The Octagon returns to Abu Dhabi on Saturday with two title fights topping one of the year’s biggest cards. UFC 333 goes down at Etihad Arena on Oct. 24, headlined by featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski defending against undefeated contender Movsar Evloev, with a bantamweight trilogy as the co-main event.
Volkanovski (28-4) is in his second reign atop the 145-pound division. The 38-year-old Australian reclaimed the vacant belt with a victory over Diego Lopes in April 2025, then defended it in a February rematch, per Uncrowned. Now he faces arguably the division’s toughest puzzle in Evloev (20-0), the undefeated Russian who beat the previously unbeaten Lerone Murphy in March and has spent years working toward his first UFC title opportunity.
The co-main event settles a score three years in the making: bantamweight champion Petr Yan (20-5) meets former champ Merab Dvalishvili (21-5) for the third time. Dvalishvili dominated their first meeting in 2023, but Yan evened the series with a shocking victory at UFC 323 this past December to reclaim the 135-pound title — setting up one of the most anticipated trilogies in recent memory.
Full card and start times
The five-fight main card also features flyweight Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Ramazan Temirov, heavyweight Alexander Volkov vs. Rizvan Kuniev, and featherweight Aaron Pico vs. Losene Keita. Prelims include Azamat Murzakanov vs. Dominick Reyes and Nikita Krylov vs. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev, per DelinquentMMA.
UFC 333 runs on a special early schedule: the early preliminary card begins at 10 a.m. ET, prelims at 12 p.m. ET, and the main card at 2 p.m. ET, all live on Paramount+ in the United States, according to UFC.com.
The road ahead
The promotion has also locked in its final numbered events of 2026: UFC 334 lands at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 14 with Ciryl Gane vs. Hokit headlining, and UFC 335 closes the year Dec. 12 in Vegas with Charles Oliveira vs. Diego Lopes and Alex Pereira vs. Sergei Pavlovich, per AgentMMA. But first, Abu Dhabi gets a double title showcase on Saturday afternoon — with an early start time that lets North American fans watch both championship fights over lunch.
