rematch.

Instead, we saw that even “The Machine” has his limits. Dvalishvili also underestimated Yan and had become increasingly more playful with opponents inside the Octagon.

He still put in the work in the gym, but he’d become too comfortable inside the ultimate proving ground, and that – along with pushing himself too hard in his pursuit of history – proved to be his undoing.

Having lost the crown and his historic win streak and taken much-needed time to recover and refuel after his overly demanding 2025 campaign, Dvalishvili should be back to his best and that ought to see him put the rivalry with Yan to bed and return to the throne.

Prediction: Dvalishvili is one of the best underdog bets of the year. His most likely manner of victory is by decision, but I’m happy to take him outright.

Best Bet: Dvalishvili at 2.40.

Alternative Bet: Dvalishvili by decision at 2.85.

Lone’er Kavanagh (1.95) vs Ramazan Temirov (1.86) (Flyweight)

Windows can open and close in the blink of an eye in mixed martial arts. That’s one reason they say don’t blink.

Case in point: Kavanagh (10-2). Fighting out of London, the 27-year-old prospect jumped at the opportunity to replace an injured Asu Almabayev on short notice and face Brandon Moreno in the main event of UFC Mexico in February and pulled off a massive upset, beating the former two-time champion by decision.

Suddenly a contender, the former Cage Warriors standout had another high-profile fight against Brandon Royval in July, but was unable to maximise it, losing by submission.

Just like that, his sudden rise was put to a halt, and instead of facing another top 10 opponent, he has to defend his No. 11 ranking against a man with the skills of an elite fighter but not yet the notoriety.   

Temirov (20-2) returned from a 12-ban for an anti-doping violation with a bang, knocking out former title challenger Steve Erceg in July. A hard-hitting and creative striker, Uzbekistan’s “Temurian” is on a 12-fight win streak and should overtake Kavanagh in a thriller.

Prediction: Temirov by knockout.

Best Bet: Temirov at 1.86.

Alternative Bet: Temirov by KO/TKO/DQ at 2.75.

Alexander Volkov (1.80) vs Rizvan Kuniev (2.02) (Heavyweight)

An evergreen giant, Volkov (40-11) will not rest until he adds the UFC heavyweight title to the Bellator belt he won all the way back in 2012.

In an alternate universe, “Drago” would be champion right now, as most pundits and fans believe he was robbed in his bout against Cyril Gane in December 2024. The Frenchman controversially got the nod by split decision and now wears the crown, whereas Volkov has had to continue to climb the rankings.  

He’s won both of his fights since the Gane bout, outworking both Jailton Almeida and Waldo Cortes-Acosta, and enters Saturday’s clash as the No. 2-ranked contender.

Compared to Volkov, Kuniev (15-3-1) has only been in the UFC for a cup of coffee. He lost his promotional debut to Curtis Blaydes last June, but got past Almeida and Tyrell Fortune since then. It’s only due to the fact that the heavyweight division is shockingly shallow at the moment that he’s somehow ranked seventh.

Volkov is in a different class and will move a step closer on his quest for the gold.

Prediction: Volkov by decision.

Best Bet: Volkov at 1.80.

Alternative Bet: Volkov by decision at 2.64.

Aaron Pico (1.85) vs Losene Keita (1.96) (Featherweight)

A former Bellator standout, Pico (14-5) bounced back from his brutal knockout loss to the then-unbeaten top contender Lerone Murphy in his UFC debut with a decision win over another ex-Bellator superstar Patricio Pitbull in April.

Ranked 11th, Pico has fast and heavy hands that have earned him nine wins by knockout and has an exciting style that’s tailor-made for the Octagon. The same can be said for Keita (17-2). He, too, endured disappointment in his promotional debut, dropping a split decision to Nathaniel Wood, before stopping Muhammadjon Naimov in September.

That win was his 12th by knockout, so this should be a firefight. As the more polished boxer, Pico is my pick.

Prediction: Pico by decision.

Best Bet: Pico at 1.85.

Alternative Bet: Pico by decision at 3.20.

Note: Odds subject to change.