UFC 333 fight card predictions: Expert picks, odds for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev in Abu Dhabi

Check out who the experts at CBS Sports are taking in the pair of title fights on Saturday

Oct 23, 2026 at 12:00 pm ET • 3 min read

A big night of fights is set to go down in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. The UFC 333 card is headlined by a pair of 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'll face the biggest test of his career in Volkanovski, who is on his second run as 145-pound champion at age 38.

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

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There are plenty of other interesting and well-matched fights on the card, including Lone'er Kavanagh vs. Ramazan Temirov at flyweight and longtime heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov facing off with Rizvan Kuniev.

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Brian Campbell

With so much happening on Saturday night, let's look more closely at the full fight card with the latest odds before we get to our staff predictions and picks for the main card that you can consider before hitting the sportsbooks.

UFC 333 fight card, odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook (Odds as of Oct. 22)

• Movsar Evloev -112 vs. Alexander Volkanovski (c) -108, featherweight championship
• Petr Yan (c) -162 vs. Merab Dvalishvili +136, bantamweight championship
• Lone'er Kavanagh -112 vs. Ramazan Temirov -108, flyweights
• Alexander Volkov -125 vs. Rizvan Kuniev +105, heavyweights
• Aaron Pico -115 vs. Losene Keita -105, featherweights
• Azamat Murzakanov -225 vs. Dominick Reyes +185, light heavyweights
• Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev -520 vs. Nikita Krylov +390, light heavyweights
• Abus Magomedov -122 vs. Cam Rowston +102, middleweights
• Grant Dawson -125 vs. Nurullo Aliev +105, lightweights
• Abubakar Vagaev -175 vs. Jacob Malkoun +145, middleweights
• Asaf Chopurov -550 vs. Colby Thicknesse +410, bantamweights
• Daniel Santos -130 vs. Bolaji Oki +110, featherweights
• Kody Steele -155 vs. Noah Gugnon +130, lightweights
• Iasmin Lucindo -390 vs. Nicolle Caliari +300, women's strawweights

UFC 333 expert picks

With such a massive main event on tap, the crew at CBS Sports went ahead with predictions and picks for the main card from Brian Campbell, Brent Brookhouse, Shakiel Mahjouri, Michael Mormile and Brandon Wise.

	Campbell	Brookhouse	Mahjouri	Mormile	Wise
Volkanovski (c) vs. Evloev	Evloev UD	Volkanovski UD	Volkanovski UD	Volkanovski UD	Evloev UD
Yan (c) vs. Dvalishvili	Yan TKO4	Yan SD	Yan UD	Yan UD	Yan UD
Kavanagh vs. Temirov	Temirov TKO3	Temirov TKO3	Kavanagh UD	Kavanagh UD	Temirov KO2
Volkov vs. Kuniev	Volkov UD	Volkov UD	Kuniev UD	Volkov TKO3	Volkov TKO2
Pico vs. Keita	Keita KO2	Pico UD	Pico UD	Pico UD	Keita KO1
Records to date	29-23	31-21	31-21	25-22	25-27

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev predictions

Campbell: Volkanovski's longevity has been remarkable to see, especially after he bounced back from stoppage losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria to regain the featherweight title. But it must be said that both of his victories since those damaging defeats came against the all-action but technically limited Diego Lopes, whom Evloev defeated by decision in 2023. For whatever Evloev lacks as a finisher inside the Octagon, he has size, an incredible motor and a physical grappling style that has the potential to wear down the 38-year-old Volkanovski in the championship rounds. He also has a better fight IQ than what Lopes showed against Volkanovski over 10 rounds. 

Brookhouse: There are few fights where I will pick against Volkanovski until I've truly seen time catch up to him. Evloev has tremendous wrestling and a willingness to use that wrestling to grind out ugly wins, but Volkanovski has a well-rounded game that also features strong takedown defense. Volkanovski has been here before and he's got the kind of gritty, gutsy game that should require Evloev to do more than just wrestle. While Evloev has shown some strong skills when forced to fight on the feet, Volkanovski has brilliant timing and distance management tools that should let him edge out the fight on the cards.

Mahjouri: Volkanovski says he'll deliver such a sublime performance that fans will think he's de-aged. I'm inclined to believe him. The champion doesn't mean to disrespect his challenger. In fact, he believes Evloev is supremely talented. Volkanovski's confidence stems from the style matchup. He sharpened 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 has stopped three opponents by strikes, and none were in the UFC. Evloev is tenacious and will make Volkanovski work early. However, as the fight goes on, expect Volkanovski to break ahead and deliver exactly the performance he predicts.