UFC 333 Preview: Alexander Volkanovski vs Movsar Evloev Full Card, Film Study, Odds, Weigh-In & Press Conference Videos

UFC 333 Preview: Alexander Volkanovski vs Movsar Evloev Full Card, Film Study, Odds, Weigh-In & Press Conference Videos

By Real Combat Media MMA Editorial Staff

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, (October 24th, 2026)–UFC 333 hits Etihad Arena on an early schedule for U.S. viewers, with the main card starting at 2 p.m. ET and two championship fights on top. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, 38, defends his belt against undefeated No. 1 contender Movsar Evloev, and Petr Yan puts the bantamweight title on the line against Merab Dvalishvili in the rubber match of their trilogy. Lone’er Kavanagh meets Ramazan Temirov in a flyweight fight with title-chase implications, Alexander Volkov faces Rizvan Kuniev in a heavyweight showdown, and Aaron Pico steps in against Losene Keita after Arnold Allen withdrew. Only one of the 28 fighters missed weight on Friday, Nicolle Caliari, who weighed 4.5 pounds over the strawweight limit. Below are the records and official weights for all 14 fights, tale-of-the-tape breakdowns, film study and odds for the five-fight main card, plus the weigh-in and press conference videos.

Main Event: Alexander Volkanovski vs Movsar Evloev, Featherweight Title (5 Rounds)

Both men made the 145-pound championship limit, Volkanovski at 144.5 and Evloev at 145 even. It is a fight between the sport’s most complete featherweight and a wrestler who is 10-0 in the UFC without a single finish.

Film Study, Alexander Volkanovski: “The Great” is 28-4 with 13 knockouts, seven first-round finishes and a game built on volume and timing. He lands 5.99 significant strikes per minute at 57 percent accuracy, absorbs 3.31 and defends 59 percent of strikes, with 25 percent of his output going to the legs. He regained the title with a unanimous decision over Diego Lopes at UFC 314 in April 2025 and defended it against Lopes again at UFC 325 in Sydney in January, a decision that earned Fight of the Night and his eighth successful title defense. His takedown defense sits at 69 percent, and his own losses came by knockout to Islam Makhachev in October 2023 and Ilia Topuria in February 2024.

Film Study, Movsar Evloev: Evloev is 20-0 with 13 decision wins, four submissions and three knockouts, and none of his 10 UFC wins has been a finish. His game is relentless wrestling pressure, landing 4.78 takedowns per 15 minutes, with 3.91 significant strikes per minute at 48 percent accuracy, 2.80 absorbed and a 61 percent defensive rate. Fights average 16:00. His most recent test, a majority decision over Lerone Murphy in March, was his first five-rounder. He struck for the first two rounds, then went 9 for 10 on takedowns over the final three. He also has decision wins over Aljamain Sterling, Arnold Allen and Lopes, he trains at American Top Team.

Keys to Victory, Volkanovski: Keep the fight standing and win the exchanges that come before the clinch, using low kicks and stance changes to make Evloev reset. He needs to get up quickly when taken down, because the judges will reward control over a 25-minute fight, and conditioning at 38 is the unknown.

Keys to Victory, Evloev: Start the wrestling early rather than waiting until round four as he did against Murphy, chain his attempts against the fence and force Volkanovski to work off his back. He also has to land enough on the feet to avoid giving away early rounds to the better striker.

Odds: Volkanovski -108 to -115, Evloev -105 to -112 (books are split on the favorite)

Co-Main Event: Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili, Bantamweight Title (5 Rounds)

Both men weighed 135 pounds. The series is tied at one fight apiece, and neither has fought since their December rematch.

Film Study, Petr Yan: “No Mercy” reclaimed the title at UFC 323 with a unanimous decision in which he held Dvalishvili to two takedowns on 29 attempts while connecting at 60 percent over five rounds and landing 5 of 9 takedowns himself. He has won four straight and lands about 5.16 significant strikes per minute. He has yet to successfully defend a UFC title in his second reign, and he blamed an injury for the first loss in March 2023.

Film Study, Merab Dvalishvili: “The Machine” is the model of pressure wrestling, averaging 5.97 takedowns per 15 minutes with 76 percent takedown defense, and winning 16 of his 21 fights by decision. He lands 4.42 significant strikes per minute at 42 percent accuracy and absorbs 2.80, with an average fight time of 17:36. He won 14 straight before losing to Yan, including three title defenses in 2025 over Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen. He has admitted taking the rematch only two months after Sandhagen was a mistake, and the trilogy is his only fight of 2026.

Keys to Victory, Yan: Use the jab to keep Dvalishvili at the end of his punches, defend the shot early and keep the fight in the middle of the cage rather than letting him build a rhythm of repeated entries.

Keys to Victory, Dvalishvili: Get to his full-camp pace, mix his shots with strikes and make Yan carry the weight of constant takedown attempts again. He needs to avoid walking into clean counters as he enters.

Odds: Yan -135 to -164, Dvalishvili up to +139

Lone’er Kavanagh vs Ramazan Temirov, Flyweight

Kavanagh weighed 125.5 and Temirov 126.

Film Study, Lone’er Kavanagh: The ranked flyweight arrived on a hype wave after a knockout of An Tuan Ho to open Season 9 of the Contender Series and has had a breakout year, with a short-notice decision win over former champion Brandon Moreno in February. He followed that with a Fight of the Night effort against Brandon Royval in July, a third-round submission loss. This is his third appearance of 2026.

Film Study, Ramazan Temirov: The ranked flyweight carries a 12-fight win streak into the cage and has won all three UFC fights, beating CJ Vergara and Charles Johnson before a one-year suspension for an anti-doping violation. He returned in July with a first-round stoppage of former title challenger Steve Erceg. He lands about 4.5 significant strikes per minute at roughly 40 percent accuracy, and his game blends looping overhands and spinning attacks with level changes and constant wrestling.

Keys to Victory, Kavanagh: Use his four-inch reach advantage, kicks and counters, and avoid standing at the end of Temirov’s overhand while he is changing levels. A win would put him back near the top of a flyweight picture that looks cloudy behind champion Joshua Van.

Keys to Victory, Temirov: Close the distance with the right hand and mix in the wrestling so Kavanagh cannot settle into counters. A statement win could move him into the title chase.

Odds: Kavanagh -105 to -118, Temirov -108 to -115

Alexander Volkov vs Rizvan Kuniev, Heavyweight

Volkov weighed 256 and Kuniev 265, the heavyweight limit. Volkov is ranked No. 2 in the division and Kuniev is also ranked in the top 10.

Film Study, Alexander Volkov: “Drago” is No. 2 at heavyweight with 24 knockouts and 17 first-round finishes. He lands 4.84 significant strikes per minute at 58 percent accuracy and absorbs 2.90. He has won six of his last seven, with his only loss a split decision to Ciryl Gane in December 2024, and he beat Jailton Almeida by split decision at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi and Waldo Cortes-Acosta by unanimous decision at UFC 328. A win would put him back in the heavyweight title conversation.

Film Study, Rizvan Kuniev: The former Eagle FC heavyweight champion is 3-1 in the UFC, with a split decision loss to Curtis Blaydes followed by wins over Almeida and Tyrell Fortune. He finished Fortune with knees in July. He lands about 3.9 to 4.3 significant strikes per minute at 54 percent accuracy and averages 0.98 takedowns per 15 minutes, with strong takedown defense in a small sample. Kuniev said he can dominate Volkov everywhere.

Keys to Victory, Volkov: Use the length, the jab and the kicks, stay away from sustained clinch exchanges and let the volume accumulate. His 69 percent takedown defense is the number to watch.

Keys to Victory, Kuniev: Make this a physical fight by closing the distance and mixing in his wrestling and body work. A win over the No. 2 contender would be the biggest of his career.

Odds: Volkov -120 to -136, Kuniev +100 to +105

Aaron Pico vs Losene Keita, Featherweight

Pico weighed 145.5 and Keita 146. Pico was originally set to meet Arnold Allen, who withdrew with an injury, and stayed on the card rather than wait.

Film Study, Aaron Pico: The ranked featherweight dropped his UFC debut to Lerone Murphy by first-round knockout in August 2025, but steadied himself with a unanimous decision over former champion Patricio Pitbull at UFC 327 in April. His background is freestyle wrestling, boxing and pankration, he trains at Jackson Wink MMA in Albuquerque and nine of his 14 wins came by knockout. His UFC sample is small, only two fights.

Film Study, Losene Keita: Keita arrived in the UFC after a strong run in Oktagon MMA, missed weight for his debut in Paris and then dropped a split decision to Nathaniel Wood in March. He rebounded with a first-round knockout of Muhammad Naimov in Paris seven weeks ago. He lands 3.9 significant strikes per minute at 46 percent and absorbs 4.0, and has a two-inch reach advantage.

Keys to Victory, Pico: Use the wrestling to take away Keita’s reach, keep the fight on the mat where Keita’s takedown defense has been tested very little in the UFC and manage a short-notice change in opponent.

Keys to Victory, Keita: Keep the fight at range, make Pico work for entries and hit him cleanly as he comes in. He is turning around after only seven weeks, so pace matters.

Odds: Near pick’em. Pico -105 to -138, Keita -115 to +114 depending on the book

Full Card Records and Weights

Records listed first, official Friday weigh-in weights in parentheses (pounds).

Main Card (Paramount+, 2 p.m. ET)
Alexander Volkanovski, 28-4 (144.5) vs. Movsar Evloev, 20-0 (145), featherweight title
Petr Yan, 20-5 (135) vs. Merab Dvalishvili, 21-5 (135), bantamweight title
Lone’er Kavanagh, 10-2 (125.5) vs. Ramazan Temirov, 20-3 (126)
Alexander Volkov, 40-11 (256) vs. Rizvan Kuniev, 14-3-1, 1 NC (265)
Aaron Pico, 14-5 (145.5) vs. Losene Keita, 16-2 (146)

Preliminary Card (Paramount+, 12 p.m. ET)
Azamat Murzakanov, 16-1 (206) vs. Dominick Reyes, 16-5 (205)
Nikita Krylov, 31-12 (206) vs. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev, 10-0 (206)
Abus Magomedov, 29-7-1 (185.5) vs. Cam Rowston, 15-3 (185)
Grant Dawson, 24-3-1 (156) vs. Nurullo Aliev, 12-0 (155)

Early Preliminary Card (10 a.m. ET)
Colby Thicknesse, N/A (135.5) vs. Asaf Chopurov, 11-0 (136)
Abubakar Vagaev, 25-4 (185.5) vs. Jacob Malkoun, N/A (186)
Bolaji Oki, 10-4 (146) vs. Daniel Santos, 14-3 (146)
Kody Steele, 8-1 (156) vs. Noah Gugnon, 10-2 (156)
Iasmin Lucindo, 18-6 (115) vs. Nicolle Caliari, 9-4 (120.5)*

*Caliari missed the strawweight limit by 4.5 pounds, and the bout proceeds at catchweight with her fined a percentage of her purse.

Watch

UFC 333 Weigh-Ins

UFC 333 Pre-Fight Press Conference

Odds are approximate ranges compiled from multiple sportsbooks and are subject to change. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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