Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight title against unbeaten Russian Movsar Evloev in the UFC 333 main event in Abu Dhabi, with the main card starting at 5am AEDT on Sunday 25 October. Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili complete their bantamweight trilogy in the co-main event.
The event is at Etihad Arena on Yas Island on Saturday 24 October local time, according to UFC.com. Both title fights were announced in August, and the 38-year-old Australian has been building towards a fight he has wanted for more than a year.
UFC 333 date and Australian start time
UFC.com lists the main card at 2pm EDT on Saturday 24 October and the prelims at 12pm EDT. That converts to:
- Prelims: 3am AEDT, Sunday 25 October
- Main card: 5am AEDT, Sunday 25 October
- Main card in the UK: 7pm BST, Saturday 24 October
Volkanovski vs Evloev is the last fight of the night, so it will start later on Sunday morning in Australia once the rest of the main card is done.
Volkanovski vs Evloev
Volkanovski (28-4) has called for this fight since reclaiming his belt in April 2025, ESPN reported. He lost the title to Ilia Topuria in February 2024, won it back against Diego Lopes after Topuria moved up to lightweight, then beat Lopes again by decision in a rematch in February this year.
Evloev (20-0) has never lost as a professional. He is 10-0 in the UFC since 2019, and all 10 of those wins have come by decision, according to ESPN. He is ranked No. 1 at featherweight on UFC.com.
Abu Dhabi is familiar territory for Volkanovski. He beat Max Holloway by split decision at UFC 251 there in 2020 but lost to Islam Makhachev in a lightweight title fight at UFC 294 in October 2023, The National noted.
What Volkanovski has said
Volkanovski has insisted he is not overlooking Evloev, though he has already named one contender he is keeping an eye on. “I never look past my opponent, like I am happy to talk about other opponents and fights after, knowing I am putting in the work for Movsar anyway. There’s one guy, I haven’t watched enough of him but I’ve seen some highlights, he looks like a little animal, he’s Argentinian, Kevin Vallejos,” he said on the Precision Podcast, as reported by Bloody Elbow.
Vallejos is due to fight Aljamain Sterling on 21 November.
Yan vs Dvalishvili 3
Yan (20-5) makes his first title defence since reclaiming the bantamweight belt with a decision win over Dvalishvili (21-5) at UFC 323 in December, ESPN reported. Dvalishvili had won their first meeting, a non-title fight in 2023.
Dvalishvili had been unbeaten for seven years and was on a 14-fight winning streak before that loss, according to The National.
Australian interest on the card
Volkanovski is not the only Australian in Abu Dhabi. Middleweight Cam Rowston faces Germany’s Abus Magomedov on the preliminary card, according to UFC.com.
Other bouts listed on UFC.com include Lone’er Kavanagh vs Ramazan Temirov at flyweight, Alexander Volkov vs Rizvan Kuniev at heavyweight, Azamat Murzakanov vs Dominick Reyes and Nikita Krylov vs Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev at light heavyweight, and Grant Dawson vs Nurullo Aliev at lightweight.
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