UFC 333 Start Time, Full Fight Card Details!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to stage UFC 333 TODAY (Oct. 24, 2026) inside Etihad Arena on “Fight Island,” featuring a Featherweight title fight between division kingpin, Alexander Volkanvoski, and No. 1-seeded division contender, Movsar Evloev (finally!). In the second of two title fights on the Paramount+-streamed event, Petr Yan will defend his 135-pound belt against former champion, Merab Dvalishvili, in their third (and likely final) fight.

What’s Hot:

Coming off back-to-back title fight victories over Diego Lopes,Volkanovskiis riding high on confidence. That’s because nearing age of 40, “The Great” is showing the combat world that he is still fighting at the highest level. Since 2019, all of Volkanovski’s fights (11) have been for some sort of title, whether it be at Featherweight or Lightweight, making him one of the most experienced championship fighters in the sport. How many more years he intends to keep going remains to be seen (sorta?), but as long as he keeps winning, I don’t see any reason for him to start winding it down. A loss, however, changes everything. And another title fight may not be in his immediate future, which is something he is not accustomed to. That said, his next challenge is more than capable of dethroning him once and for all … and maybe even send him into retirement.

Speaking of which, Evloev is finally getting a long-awaited (and long overdue) title shot. Undefeated (20-0), Evloev is perfect (10-0) under UFC’s banner, defeating the likes of the aforementioned Lopes (who has already had two title fights), Arnold Allen, Aljamain Sterling and more recently, Lerone Murphy. Of course, Volkanovski will be his biggest test to date, but he is more than ready to prove he is indeed the best 145-pound fighter in the game. The only knock on the Russian-born grappler is that he has yet to secure a finish during his run with the promotion, winning all of his bouts by way of decision. That said, a win is a win is a win, and that’s all he knows how to do. That’s not to say that an impressive finish over Volkanovski — who has only been stopped twice in his UFC career — would silence the naysayers and add another threat level to his game. Still, getting the win by any means necessary is the priority here. And Evloev, 32, is ready to upset the order at 145 pounds.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card/Injuries

A Featherweight bout between Arnold Allen vs. Aaron Pico was scheduled for the event before Allen was forced to withdraw as a result of an injury. He was ultimately replaced by Losene Keita, who is just 1-1 under UFC’s banner and is coming off a big win over Muhammad Naimov, knocking him out in the first round. As for Pico, after getting knocked out in his UFC debut by Lerone Murphy, he bounced back to defeat his former Bellator MMA stablemate, Patricio Pitbull, in his sophomore effort. A win over Keita would get his rhythm going and could be a catalyst to start making a run toward a top ranking spot.

New Blood:

Asaf Chopurov will make his UFC debut after racking up an undefeated record (11-0) in the minor leagues, with his longest stint being with UAE Warriors. He has five knockouts, five submissions and one decision on his record — he is as well-rounded as they come. His first challenge will come against Colby Thicknesse, who is on a two-fight win streak after stumbling out of the gates with a loss in his Octagon debut.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

Dominick Reyes seems to have been able to turn back the hands of time, winning four of his last five UFC bouts, with his lone defeat coming at the hands of current 205-pound champion, Carlos Ulberg. He is coming off a big win over Johnny Walker, but he will look for an even more convincing win over Azamat Murzakanov, who suffered the first (and only) loss of his UFC career in his most recent fight against Paulo Costa.

Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev is on his way to making a Light Heavyweight name for himself inside the Octagon, securing three first round stoppage wins under UFC’s umbrella. Meanwhile, his opponent, Nikita Krylov, is headed in the opposite direction, losing three of his last four contests. In fact, this will be his first fight since getting his jaw jacked by Robert Whittaker earlier this year.

After a rocky start to his UFC career, Abus Magomedov has gone 4-1 in his last five fights, with his lone loss during that span coming against top-ranked contender, Joe Pyfer. Magomedov has proven to be a formidable foe. That said, he has a huge challenge ahead of him in the form of Cam Rowston, who is on an eight-fight win streak. During his run, he has gone 3-0 with two knockouts inside the Octagon.

Nurullo Aliev holds a perfect mixed martial arts (MMA) record (12-0), boasting four straight decision wins inside the Octagon. He wants to keep the momentum going, and he will have a decent challenge in the form of Grant Dawson,who is coming off a submission win over Mateusz Rebecki. “KGD” is 4-1 in his last five fights, but if he can hand Aliev his first-ever loss, his stock would get a huge boost.

For the first time in his UFC career, Jacob Malkoun is on a three-fight win streak, and now he will attempt to go for his fourth straight when he battles Abubakar Vagaev (winner of four straight). In his UFC debut, Vagaev defeated Saygid Izagakhmaev via unanimous decision.

Noah Gugnon kicked off his UFC career with a bang, defeating Milos Janicic via first round submission just two months ago. He is now back to keep his momentum going in a quick turnaround in an attempt to secure his seventh straight finish when he battles Kody Steele, who is coming off a submission win of his own over Dom Mar Fan.

Nicolle Caliari came in nearly five pounds overweight for her Strawweight bout against Iasmin Lucindo, which will cost her a whopping 30 percent cut of her fight purse. It’s not a good look for a fighter who is just 1-2 under UFC’s banner. A loss for her could get her cut by the promotion since she would be 1-3 and her massive scale fail.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Bolaji Oki is currently on a two-fight losing streak and has lost three of his last four —all by way of stoppage. He is set to face off against Daniel Santos in a must-win fight. Oki hasn’t gotten off to the start he would have hoped after making his way in viaContender Series, and a third straight loss against Santos — who is coming off a loss himself to Doo Ho Choi — could be his one-way ticket out of the promotion.

Interest Level: 8.5/10

Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili will face off for the third (and likely final) time in the co-headlining act in what will be Yan’s first title defense since winning the belt off, you guessed it, Dvalishvili, 10 months ago. “No Mercy” won that fight rather convincingly; however, in their first encounter three years ago, it was Merab who was the superior grappler and striker. Now, one man will look to prevail and put the rivalry in the rear-view mirror once and for all. And barring a draw, that is exactly what should happen. Yan has the better striking, that is no mystery, but when it comes to grappling and controlling the fight should it hit the ground, it’s all Merab. This one is too hard to call, but it should be fun and ridiculously competitive.

Lone’er Kavanagh got off to a promising start to his UFC career, winning three of his first five fights, including a huge victory over former champion, Brandon Moreno. Tough defeats at the hands of Charles Johnson and Brandon Royval slowed his momentum a bit. He will face Ramazan Temirov, who is scorching hot with 12 straight wins, which includes three victories under UFC’s banner (two by way of first round knockout). This should be an exciting scrap between two tenacious strikers.

Alexander Volkov crashed UFC 333’s press conference — in a polite way — in an attempt to convince Dana White — who may or may not have recognized him — to give him a title shot. While one can appreciate the initiative and creativity, he still has to produce a win inside the cage against Rizvan Kuniev, who finds himself on a two-fight win streak after losing his UFC debut to Curtis Blaydes via split decision. Volkov is currently ranked No. 4 at 265 pounds and a convincing win should set him up to face the winner of the upcoming title fight between Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokitat UFC 334.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC 333 Fight Card:

UFC 333 Main Event on Paramount+:

145 lbs.: UFC Featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev

UFC 333 Main Cardon Paramount+ (2 p.m. ET):

135 lbs.: UFC Bantamweight champion Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili 3
125 lbs.: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Ramazan Temirov
265 lbs.: Alexander Volkov vs. Rizvan Kuniev
145 lbs.: Aaron Pico vs. Losene Keita

UFC 333 Late ‘Prelims’ on Paramount+ (12 p.m. ET):

205 lbs.: Dominick Reyes vs. Azamat Murzakanov
205 lbs.: Nikita Krylov vs. Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev
185 lbs.: Abus Magomedov vs. Cam Rowston
155 lbs.: Grant Dawson vs. Nurullo Aliev

UFC 333 Early ‘Prelims’on Paramount+ (10 a.m. ET):

135 lbs.: Colby Thicknesse vs. Asaf Chopurov
185 lbs.: Jacob Malkoun vs. Abubakar Vagaev
145 lbs.: Daniel Santos vs. Bolaji Oki
155 lbs.: Noah Gugnon vs. Kody Steele
115 lbs.: Iasmin Lucindo vs. Nicolle Caliari

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights subject to change.*

For much more on this weekend’s UFC 333 event click here.