Fight fans around the world will be in for a treat this weekend, as Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan put their respective belts on the line once more at UFC 333 in the Etihad Arena on Saturday night.
As perhaps one of the most loved Mixed Martial Artists in the world currently, Volkanovski (28-4-0) will hope to defend his featherweight crown against the unbeaten Movsar Evloev (20-0-0) in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
After back-to-back defeats against Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, Volkanovski bounced back and reclaimed the UFC featherweight title in a unanimous decision win over Diego Lopes at UFC314 in April last year.
The 38-year-old then defended the belt in the rematch against Lopes at UFC325, where he tied the record for the most UFC Featherweight title wins (8), while he also claimed the Fight of the Night bonus in the process.
Evloev earned his title shot by completing an impressive 10-fight win streak in the UFC and is currently the No 1 contender for the belt on the promotion’s ranking list.
The 32-year-old boasts a stacked CV after seeing off big names such as Lopes and Aljamain Sterling with his most recent victory being a majority decision win over Lerone Murphy at UFC Fight Night: Evloev v Murphy in March earlier this year.
With Volkanovski nearing the end of his fighting career, the Australian has already mapped out his next couple of fights and deemed Sterling, Jean Silva and Kevin Vallejos as worthy opponents.
"After Movsar, you’ve got Jean Silva, you’ve got Aljamain, who are both pretty much in the exact same position," Volkanovski said.
"They’re the ones who stand out the most right now. There's another one there. So whether Kevin can get a title fight that quick and jump the line, I don’t know.
“At the same time, Aljamain and Silva, they’re probably closest. But Kevin, he’s definitely someone – this is a test for him.
"You see a lot of guys who look good until they fight a veteran with fight IQ that’s calculated."
Elsewhere, Petr Yan will hope to defend his Bantamweight belt when he faces Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event.
In what is billing up to be an exciting trilogy bout, Yan and Dvalishvili are currently at 1-1 in their rival series, as Yan got the better of his upcoming opponent at UFC323 in December 2025 to reclaim the Bantamweight title.
UFC 333 Main Card
Alexander Volkanovski vs Movsar Evloev (Main event – Featherweight)
Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili (Co-main – Bantamweight)
Lone’er Kavanagh vs Ramazonbek Temirov (Flyweight)
Alexander Volkov vs Rizvan Kuniev (Heavyweight)
Aaron Pico vs Losene Keita (Featherweight)