The UFC moved two title fights onto UFC 333 moments before the event was set to come into focus, booking Alexander Volkanovski against Movsar Evloev for the featherweight belt and Petr Yan against Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title on October 24 in Abu Dhabi.
For Evloev, the booking finally turns a long unbeaten run into a championship shot. He entered the UFC as the M-1 Global champion in 2018 and built a record of 10 wins and zero losses, with wins over Dan Ige and Diego Lopes going three rounds apiece by unanimous decision and 2024 victories over Arnold Allen and Aljamain Sterling adding to the case that was always there.
The timing matters because the wait did not end with one clean breakthrough. Evloev beat Lerone Murphy earlier this year by majority decision after a point deduction, then did not fight again in 2025 before this title call arrived. That made the announcement less of a surprise than a resolution, with the UFC finally putting an undefeated contender in line for Volkanovski at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Volkanovski brings a championship record that explains why this is the main event. He won the featherweight title by defeating Max Holloway, defended it four times before chasing lightweight gold, lost twice to Islam Makhachev, then defended the featherweight belt a fifth time by beating Yair Rodríguez. He later lost his sixth title defense by knockout against Ilia Topuria, won the title back by beating Diego Lopes, and defended it again in a rematch against Lopes earlier this year.
The co-main event carries its own edge. Yan and Dvalishvili will meet for the third time, with the bantamweight title on the line, and their history still shapes the pairing. Yan lost his title when he first fought Dvalishvili in 2023, while Dvalishvili went on to win the belt a year later against Sean O’Malley and defend it three times in 2025.
That is what made the rematch matter when it came. Dvalishvili entered as the favorite, but Yan outclassed him and broke his 14-fight winning streak over five rounds. The result reset the conversation around both fighters, and it is the backdrop that makes UFC 333 more than just another Abu Dhabi card: one champion is trying to keep a long reign moving, while another is trying to turn a delayed opportunity into the night he finally gets his belt.
What happens on October 24 will decide more than the evening’s winners. It will show whether Evloev can make the leap after years of waiting and whether Yan can finish the business that began when he first crossed paths with Dvalishvili.
