by UFC 333: Volkanovski vs. Evloev takes place on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This means it will be on early here in the states, so get that lunch buffet ready for some great fights!
UFC 333 early preliminary card on Paramount+ kicks off at 10 a.m. EST (7 a.m. PST)
UFC 333 late preliminary card on Paramount+ begins at 12 p.m. EST (9 a.m. PST)
UFC 333 main card on Paramount+ starts promptly at 2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. PST)
It is headlined by the Volkanovski vs Evloev title fight, but it is the rubber match between current Bantamweight Champion Petr Yan and the man he took the belt from, Merab Dvalishvili that has most fans buzzing. Yan, had lost to Merab back in March of 2023 in a non-title fight, before rattling off 4 straight wins and taking the title off him in a narrow decision win back at UFC 323 back in December 2025.
Crossover star Aaron Pico vs Losene Keita and Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Ramazan Temirov will also appear on the main card as well as Alexander Volkov vs. Rizvan Kuniev will round out the main card. The undercard is highlighted by former Light Heavyweight Title contender Dominick Reyes taking on Azamat Murzakanov.
Let’s take a look at some of the best fights on the card and make our predictions from there.
Prediction – Iasmin Lucindo over Nicolle Caliari
Reason – Lucindo comes in with a 4 inch reach advantage and more then 7% better at striking accuracy. Caliari must take this fight to the ground early and try to grind out a decision win. If not, this should be easy pickings for Iasmin Lucindo on their feet as I expect a second round TKO.
Prediction – Asaf Chopurov over Colby Thicknesse
Reason – Chopurov comes in riding a 9 fight winning streak of almost all knockouts and submissions. He is very deadly when he has space to work. Thicknesse has been up and down as of late and relies on decision wins. I look for Chop to end this one early.
Prediction – Aaron Pico over Losene Keita
Reason – Pico is Looking to build momentum after rebounding from his UFC debut knockout loss to Lerone Murphy with a decision win over Patricio Pitbull. He relies on explosive wrestling and heavy hands. As for Keita, known as the “Black Panther,” he brings dynamic kickboxing, high output, and a longer reach. He aims to keep the fight standing and test Pico’s defense. I believe Pico will do just enough to win a 29-28 decision.
Prediction – Azamat Murzakanov over Dominick Reyes
Reason – Reyes holds a significant 6-inch reach and 6-inch height advantage, while Murzakanov brings heavy knockout power with 12 career Kos. Reyes has won four of his last five fights, most recently earning a split decision against Johnny Walker at UFC 327 in April 2026 while Murzakanov suffered his first-ever professional MMA loss earlier in 2026 via a head-kick knockout against Paulo Costa and looks to get back on track. I think he does here in convincing fashion over the veteran Reyes.
Prediction – Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev over Nikita Krylov
Reason – Yakhyaev is far more consistent with this strikes, landing nearly twice as many as Krylov. Yakhyaev enters unbeaten at 10-0 with explosive first-round finishes, including a devastating 8-second knockout in his prior outing over Julius Walker. Krylov brings 43 career fights and deep UFC light heavyweight experience into the Octagon against the young gun. I believe youth will out duel experience in this one.
Prediction – Alexander Volkov over Rizvan Kuniev
Reason – Volkov holds a 3-inch height advantage and a 4-inch reach advantage, favoring a distance-striking approach. Volkov is a veteran of 51 career fights with 19 of them coming in the UFC. That could be a good or bad thing, does he have a chin left at this point?
Rizvan Kuniev has knockout power, but little no quality wins on his resume. This is a huge jump in competition for Rizvan Kuniev and I honestly don’t know if he is ready. This is without a doubt a 50/50 anyone can win fight. My coin toss came up Volkov, but this is one I would not bet on.
Prediction – Merab Dvalishvili over Peter Yan
Reason – Merab Dvalishvili came into his December fight with Peter Yan on a 14 fight win streak and looked to be in contention for the best pound for pound fighter in the world. He had won a dominant decision victory over Yan back in March of 2023 and looked as if he would do it again. Yan had other idea’s and walked away the UFC Bantamweight Champion. Neither man has fought since and now we finally get the rematch.
I simply cannot trust Yan to finish a fight against a big name like Merab. Too many times he lets fights go to the judges and I’ve seen him get robbed like in his second loss to Aljamain Sterling, after an illegal knee cost him the first fight between the two as well. His last 5 victories have been by decision and his last 8 fights have gone to the cards. There is a good chance, had it not been for the DQ, that fight was headed to the cards as well.
Yan has losses against Sterling (2x), Sean O’Malley and Merab in their first fight. At the same time though, he was quality wins by they were over aging veterans at the time such as Uriah Faber and Jose Aldo. I’m simply not convinced that he is ready for this moment.
As for Merab, I still believe he is contention for one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. He looked dominant in wins over Cory Sandhagen, Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley (2x), Henry Cujudo, Peter Yan, Jose Aldo and several others. Before the loss to Yan, he hadn’t lost a fight in 7 years. I simply don’t see a way he loses this fight.
The fact that Sportsbooks have him as the underdog is truly mind bending to me as well. He will submit Yan within 3 rounds.
Prediction -Alexander Volkanovski over Movsar Evloev
Reason – Evloev is 20-0 but has won his last 10 fights by decision. All 10 of which have come in the UFC, thus, he doesn’t have a single finish victory in the UFC. I’m sorry, but that speaks volumes to me, this is MMA, not wrestling. He barely got past Diego Lopes and his wins over Lerone Murphy and Aljamin Sterling weren’t exactly barn burners.
Meanwhile, Volkanovski has been on an absolute tear with back to back wins over Diego Lopes. Before that, he has wins over an absolute who’s won, including Jose Also, Max Holloway (3x), Brian Ortega and John Dodson. His losses are to two of the best to ever grace the cage in Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev. Volkanovski will win by 49-46 decision.
