UFC 333 Predictions: Expert Picks for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev Card

A big night of fights is set to take place on Saturday in Abu Dhabi. THE UFC 333 card is headlined by two title fights, including undefeated Movsar Evloev challenging Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight championship in the main event.

Evloev holds a perfect 20-0 professional record, but he will face the biggest test of his career with Volkanovski, who is in his second run as 145-pound champion at age 38.

In the co-main event, Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili will face off in a rubber match for the bantamweight championship. Dvalishvili won their first meeting en route to the championship and a long title run, but dropped the belt to Yan in their December rematch.

Sign up for Paramount+ and watch UFC 333 at no additional cost: each UFC numbered event and UFC Fight Night are included in your subscription! Plans start at just $8.99/month or $89.99/year!

Every fight on the main card has significant implications for the UFC rankings. If Alexander Volkov wants to get the UFC heavyweight title that he petitioned UFC President and CEO Dana White for, he will have to make a statement against Rizvan Kuniev. This is especially true with Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit and Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alex Pereira at UFC 334 and UFC 335, respectively.

Lone’er Kavanagh and Ramazan Temirov could be major players at flyweight, but only one promising fighter will take a step forward in his division on Saturday. Finally, Aaron Pico is running out of time to prove that he is everything analysts predicted he would be in his MMA debut in 2017. Nearly a decade later, after several ups and downs, Pico is a ranked bantamweight looking to fend off Losene Keita. Now is the time or never for Pico to live up to lofty expectations.

Petr Yan hopes to serve as motivation after incredible career comeback: ‘Keep moving forward’

Brian Campbell

With so much happening on Saturday night, let’s take a closer look at the full fight card with the latest odds before getting to our team’s predictions and picks for the main card that you can consider before jumping into sports betting.

UFC 333 fight card, odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook (Odds as of October 22)

• Alexander Volkanovski (c) -110 vs. Movsar Evloev -110, featherweight championship
• Petr Yan (c) -135 vs. Merab Dvalishvili +114, bantamweight championship
• Lone’er Kavanagh -118 vs. Ramazan Temirov -102, flyweight
• Alexander Volkov -125 vs. Rizvan Kuniev +105, heavyweight
• Aaron Pico -155 vs. Losene Keita +130, featherweight
• Azamat Murzakanov -205 vs. Dominick Reyes +170, light heavyweight
• Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev -550 vs. Nikita Krylov +410, light heavyweight
• Abus Magomedov -125 vs. Cam Rowston +105, middleweight
• Grant Dawson -115 vs. Nurullo Aliev -105, lightweight
• Abubakar Vagaev -162 vs. Jacob Malkoun +136, middleweight
• Asaf Chopurov -600 vs. Colby Thicknesse +440, bantamweight
• Daniel Santos -120 vs. Bolaji Oki +100, featherweight
• Kody Steele -155 vs. Noah Gugnon +130, lightweight
• Iasmin Lucindo -410 vs. Nicolle Caliari +320, women’s strawweight

UFC 333 Expert Picks

With such a massive main event on tap, the CBS Sports team advanced predictions and picks for the main card of Brian Campbell, Brent Brookhouse, Shakiel Mahjouri, Michael Mormile and Brandon Wise.

Predictions Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev

Campbell: Volkanovski’s longevity has been remarkable to see, especially after rebounding from stoppage losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria to regain the featherweight title. But it must be said that his two wins since those damaging defeats came against the highly active but technically limited Diego Lopes, who Evloev beat by decision in 2023. For all that Evloev lacks as a finisher inside the Octagon, he has size, incredible motor and a physical wrestling style that has the potential to wear down Volkanovski, 38, in the championship rounds. He also has a better fight IQ than Lopes showed against Volkanovski in 10 rounds.

Brookhouse: There are few fights I will choose against Volkanovski until I really see time catching up with him. Evloev has terrific wrestling and a willingness to use that wrestling to score nasty victories, but Volkanovski has a well-rounded game that also features solid takedown defense. Volkanovski has been here before and he has the kind of gutsy, gutsy game that should force Evloev to do more than just wrestle. While Evloev has shown strong skills when forced to fight on his feet, Volkanovski has brilliant timing and distance management tools that should allow him to gain the advantage on the cards.

Mahjouri: Volkanovski says he will deliver a performance so sublime that fans will think he has aged. I tend to believe it. The champion does not want to disrespect his challenger. In fact, he thinks Evloev is extremely talented. Volkanovski’s confidence comes from the style matchup. He refined his grappling defense in preparation for two lightweight fights with Islam Makhachev. On the feet, it’s his fight to lose. Volkanovski has a deeper, more nuanced striking arsenal and can fight without fear of being knocked out. Evloev stopped three opponents with strikes, and none were in the UFC. Evloev is tenacious and will make Volkanovski work early. However, as the fight continues, expect Volkanovski to gain the advantage and deliver exactly the performance he predicts.

Predictions Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili

Campbell: After Yan recovered from a series of losses and injuries, he returned a new fighter against Dvalishvili in their December rematch. Yan beat “The Machine” five times, stopped Dvalishvili’s wrestling attack and proved he could match him from a pace and cardio standpoint. And if Yan can do the same and turn their trilogy fight into a kickboxing match, it’s hard not to imagine the same scenario from 10 months ago happening again. Dvalishvili was also injured several times in his rematch, including two body kicks in the third round that likely would have ended any other opponent. If Yan can continue to widen the gap between them in terms of variety and power, a stoppage isn’t out of the question.

Brookhouse: This seems like an impossible fight to fight. Yan fought brilliantly in the rematch, defending against takedowns and using superb strikes, including a huge kick that seriously injured Dvalishvili. However, it’s unclear whether this fight was a result of Yan reaching a new level – or at least returning to his old form – or whether Dvalishvili was seeing an extremely ambitious 2025 schedule catch up with him and impact his performance. My best guess is that Saturday’s rubber match is an extremely close fight, and one Yan stands out with his best moments on the feet, being more eye-catching than what Dvalishvili produces.

Mahjouri: Dvalishvili earned the nickname “The Machine” because no human could keep up with him. Eventually, his rhythm broke everyone. What happens when someone can keep up this pace for 25 minutes? That’s exactly what Yan did in his major win over Dvalishvili. Yan has always been the most technical and powerful striker. By denying Dvalishvili’s incessant takedowns and keeping the pace, he reduced his strikes, notably injuring Dvalishvili in the body. Maybe Dvalishvili pushed his body too far trying to defend four titles in one year. But I tend to believe that Yan is uniquely equipped for this task. Dvalishvili’s success depends on a physique that Yan has proven he can match. I don’t think the former champion has the offensive threats necessary to change the outcome of this trilogy.

Who wins Volkanovski against Evloev and how exactly does the fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks and analysis from the incomparable expert who has made more than $21,000 on his UFC picks since May 2018, and find out.