Alexander Volkanovski will look to defend his featherweight championship and hand Movsar Evloev his first professional loss when the two meet in the main event of UFC 333 on Oct. 24 inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
A bantamweight title trilogy matchup between Russian champion Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili will co-headline the event. UFC officials announced the 145- and 135-pound title fights Saturday.
Volkanovski (28-4) has called for this matchup since reclaiming his belt in April 2025. The 37-year-old champion from Australia lost his featherweight title to Ilia Topuria in February 2024 but won it back in his next bout against Diego Lopes, after Topuria moved up to the lightweight division. Volkanovski immediately expressed interest in facing an undefeated challenger in Evloev, but the UFC booked him an immediate rematch against Lopes in February. Volkanovski won by decision.
Evloev (20-0), of Russia, has taken a long road to his first UFC title shot. He is 10-0 in the UFC, dating back to 2019. All 10 of his wins have come via decision.
Yan (20-5) will seek his first title defense since reclaiming the bantamweight belt in a decision win over Dvalishvili (21-5) in December. Yan became a UFC champion in 2020 but lost the belt in 2021 in a defeat by disqualification to Aljamain Sterling. Yan suffered a decision loss to Dvalishvili in a nontitle bout in 2023 but worked his way back to title contention and upset Dvalishvili in their title rematch at UFC 323.
Yan and Dvalishvili will make their first appearances of the year in October.
